'58 oil dipstick

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Roy,
The picture of the dipstick with the broken handle is from a 59 Chev. truck (GM # 3739830) with a Flint engine. The top dipstick in the picture of the 4 dipsticks is GM # 3722959 (21 9/16" under washer) and is for a 56 2nd design & 57 Corvette & Chev. that I bought at the local Chevrolet dealer on Sept. 08, 1989 for $2.33.
I do not have any dipsticks for the 55 Corvette (GM #3717868, 20 1/4" under washer) or 56 Corvette 1st design (GM # 3722960, 19 13/32" under washer).
Dave

[Ted S.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

David, Great information. Do you have an estimate of when they went from "debossed" to stamped? Also any estimate on the change in manufacturers?

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Ted,

If I knew the answer to your two questions I'd be the hero of the day. I've made a post in the "62-62 Corvette dipstick??" thread to possibly get some help. I've been trying to figure out 58-63 Corvette dipsticks for 20 years.

Dave

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

David! I like seeing you mention first or second design's when talking parts ( some people don't) so the pic. you show the first design with the broken handle you feel is original 57? Have you seen many 55's that I showed using arrows which I feel is the first design original for the 55 Corvette ,it has the W or M logo.

Roy,

It's been a few years but I finally found an original 1955 Chevrolet & Corvette V8 dipsticks, photos below.

I was at a swap meet in Springfield, MA, this morning and bought an original one piece dipstick. The measurements are as follows:

20 1/4" from under the felt washer to the bottom end.
A measurement = about 17 13/16" (17.81"+/-)
B measurement = about 19 1/32" (19.03"+/-)
measurement between "ADD OIL" mark to "FULL" mark = about 1 7/32" (1.22"+/-)
There are "arrow stampings" at the add and full marks.
There is a very small letter "E" or maybe it's an "F" (the manufacturer, I assume) stamped 2 1/4" above the full mark. I have seen the letter "E" on some of my other dipsticks.
Handle section is 3 1/2" long.
Width of dipstick measures 1/4" by about 0.06".

According to my vintage Chevrolet parts catalog the dimensions of a 1955 Pass., Corvette V8 dipstick # 3717868 are as follows:
20 1/4" under washer to bottom, A = 17 13/16", and B = 19 3/64" (A = 17.81" and B = 19.05")

I would say that the dipstick that I bought today is an original 1955 Chev. Pass. and Corvette dipstick.

Was there more than one manufacturer of the 3717868 (55 Chev. & Corvette V8) dipstick with something other than the "E" stamping?

Dave

[Loren S.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Dave - what's your thoughts on the newish "correct" repro from Corvette Central for 57-62? Embossed with the "M" stamp:

http://www.parts123.com/corvettecentral/dyndetail.pta?catalog=0000050e&ukey=46994

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Loren,

I do not generally buy repro parts unless absolutely necessary. However, if I do buy a repro part and then find an original part I generally try to sell the the repro part and sometimes even trash the repro part. After looking at the photos of the Corvette Central "newish 57-62" dipstick it looks more like a repro of a 3739830 dipstick that was used on 58-63 Corvettes. The dimensions of a 3739830 dipstick should be as follows: A = 19 9/16" , B = 20 21/64". Corvette Central does not give the "A" and "B" dimensions. Is the handle length on the repro about 2 1/2" long?

Years ago (1980's and 1990's) the Corvette vendors (like Paragon) were selling a 2-piece GM # 3722959 dipstick (A = 19 31/64", B = 20 7/16") that was available over the Chevrolet dealer counter. These 2-piece 3722959 dipsticks were stamped (not embossed), had the letter "B" on them, and the handle section was longer (about 3") with a slightly smaller loop. I bought one from Dobles Chevrolet in Manchester, NH on 09/08/1989 for very cheap money and still have it in my collection (for research purposes only). According to the parts catalogs the 3722959 dipstick was used on 56-57 Corvettes (2nd design) and 56-7 Pass. Chevrolets (V8). These 2-piece 3722959 were a suitable but not correct replacement dipstick for 58-63 Corvettes as the "A" and "B" dimensions were close enough for all practical purposes. Original 58-63 Corvette dipsticks are quite hard to find. I believe that all 58-63 Corvette dipsticks were embossed (in reverse) and probably all had the "M" stamping.

