The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Air filter mesh

I am planning to put on an original non-oil bath air cleaner (for nostalgia). Does anyone know where I can get the steel or copper mesh that fits inside the two metal rings? The existing ones I have are approximately 6 inches & 8 inches OD.

Look at this idea from Deve:
http://speedprint.com/deves50/airfilter.php
And here is the Part number he found:
#2373 (Napa Gold.)
Might be close to what you want.

Jim Carter lists a replacement element. Jim Carter Air Filter Element

Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing. Jim Carter has sourced the original style. If you want 100% authentic, thereya go! What the NAPA solution I used was, was basically a lawn mower filter. A very nice solution, but not super authentic. Good luck finding people who know the difference tho.

The only concern that I have about the lawnmower filter is the reduced air flow due to its more air-restrictive design compared to the original more free-flowing copper design. If you look at more modern 6 cylinder engines that came stock with modern filters, you will see that they are much larger to account for the more restrictive material in modern filters. Then if you consider how much more restrictive the lawnmower filter will become as it progressively becomes dirty between changes, it comes to question whether it is the best choice for an air filter on these engines. $0.02
Carl

"The copper breaks down over time"?

There are houses in US built in colonial times with copper plumbing.
There are copper cathedral rooves in Europe nearly 1,000 years old.
Axes with copper heads have been recovered from China dating to 1,000 BC.

The copper type is "free flowing" because it has openings in it large enough for small birds to pass through.
Save time - throw sand in your oil pan.

The oil-wetted mesh filters worked very well in the USA and in Europe for many decades. The main reason for the change to paper cartridge was the convenience of throwing out the filter, rather than cleaning and oil-wetting the mesh.

I have never seen a bird or insect that was small enough to pass through the mesh. The mesh is effective enough to also stop fine dust.

A back door screen is significantly different from a packed mesh. That is a specious example, but the point you are making is correct.

Here are test results for various types of filters. Oil-wetted is not included. The oil-wetted air cleaners supposedly were, at best, 75% efficient.

I prefer the old oil bath. It is original; it works quite well; and, it is easy to maintain, if you are careful. And, you do not have to buy/store replacement filters. Oh, and it is original.

I recently went from the original screen/mesh to custom made K&M filters and had to retune the engine as they restricted air flow. I now have the throttleblades open further at idle and that changes quite a bit of things as far as a carb is concerned. I'm think about switching back but waiting for warmer weather as that will affect things as well.
I just love them little flying saucer air cleaners, they're the tits!

Yeah, as usual, I put a lot of thought into this. I have seen several original mesh filters and 60 years later, I wouldn't use them in my projects due to wear. It was a no brainer for me because the worry is that fragments from the mesh would end up in the engine. Not a lot of people who owned these trucks (over this amount of time) did the proper factory recommended maintenance on them. My engine is a 261 and it runs really nice with or without the lawn mower filter. Its just a better solution for doing its intended purpose while looking pretty stock. Nice to know JC has new original types though.

Yah Denny, I don't sleep much in bed, just kind of lay there most of the night. So I figure why not do something productive. Have you ever recorded the RPMs with and without the paper filter? I don't doubt your seat-of-the-pants observations, nor that you didn't see a noticeable change in MPG, as these engines don't seem to vary much no matter what you do to them. I drove my stock 52 for 100 miles with 3/4 ton of fertilizer in it (never mind it being a stupid idea) and got 15.0 MPG, and I got 15.0 MPG on the trip home totally empty. Go figure.
Carl

I don't want to hijack the thread, but I'm wondering:
We filter the air coming into the carb with various methods (oil bath, which I have and like, wetted mesh, and paper). However, with a draft tube as standard on a 216, unfiltered air enters the overhead through slots in the valve/rocker cover.

PCV with filtered air inlet is one solution to this, but any thoughts on the original set-up? It's got to be detrimental to durability, particularly on the valvetrain.

Thanks,

Bill

When I ponder that issue, I look at how long the original engines lasted, what was done after this era as technology evolved and then I try to tastefully adapt my machine to the best technology that still honors the era. It only makes sense to me! lol.

Does ANYONE think its a great idea to have road dust and misc air just being sucked into open valve cover slits? Then once all the sand, grime etc, gets in, just let pressure push it out of the draft tube? Then, how about lets put a bypass filter on that just takes a sampling of the oil its filtering? It's not ideal, but I feel its more than that. I rebuilt a 54 235 (new style) and it was the last year for slits in the valve cover. I have seen them welded shut and a vented (filtered) oil cap used. That's a good idea.

I think if you look into longevity statistics, this will prove out.. that the 216 didn't last as long as the new style 235 that in most cases replaced it. It costs less than $20 for the parts to replace your road draft tube with a PCV system. The 216 was a great engine, I have several myself, but to make them last longer, run cleaner, some things are really easy to do. That's my 2 cents. I am positive there will be others opinions coming.

Found the mesh only on TruckandCarShop.com for only $15. Since I have all the other parts, this is a pretty cheap way to get the original look for shows, etc. will probably drive it with a paper element in it just for better filtration. Thanks for all the help! Hope this helps someone out there that is looking for the mesh like I was.