Quote Originally Posted by Henry Rifle View Post
Roger, Did you measure the depth of the pan (outside) at the back sump? If it's around 7.25" there, it's a 5 qt. pan made for your type of motor. I'd put in 5 quarts, set the dipstick to full at that point, and quit worrying about it. Of course, I could be wrong. I'm using a Chevy motor with a stock pan and stock dipstick.
That's the right approach, Jack. I had a call back from Scott and he agreed that the pan we used is a 5 quart pan, so I've added a quart, am letting it drain down completely and will then shorten the inner cable accordingly and be done other than changing the filter, and re-filling to full after it's drained down again after startup & confirmation of pressure. Scott mentioned that on a brand new engine, never primed the oil galleries, lifters, etc may retain as much as a quart of oil on initial prime, and that the "dump in five quarts and forget it" doesn't apply then, which is just common sense, but also worth mentioning for future reference.

Thanks for the input Bob & Jack, and Mike too! I appreciate the sounding board & responses.