Hi, avi8tor,

On my '56, I was told the the oil filter was an option, and that it was a bypass filter, meaning the lines can be plugged and the oil will still flow where the engine needs it to. That info helped when I blew an oil filter line on the road years ago. I cut the offending line all the way through, stuck a piece of pencil in each side of the cut line, filled it back up, cleaned the oil off the windshield and drove home. Gotta love that old simplicity.
Dave

Well, my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-splitly
Out to my ol' 55.
As I pulled away slowly,
Feelin' so holy,
God knows, I was feelin' alive..... Tom Waits, Ol' 55