Hey all. I finally bought my first jet boat, a Rogers Bonneville TR. I'm super excited! I have some questions and these may be dumb so please bear with me.

It has a 454 engine in it that Im told was bumped to 468.

-There is no dipstick to check oil level. If Im in the boat and looking at the left side of the oil pan, I can see a location that is capped with a nut or bolt. Perhaps this is where a dipstick might be attached? Any idea if this is true and if so what part(s) Id need to install a dipstick?

-There is also no drain hose so I can pull it thru the drain plug hole to drain the oil. I imagine trying to install such a line without pulling the engine might be impossible. In which case, I should be able to suck oil out from the dipstick hole once I have one, correct?

-I cant currently see the oil filter to see which part number it takes. Any idea which part number Id need for an oil filter?

-Speaking of which, what type of oil is recommend and any guess on how many quarts?

-Now when it comes time to add oil, should I just pour it into one of the valve cover breathers?

Thank you all for the help!

First off, we always need to see pictures of a new boat.  Congratulations by the way.

Really need to see pictures of the oil pan, to make an educated guess.  There are really a lot of different pans available.

It is possible, that the bolt, that you are referring to, in the dipstick tube, is actually the dipstick itself.  Gently remove it and see if the dipstick is integrated into that bolt.

I can't remember the number for the oil filter, but it is just a standard Chevy filter.  There are two different filters, a long and a short.  Just choose the one that will fit.  If the long one will fit, I would do that.

After you change the oil in the boat the first time, you will probably see the value of having a remote mounted filter.  If you do end up pulling the engine, i would recommend welding in a 1/2 NPT bung for the hose you mentioned.  I would locate the bung at the lowest right rear corner of pan possible.

468 cubic inches is a .060 overbored 454.

You can add oil through the breathers.  I like to pull the valve covers, if you have a solid cam, so you can check everything over, including lash.

Thanks for the pointers. I ran out of time today, so will have to get pics of the boat to post later.

Here are the best pics I could get in such a tight space. Was able to see its a Milodon oil pan and I was able to see the oil filter part number also, so Im good there. The bolt on the left side of the pan is indeed a dipstick so good call on that. I have a suction pump that will allow me to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube.

Any idea on the best way to check oil level with this dipstick? Should I screw it all the way down and then back out to check level or just stick it in without threading it and then pull it back out?

Looks like there is a mark on the dipstick, perhaps the builder or previous owner put that there to indicate cold full level? Probably impossible to tell how many quarts this engine would take based on the cramped oil pan photos? I suppose I can just measure how much I suck out of it and put that much back in, then use the dipstick to get it topped off.

Awesome, thank you!

Just to follow up on this and to thank you all for the help. I bought a little electric oil pump and I was able to suck the oil out of the dipstick tube.

Changed filter, refilled with new oil via valve cover breather and all good. Thanks again.