Years ago I had a one piece 3722959 dipstick (21 9/16" long under washer) used on 56-57 Corvette (2nd design) according to my 1957 Chevrolet Parts Catalog. Dipstick # 3722960 (19 13/32" under washer) was used on 56 Corvettes (1st design).

I am still a bit foggy about the 3722959 dipstick. I think that factory installed 3722959 dipsticks were one piece but over the counter 3722959 dipsticks made in later years were two piece but that is just my opinion. Owners of 1957 Corvettes with the original dipstick can probably shed some light on this subject.

Have I answered your comment or just added more confusion?

Below are photos of an original 3739830 dipstick from a broken 1959 Chevrolet truck (283 eng. made in Flint.). The dipstick handle snapped off when I took it out of the engine (salvage yard in Winchester, NH).

Dave

[Loren S.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Thanks, Dave, for the detailed information and pictures. The repro does look to me like a good faith repro of the 3739830 dipstick; hopefully they got the dimensions correct. When original C1 dipsticks are bringing $100 or more, when you can even find them, I am encouraged when the repro manufacturers make a good faith effort to make a correct looking repro that can be had for $40.

[Thomas H.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Thanks, Dave, for the detailed information and pictures. The repro does look to me like a good faith repro of the 3739830 dipstick; hopefully they got the dimensions correct. When original C1 dipsticks are bringing $100 or more, when you can even find them, I am encouraged when the repro manufacturers make a good faith effort to make a correct looking repro that can be had for $40.

Loren,

Check page 47 of the newest Driveline. I believe you will find these to be a more accurate reproduction then the ones currently available.

Tom

[Loren S.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Tom - those look very nice. Is the "ENGINE OIL" emboss correct for 57-62? I don't see that on Dave's picture from post 21.

[Thomas H.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Tom - those look very nice. Is the "ENGINE OIL" emboss correct for 57-62? I don't see that on Dave's picture from post 21.

It should be. I'll be receiving one this week and will compare it to the original from my 60.

Tom

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

I have never seen "ENGINE OIL" embossed or stamped on an original 58-63 Corvette dipstick (GM # 3739830) but I have never actually had or seen a 63 Corvette with an original dipstick. It's possible that the 63 dipsticks had the embossed-debossed "ENGINE OIL" stamping. There is not a lot of research available on the 3739830 dipstick. As I remember there were a few variations of the 3739830 dipstick. The distance between the "ADD" and "FULL" marks is theoretically 49/64" = 0.766" ( or 3/4" for all practical purposes). I sent an email to Paragon about this.

I have had several original 65-67 Corvette dipsticks (GM # 3862730) that were stamped "ENGINE OIL" and the letter "M" as well as the "ADD" and "FULL".

Pictured below is a NOS 64 Corvette dipstick, GM # 3846810. This dipstick has "ENGINE OIL" debossed on it. The 64 dipsticks had with a rubber stopper or a metal stopper shaped like a bell. I'm not sure which one was a factory original, maybe both. I use the term "debossed" (apparently not a real word) as the opposite of embossed.

Dave

[Joe M.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

The repro 57-62 C1 dipsticks all have one source, Richard Fortier. I purchased one and have an original from a 1959 283 "519" block. The repro is spot on for the version Richard sells with the small "M" vendor marking just above the round cap. He made certain they were correct before he started selling them by using original C1 dipsticks as templates and getting input from NCRS menbers. Some original dipsticks had a large "M" and he reproduced those as well. In no way am I endorsing them or selling them; just providing what I know and observed.

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

I just got an email from Andy and he told me the embossed-debossed "ENGINE OIL" stamping was added to the 3739830 dipstick in 1963 which now make sense to me.

Dave

[David L.]

Re: '58 oil dipstick

Here is my research on 55-64 dipsticks and upper dipstick tubes based mostly on vintage Chevrolet parts catalogs. I would appreciate any comments.

Dave