Shifty's Repair Shop
94 Elviss Cresent R7B 2L1 Brandon, MB, Canada

Merry Christmas!

I see the passenger/driver side dipstick query posed pretty often here, which often leads to sbc "generation" questions/statements...so I put together a quick r...eference for both...these are by no means "cast in concrete", but simply a quick guide... Regarding dipstick location: 1955-1979 dipstick was located on driver side. 1980-1981 came on either side with opposite hole plugged. 82-86 passenger side GMSPO crate 350 blocks had provisions on both sides. These are easy to ID by "Hecho en Mexico" casting on the side... Regarding SBC Generations: (Generations are usually designated with Roman numerals, I used regular numbers for clarity) Gen1 was 1955-1990 Gen1 is the traditional SBC, with a 2-piece rear main seal until 1985, and a flat tappet cam...1-piece rear main seal, and roller cam came about 1986 or so, with exceptions to the roller cam in some trucks...they had perimeter valve cover bolts until 1986, centerbolt covers came along in 1987... along with the 1-piece rear main change came an intake manifold bolt change through 1995 (center 4 bolts vertical)...1996 - up is the vortec style which is a whole different intake bolt pattern...obviously, 1-pc & 2-pc rear main engines use different oil pans, none of which are a bolt-in for the H-bodies (except the O.E. H-body V8 pans of course)... Gen2 was 1991-1997 ("LT" design engines) Gen2 are the LT1, LT4, and L99 engines. They share some things in common with the older Gen1. ..rotating parts are pretty interchangeable with Gen1 with slight differences in cam drive...you can always tell these motors apart because of the long intake plenum, and the water pump has no pulley since its cam driven... Gen3 was 1997-2007 ("LS" design engines) Gen3 are LS1, LS2, LS6, and the LS-based truck engines starting in 1998. Gen4 (20052020) Gen5 (2013present) The years of usage shown are general, and exhibit overlap, because of the gradual model year introductions/phaseouts of engines into the different model lines...