Technical SBC 350 on shoebox not draining as much oil as expected.

I have a 1950 ford shoebox with a sbc 350 in it? I bought the car with this motor in it.

I can't figure out this mystery, when I drained the oil I only got about 2 to 2.5 quarts including the oil filter drained. I tried tilting the front all the way up with back more down, then back up with front down (its on airbag suspension) but couldn't get much more. I also had one of the breathers removed from the valve cover. When I refill with new oil I put about half a quart in the oil filter and 2.5 quarts in the motor and its close to the full mark on the dipstick, perhaps another half quart to go. Anyone know why I didn't get more oil out when I drained? I wonder if its the oil pan shape or maybe some in the lines or perhaps wrong dipstick for this application?

I'll try to get a photo of the pan.

 

I'd suspect the dipstick is not right....unless someone has modified the pan to clear a chassis interference problem and that has created the capacity problem.

No SBC left the assembly line with less than a 4.5 qt capacity oil system.

I'd suggest you dig a little deeper into your problem before it bites you.
Get some pics of the pan sump area.

 

Is it a stock SBC oil pan? If it is ,your dip stick is not the correct one.

 

Thanks so much for the response. Here is what the pan looks like hmmm......

 

I don't know... I just posted in the previous response what the pan looks like. I'm not sure what it came from.

 

Never saw a sbc pan with the hump in the middle. They may exist but I didn't ever see one

 

Me neither, when I look online it looks like a Chevy II oil pan.. hmmmm

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1962...Qtq1RT9sXBFwCpK7QEW_gI4slJsU6NcYaAnMDEALw_wcB

1962-1967 Nova. I wonder if the wrong dipstick is in there for that pan.

 

I do not know what the hell kind of pan that is. I have never seen one like that in my 45 years of building SBC. ?

 

I think its a Chevy II/Nova 62-67 pan... looks a lot like this hmmm:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1962...Qtq1RT9sXBFwCpK7QEW_gI4slJsU6NcYaAnMDEALw_wcB

 

Yea, possible. Like has been posted, SBC ,stock style pan should be around 5 quarts with filter.

 

Yes, looks like the ‘62-‘67 Chevy II pan and those had a dipstick tube on the driver’s side front of the pan, they also take a dedicated ‘stick. I suspect your tube is the typical style that goes into a hole drilled in the block. Can you see a tube on the side of the pan, or was it removed and welded up?
Edit, I just saw the photo in your first post, that’s the correct position for the Chevy II dipstick.

 

I just measured the dipstick and its the correct one. It measure exactly what's called out here for the 62-67 Nova:

https://gmclassics.com/part/oil-dip-stick-gauge-v8-inserts-into-front-sump-oil-pan/

 

Thanks, the tube is definitely going into the side of the pan. I pulled it out and it measures the right length of 21 1/8 from the end to the seal portion just like called out here: https://gmclassics.com/part/oil-dip-stick-gauge-v8-inserts-into-front-sump-oil-pan/

 

I'm wondering if it has the correct dipstick (and or tube) for a Chevy II pan asto me that looks like a Chevy II pan.

 

Thanks, I measured the dipstick at 21 1/8th from the end to the seal portion. Just like called out here for the Chevy II pan: https://gmclassics.com/part/oil-dip-stick-gauge-v8-inserts-into-front-sump-oil-pan/

I checked and the tube is going in to the side of the pan.

 

Checing Chevy II oil capacity I came up on this.

According to our sources, oil, coolant and fuel capacity for this version of 1966 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova Sport Coupe 283 V-8 Turbo-Fire 195-hp 4-speed are as follows:

Engine lubricant oil capacity:

3.8 liter / 4 U.S. qt / 3.3 imp. qt


plus 0.9 liter / 1 qt for filter change

 

Thanks yea I figured it must be 5 quarts. I wonder where the oil is stuck at.. the rear of the pan does have a bump and if you look at the internals I can see the rear holding some oil. I tried raising the back and lowering the front but not much more oil came out when I did that.

 

The only hitch I see there with what you have could be the engine mounting. Was it mounted with the back end tilted down or is that just the camera angle?

 

I know that's what I thought, to me it seems to be tilted back end down... I tried raising the rear all the way up (airbags) and lowering the front all the way down and it didn't seem to make that much difference.

 

I would try to let it drain it over night to see if sludge has blocked some drainage holes.
Post #17 shows a raised baffle over the middle, I'm guessing that sludge has blocked the drainage area between the pan and baffle and not allowing the rear sump to drain
If you remove the pan to clean and drain, might want to add a second drain plug.

 

I would make sure its empty... pour a little atf down the fill plug up top, if it runs out the bottom then you know you are pretty clear and clean. shine a flashlight in the drain hole to look for bottom end of motor, if you can see the bottom end or a clean pan and pickup then I would fill to proper level by quarts. 5 quarts in on an empty motor, then cut re mark the dipstick for correct length.

 

Thanks so I checked the dipstick and dipstick tube length and they are correct for a Chevy II/Nova 62-67. I'm guessing by fill plug at top you mean the hole in the valve cover where I took a breather off, or is that a bolt on the intake I need to look for?

 

Thanks, hmmm in another view of this pan it looks like the oil should still roll forward to drain even if the holes in the baffle are blocked assuming I can raise the rear enough and lower the front? It could be as you said that maybe there is sludge build up.

This link shows a view in the second photo:
https://www.speedwaymotors.com/1962...Qtq1RT9sXBFwCpK7QEW_gI4slJsU6NcYaAnMDEALw_wcB

 

breather....

Best of luck man...

 

Thanks everyone who's given suggestions on what to look for. So I tilted the car backwards and forwards and drained every bit of oil I could. I noticed the old filter was quite heavy when I looked at it again and oil moves slowly in there and drains out slow (it's a Wix Racing 51515R). When I filled the new filter with 0.5 quarts and the engine with 2.5 quarts the dipstick oil level was right in between add 1 qt and full. Then I ran the engine for about 1 minute and checked and it was a fair bit below the add 1 qt mark. I added 2 quarts and its right at the full line so it has the full 5 quarts. I suspect the old filter had a fair bit of oil in it in addition to the previous owner maybe having added too little or some of it leaked/burned so in total I think there would have been 3 quarts of used oil drained from the engine and in the old filter (unless that WIX racing filter holds way more oil than I think). I don't see significant oil leaks anywhere though. Thanks!

 

You filled it with the prescribed amount of oil, (all toll) ran it and checked it and the dip stick is now spot on, life is good.

 

@DDDenny I think knows about the Nova pans.

 

Roger that!

 

Well, is it? Lol!

 

Ya know what the problem is, Your Ford is pissed off at you because of the Chevy engine!

Sorry, couldn't help it.

Dave