I always wondered why the full flow conversion was so popular. Well I am now working on a non GM motor from 1957, which has a full flow filter from the factory. It peobably has 100 K miles on it and the bearings are worn and showing a lot of clearance. However the surfaces are just about perfect looking, including the crankshaft. Now on the 216s that I have redone and driven, the bearings never looked that good after some use. So I think having a full flow filter is a huge advantage. If I ever rebuild a 235 or a 261, I will for sure include the full flow modification.
I think the condition of the engine can be attributed more to the care it received during its lifetime rather than the fact that it has a full flow filter. Regular oil changes at 3000 miles do more good than the filter.
An article I read in Auto Restorer magazine some years back points out that a full flow filter filters about 92% of the oil compared to a canister type filter which filters about 87% of the oil. That difference isn't going to make or brake the longevity of an engine.
I've also seen the inside of engines from 1930s cars which had no oil filter of any kind. Some of them look brand new.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Any "filter" that allows enough oil to pass through it to lubricate an engine properly at highway speed isn't doing much "filtering". Like Carter used to say about some of their competitors' strainer screens in a carburetor inlet- - - -"They're for rocks, marbles, and bowling balls!" Ideally, an engine should have a full flow filter to strain out the big chunks that can damage bearings, and a bypass filter that slowly removes particles down to about 1 micron and dumps the oil back into the crankcase. That "fine" filter won't be able to flow enough oil volume to keep the engine lubed properly. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
When I had mine apart rebuilding it, I knew I was going to be using an electric fuel pump so I just ran the oil filter plumbing over and out the hole where the mechanical pump used to be (right through a block-off plate). I used fittings so it could all be disassembled if need be.
~ Jon 1952 1/2 ton with 1959 235 | T5 with 3.07 rear end
I'm thinking that a spin-on Diesel fuel filter would be a good option for a bypass, as a backup to a full flow. Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
