1966 300HP oil dipstick blade twisted?

[Hans R.]

I have a 1966 300HP A.I.R. coupe with Powerglide. Build date is 1965 Nov 24th. The dipstick I have looks original except that the blade is straight and not twisted. My friend has a later 1966 coupe that is mostly original. His dipstick is twisted 45 degrees a bit down on the blade. And so are the dipsticks you can buy from Corvette stores. My question is if the correct dipstick for my car should have a twisted blade?

Hans Ryden #868

[David L.]

Re: 1966 300HP oil dipstick blade twisted?

I have a 1966 300HP A.I.R. coupe with Powerglide. Build date is 1965 Nov 24th. The dipstick I have looks original except that the blade is straight and not twisted. My friend has a later 1966 coupe that is mostly original. His dipstick is twisted 45 degrees a bit down on the blade. And so are the dipsticks you can buy from Corvette stores. My question is if the correct dipstick for my car should have a twisted blade?

Hans Ryden #868

Hans,

There was an article in the January 1965 issue of Chevrolet Service News about early 1965 production dipsticks that were too flexible. The recommended fix was as follows: "The dipstick must first be straightened, particularly at the lower end, and then twisted 90 degrees as illustrated." See photos below.

The 3862730 dipstick has the following measurements:
A = 20 5/32"
B = 20 59/64"

What are the stampings at the bottom end? The 1965-1967 stampings should be "ENGINE OIL" and "M". Is there a black plastic plug at the end of the loop handle?

Dave

[Jim C.]

Re: 1966 300HP oil dipstick blade twisted?

Hans,

I don't know if it will help you or not, but my 1966 327/300 dip stick does twist 90 degrees. It also has the following stamp on it reading from the bottom of the dip stick toward the handle:

ADD * * FULL ENGINE OIL M

[David L.]

Re: 1966 300HP oil dipstick blade twisted?

The 1965 Chevrolet Passenger car w/283/327 dipstick (GM # 3860099 where A = 20 1/8" and B = 20 49/64") was replaced with dipstick # 3876786 (same A & B lengths) on 1/7/65 as per the 1965 Chevrolet assembly manual. This agrees with the January 1965 Chevrolet Service News article. I assume that the 3860099 dipstick had a straight & non-twisted blade while the 3876786 must have the twisted blade. According to the 65 Chevy assembly manual the plastic plug on the loop handle of the dipstick is green.