ok so i have a 1986 iroc with a 305. well i blew the engine about a week and a half ago so i had a 350 block out of a 78 camaro sittin in the back of the shop. so i just got done rebuilding it and i went to go put the manifolds on and i ran into a problem. seems the 305 has the oil dipstick on the passenger side. and the block i have has the oil dipstick on the drivers side. the manifold iis totaly blockin it where i cant use the dipstick. my question is how do i fix this? is the 350 tpi's the same way? i dont have the money for headers and to have my y-pipe redone so i would like to see if there is another set of manifolds that will work for right now.this is my daily driver so i have to get it done asap. any help would be appreciated. thanks.

 

They make flexible oil dipsticks. Lokar I think has one.

AFAIK the 78 manifolds WILL NOT fit the chassis. You'll have to use your original ones. Sorry to hear that, if this had the LG4... one of th emain reasons for that motors poor performance, was the restrictive exhaust manifolds.

Start saving up your pennies for a set of headers. Get a QUALITY set, not just the cheeeepest thing that you can find on the catalog page. Thereis DEFINITELY a difference between cheeeep headers and good ones. The good ones, as an example, come with the right Y-pipe.

 

i am using the original manifolds off of the 86 305. the dipstick hole is right behind the drop of the manifold. these flexiable dipsticks look like they are too short for the 79 and earlier engines. i do not want to get the wrong length so how would i go about lookin for a dipstick for my engine that would be long enough to fit around the drop of the manifold.

 

There is no "other" kind of dipstick for that situation. That's the right piece. If the flex dipstick that works for everybody else won't work for you for some reason, then you don't have a whole lot of choices.

You either need to just do without it, or get headers.

No the 350 TPI motors aren't the same way. GM moved the dipsticks over to the pass side in the late 70s in all V8s.

One other option is to try get the oil pan off of about a 78-80 305 A or G body car, and the dipstick that goes with it. In my 78 El Camino 305, the gauge and tube assembly goes into a little nipple thing welded into the side of the pan. I don't think you can buy that pan new from GM any more though but I don't really know.

 

so the elcaminos have the dipstick tubes that go in to the oil pan? i know a buddy who might have a few elcaminos sittin round that might have the oil pan that you are talkin bout if they came with that. will this setup work with the camaros?

 

Worked with mine when I put a 400 in it.

 

Changing the oil pan will fix one problem.

Changing the manifolds to headers would solve many problems.

 

well i just had a guy to give me a set of brand new summt headers still in the box for $5 so i guess i will use them. they are for 82-91 camaro. so now i only have to pay to get the y-pipe modified. the part numbers sum-g9005. i know they might be cheap but hey for $5 to solve the prblems i have i dont see where i went wrong! what do u guys think?

 

They are a little small for a 350, but should flow better than the manifolds.

You're keeping TPI, right? If so, you'll need the O2 sensor in the driver's side manifold. Not sure if the Summit headers have the fitting for that built in, or if you have to have it welded on.

 

when i bought the car it was already carbed. so im just going back with the setup that was on it considering that the intake and carb is almost new. and yea the headers already have the 02 sensor port in it.