'83 305 Into '79 Pick Up, Ex Manifold Question...

[uglytruk]

I have a 1979 3/4 ton 2wd pick up, and I blew the junk rebuilt 350 7 years ago... Well, I finally found someone that will install a nice 305/700R4 from an '83 that he scrapped for me.
Having installed a '79 engine into my '81 Caprice wagon 10 years ago, I'm aware of the switch to pass side oil dipstick, and the rite ex manifold needs an extra bolt hole, which I got an adapter for. (Pictured)
This time, I'm going the other way. I want to keep it stock looking, but could go either way...
My engine, the 305, may or may not have the rear passenger bolt hole under the existing OVER the plugs manifold. I don't want to remove the manifold to look. Anyone know if the hole exists? The 305 he removed from a different 305 Van has the older style under plug manifolds, as well as the newer style rearmost bolt hole. (Sorry, I didn't get a pix of that).

That and the relocation of the oil dipstick are the two issues. I forgot to look if the van 305 has an oil dipstick boss. Vans have the dipstick in the oil filler tube, I think...

If I switch manifolds, the dipstick may have an interference with the manifold, like I had on the 10 year ago swap. I had to squish the tube between the block and over-plug manifold. Not a pretty site... I've got pix of that engine, it's still around...

I got mixed up with the pix... so here's what you see..

Top is the good '85 305

2nd is the 79 305 with later manifold with the squished tube. It was a pain to check the oil, which it used!

3rd is the '85 305 again...

4th is the '83 305 with it's future home

5th is the adapter plate on the '79 to '81 swap from 10 years ago...

 

[uglytruk]

Here's a bit more of the fun.... Maybe I should just put in the van engine, if it has an dipstick tube boss. Hmmm, I'll call the guy, he's 15 miles away...

My Casio Cam allows me to play with the settings... so I was playing around on Christmas eve... the WHALECO donor van is in the background... It has the proper manifolds and maybe or maybe not a dipstick tube boss... They're both 305's, and same miles... 110k... Hmmm...

Maybe I should put in the 350 in my barn and remove the rear-bolt adapter. It's a tired motor, but ran OK, and sell the 305's... already got a customer for one...

 

[4X4HIGH]

That first pic looks like the dipstick goes into the block just below the head/block mating surface? If so i've never seen a block like that before. Every passenger side dipstick i've seen enters the block way down by the pan rail.

 

[uglytruk]

It DOES go into the block just above the oil pan, but I heated and bent the tube, and squished it behind the manifold. It WAS 10 years ago, but it must have been what was required

 

[diesel4me]

My memory is fuzzy,but I had a 305 in a '71 GMC 4x4 that came out of a 77 Chgevy Monza "Spyder",it had the oil dipstick mounted on the oil pan itself,with its own specific tube and dipstick!..

I recall many of those weird 305 "over the plug" manifolds with the 5th bolt being used on 78-82 Chevy Malibu's and Caprice's,but most of the ones I removed to sell when I worked at the junkyard had 2 bolt exhaust pipe flanges,not the tuypical 3 bolt ones you usually see on other V8's...(might have been 267's too?)..

 

[4X4HIGH]

I'm getting real confused on what exhaust manifolds you want to use. You are using the 83 305 engine correct? That engine WILL have the 7th exhaust bolt hole. Also exhaust manifolds came in both under and over the plug for use with passenger side dipstick. My original 89 blazer engine had manifolds under plugs with passenger side dipstick and 7th exhaust bolt hole.

EDIT: Every SBC from 1980-later will be passenger side dipstick and NO provision for a driver side dipstick UNLESS it was a GM universal crate engine (those had a provision on both sides of the engine). So if you want a driver side dipstick you need a 1979-earlier engine OR the universal GM crate engine. Also you will not have the same problem as your 10 year earlier swap since ALL of the passenger side dipsticks are outside of the exhaust manifold and not trapped between the block and manifold.

Also i used a passenger side van dipstick in a previous truck project and it goes into the block down at the pan rail just like every other passenger side dipstick block (the tube just extended up to the core support for easy access).

 

[uglytruk]

Yeah, confusion... My bad, but I decided to use the tired 350 from the 79, that I adapted with the 7th bolt plate.
Whoever buys the truck will likely change the motor anyways, so I'll give them a good reason... It runs OK, but tired, and I'll sell the 305's for some play $$$