Doing a power glide to 350 swap on my 55 chevy. The stock dipstick tube won't fit, not enough room. Looking at the stainless flex tubes, some reviews say they take for ever to fill through. Would anyone have information on better flex tubes for filling or other options?
New transmission, Just have the quart in the converter. The post review I read on a vender site said it took for ever to get 1 quart in, He may have been stretching it.
They are a little slow adding first time or when replacing fluid. But, like PeggySue said above, pre-fill the converter on the new ******.
I filled according to specs ( trans empty) and used a adjustable aftermarket dipstick. Not real pretty on a open hood car though
Got one form summit. Sold by Hurst fit the 350 trans in the 32 like a glove. I count the qts. And mark the stick
I just re-bent my tubes with a 1/2" EMT bender until it fit... https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner...VoDytBh2TxwKdEAQYCCABEgJF0PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds 1/2" EMT is about 5/8"OD, close enough for this as long as you don't try any tight bends. No recalibration needed unless you shorten the tube.
Have you looked at any of the Tri-Five sites (like Danchuk) to see if they have a steel tube that fits? As popular as this swap is, you'd think they would have something better than these flex tube, special fill adapter, fill tubes. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Will look. I have the stock one that I got with new TCI transmission package but no room behind valve cover, exhaust area to get in to bolt mount to top bell housing bolt. Thanks
I know what it's like. With my old 56 Chevrolet Pro Bracket Car, with a BBC, Powerglide, 12 bolt rear end, I had to shorten the fill tube quit a bit; and, it was down behind the p***enger side header (with the stock, m***aged, firewall), so you could't check it when the headers/engine were hot (so it was really just a "fill" tube). I even thought about bringing it up through the floor, but the rules did't allow that. Now you see Pro Mod type cars with the entire transmission exposed inside the cars. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
I looked in Danchuk's online catalog, Performance section to sub-category Transmission, and on the very last online page (page 10), they list chromed fill tubes/dip sticks for all the popular GM transmissions. Says fits the 55-57 Chevrolet's with those transmissions (and others), and they're really ,low priced compared to the flexible tubes. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
Checked it out. That looks identical to the one I got with the transmission package. Because of the battery, the only area to come up through is behind the back of exhaust manifold & valve cover to be able to bolt mount on stick to bell housing . There's no room to get through, probably because of front motor mounts maybe.
You might check with them on actual routing; sometimes catalogs will have a 'generic' pic that may not represent the actual part. I know on the ones I've done, I've usually had to cut off the upper bracket and fab a new one for support, sometimes using a different bolt location.
Your question made me go look at my '56 with the same trans. I remember having to reshape mine some to get it to fit and I removed the bracket and made a new one that bolts on where I could actually reach the bolt. The new bracket is just a piece if 1/8" x 1" strap with holes in each end and a big Adel clamp to hold the tube. You could cut the tube off about 6-8" from the trans and use hose for about 10" of the center section and then a piece of the steel tube for the upper end. Put two hose clamps on each end of the hose - a poor man's Lokar flex tube. Just make sure that the overall length remains the same as the original tube so the fluid level is accurate. I did that on my Chevy powered MGB with a TH400.
I just finished re-shaping the tube for the 700R4 install, using a tubing bender as suggested by @Crazy Steve and @ffr1222k. The one I had was way off, but managed to get it bent to fit my application. The bender was for aluminum HVAC tubing, but did the job fine on the steel dipstick tube.
This is the stick that came with transmission package. If I try to use it I will have to try something like bchctybob suggested. I don't have room between firewall and valve cover/ exhaust manifold to slide in close enough to bolt mount to top bell housing bolt.
Nothin says you can't reshape it as needed. Seems like they never fit my cars without some modification. On my '56, I moved my battery to the trunk to clean up the engine compartment. That made the trans dipstick area much easier to access. I also did away with the huge aftermarket power brake booster and bracket that was on the other side for the same reason. You could hardly even see the spark plugs on that side let alone change them. The idea was to keep the car simple and easy to clean and maintain. The brakes work just fine without a booster. Post some pictures of your car and the engine compartment.
Bought last August, Started 350 ****** swap and new Currie rear end ***embly. Have new wiring harness to install and planning on new intake,carb and hei. Definitely going to move battery to trunk. Have booster with front disc brakes. Pictures when first bought so engine bay has had some cleaning since.
I used the Locar one on my Desoto hemi and it worked fine. They come with an adapter for the funnel, I clamped it to the bottom of a ****** filler and rigged up a coat hanger hook to keep it form moving around. Had a buddy standing by to fill it while I did the 20 minute burn in. I don't know how long it took to fill but he was done by the time I was. Whether it could have been done faster wouldn't have changed anything. Don't trust the length, measure and trim it in the handle if necessary. Mine was a universal firewall mount that I adapted to the head and had to be shortened quite a bit.
Peggysue before you go crazy please look at these questions. What trans mount are you using? What engine mount are you using? I mention this because if the engine is sagging a little bit in the back it would make it hard to get the the in. If it is just the tube mtg bolt, don't use it the O-ring will hold it in and you can always weld a mtg. tab to the top of the tube that bolts to an intake bolt hole. A stock tube should fit, also if it is only about getting the bolt in you can get an engine hoist unbolt the engine, pick up and move forward a bit install tube and put bolt in then replace engine. Last but not least there is a access panel under the rug that was used to get at those bolts. I always try going with stock parts they seem to go together better. Good Luck Pat
Wow, my '56 looked basically the same when I got it, satin black, 5 spoke wheels ( 17" though), battery and booster like that, clean but basic black interior. It had finned aluminum valve covers and an old Offy manifold on a worn out 307. I don't think that the HEI will fit unless you use the Danchuk engine mounts that move the engine forward 3/4" - 1". Mine was rubbing on the firewall with the stock mounts, fine after I went to the Danchuk mounts. My driveshaft was too long and the fan was too far from the radiator, the new mounts fixed all that too, and they bolt in.
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