I know egos and wits can clash from time to time but when it boils down to it we all are on here to help someone out or to learn something. I know I apperciate all the help info I've recieved. This is an excellent forum and I am glad to be a part of it.

well said sr

Anybody have an neat little tricks of techniques to figure out what size oil pan you have? I don't want to put 5 qts in and it be a 7qt pan or vice versa... I wish i had a dipstick in this thing... It would make life a bit easier :(

There are so many different versions of the oil pans, and you haven't stated whether it has side kickouts, a lowered sump, or that it is a stock pan. There isn't an easy way that I know of. Kevco makes some oval track pans that have a sight plug at the top of where the oil should be.

In one of your other posts, you stated that you could watch the oil pressure to decide if you are low on oil. If you do that, you will be damaging the bearings and they won't live. Under power, you need to maintain roughly 10psi per 1000rpms.

I would suggest that this would be a good time to pull the engine, correct the oil pan gasket leak, add a dipstick or a pan that you can check the oil level, and change the bearings because they are probably already showing wear from the guy that you bought the car from.

Good luck,
Bill M

heh... If only i had something to pull the engine out with, I would.... But I do need to get that damn gasket fixed.. its a small leak more like an accumulation but once that oil pressure starts to get high it starts to become a small drip.. What about some liquid gasket temporarly? Hylomar looks interesting......

Heh.. I was pulling the spare crap out of the trunk of the car today and found a dipstick... Woulda been nice had it been on the block somewhere.... I loosened the first bolt on each side of the oil pan gasket, that gasket pushed up in there a decent amount.. Im wondering if the gaskets was not put in properly.... it's still got a leak but it sure did slow down the dripping during higher rpms....

I found dipstick hole today in the block... It was hidden behind where the header and exhaust pipe connect to each other..... The hole didnt look plugged but I figure its gotta be something plugging it because no oil comes out of it... Must be some pretty old GM Headers... It's like tube that goes straight back across the exhaust ports then dumps into an exhaust pipe....