'57 Fairlane 292 CID Oil Dipstick Missing Stop

[shew01]

My oil dipstick is missing the metal cap that acts as a stop, which means that the stick goes all the way to the bottom of the oil pan when inserted. To get an accurate read, I clean the dipstick, pinch the dipstick where the cap should be, insert the dipstick until my "pinch" touches the top of the dipstick tube, remove the dipstick, and read the oil level.

When the dipstick is in the tube, the top of the dipstick leaves a gap between it and the tube (because of the missing stop/cap). Sometimes a wisp of what looks like steam comes from that gap. As far as I can tell, the radiator does not appear to be loosing any water into the engine.

Actually, I'm not 100% sure that this is the correct dipstick for the car. 6 quarts of oil doesn't take the oil all the way up to the full mark, and the $30 "correct replacement" that I bought is not the correct replacement because it is about 2 1/2 inches shorter than my oil display and doesn't touch the oil at all when inserted.

I've googled without much luck.

Questions:

1) Can any one point me to a correct replacement (new or used) dipstick?

2) Is there a way to repair this dipstick?


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