Technical Distributor vent stack?

I picked up an old engine and saw this on the distributor. I've never seen one before. Maybe I'm just too young?

 

Oiler. There is a piece of felt in the tube that touches (or at least it used to) the shaft on the dist. to keep it lubed.

 

That’s an oil fill tube.

 

yup. Used to be that everything had a place to put oil. And needed oiling regularly!

You should get a Model T sometime, you'll learn all about it.

 

Just as Mr. Squirrel has said , years ago everything mechanical was made to be lubed and last for decades . It’s a throw away world we live in today .

 

The can looks like it's oiling your fingers Mark!

 

I can hear that picture.

 

I plan to dress up my newer engine with old time oilers.
One glass filter too.

 

Thats where you let the smoke out. You wouldn’t want to have a distributor under pressure.

 

Man, this is one of those "pictures you can hear."

Poonka-poonka-poonk

 

And before that, your riding mechanic would handle it for you.

 

I’m old enough to remember the sound but the “poon” part doesn’t register. Unless you keep an oil can on the night stand?

 

I think that only applies to Lucas distributors....

 

@Kim Strobeck put an 8BA in his 31. He is running a distributor with the oil cap on it. He built a little mount and attached it to the firewall for a small oil can, just for that purpose. He added a rare earth magnet in the mount to secure the can. Clever and handy.

I am also drawn to his recovery tank for some reason.

 

a little dab'll do ya

 

More of a Tooook Taa sound from the push cans

the oilers with a lever you pressed was more of a Shmert shmert shmert sound .

 

Looks like an old Crown Royal bottle.

 

Cheap Canadian steel...

 

You're a regular Mel Blanc with the sound effects...... How's your Porky Pig?

 

I’m from the hammer there fella those are fighting words

 

“What a maroon!”

 

Better than that is Porky Pig singing Blue Christmas.

 

Aaannddd on a serious note. My 59 Chevy PickUp had one on the distributor (235) and both? end of the generator.
Were there any other places that they were used? I recall some old stuff and the water pump had a grease zerk, but this was non-automotive.

 

speedometer is one place

 

A lot of Mopar flathead sixes had a grease fitting on the water pump.

 

Yep, too young . Still wet behind the ears??

 

That thing is an extension that makes it easier to oil the distributor. The standard oiler is hard to get at and a lot of the oil drains back out before you can get the little cap closed. Neat idea, that one.

 

And that tube holds more oil so it continually lubricates that top busing. I think you oil every 1000 miles but probably less frequently with that tube full.