Just finished rebuilding my 48 Studebaker flathead six. I'm trying to decide whether to use the add on oil filter, which isn't full flowing or just leave it off. The car will see limited use, and and will get regular oil changes. Any opinions?
They used to last 50k miles or more without one....you should be fine with no filter for a long, long time if you don't drive it much.
My dad's old '51 Chevy one-ton pickup never had one (it was an option), and the engine has never been apart to this day.
If it were me I'd put one on. it might mean 20k more miles on the engine before it needs a rebuild. It might cost an extra ten bucks every few months depending on how much you drive the car but i'd say it would be worth it in the long run. Even with the 1000 mile oil changes getting 50 K out of most engines before they needed major work was something of an accomplishment in the early 50's 100K without an overhaul on your engine could get you and your car's photo in the local small town paper in some towns.
I didn't have one on my '49 Chevy 3100. Just changed the oil every once a month. It was my daily driver to school and work.
If you had the choice of installing a "full flow" filter system that would be worth doing in my opinion. However, I doubt that a practical choice, which leaves one with a "partial flow" option. Since so very little of the oil is being filtered at any time, while the vast majority is being pumped unfiltered, it hardly seems worth the effort, expense and potential failure of an oil line. I'm with those who suggest frequent oil changes as being quite adequate. Ray
Not to be contrary to most other opinions but, I have a '62 Champ P-U with the overhead valve 6 cyl. It came without the optional oil filter so I installed one I picked up on E-bay. I cleaned up the old thing and repainted it. Also added the "correct" decals to it. It looks perty nice in there and adds some peace of mind, if only imagined. Normal Norman
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