The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Air Filter question for my 1953 3100

My 1953 3100 has a single barrel Rochester carburetor and an oil bath air filter. I’d like to go to a paper filter option. I can only find air filters with a 2 5/8 inch neck diameter. My carburetor is 2 1/4 inches in diameter. Does anyone have any good suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Thanks

Red3100 - 1st off, Welcome to Stovebolt! Your topic best fits in our Engine Shop, so it's been moved there for further conversation and help. Will catch up with you soon as I think I might have a suggestion.

PS - I sent you an email.

Are you talking about the entire air cleaner assembly, or the paper element itself?

This filter assembly was on my truck when I got it. It originally had an oil impregnated bronze or copper mesh filter element. IThe carburetor barrel is 2 1/4" outside diameter.

I found a closeout deal on these LuberFiner filters for $5 each. The NAPA ones are about $25 each.

Here are the paper ones that fit it.

NAPA Gold 2375 or 2373
Baldwin PA678
Hastings AF54
Carquest CA77
LuberFiner AF213
Fleetguard AF843

Since he talks about the carb diameter, he must be having issues with the filter housing fitment to the carb. When I get home, I will look at my setup which is paper related.

Red3100 - If it might interest you, perhaps you could look at this Stovebolt Legacy Tech Tip on converting an oil bath air filter??? You could still use the oil bath filter housing that fits your carb and looks stock, and do away with the oil bath portion. If you search through the Engine Shop forum, you can find other variations on this conversion theme that may work better for you.

www.ClassicParts.com

They list an air cleaner assembly similar to the one I pictured above for $90 (part # 86-603). Stupidly they don't list the diameter of the mounting area, only that it fits Carter YF carburetors from 1937 - 1959. My truck is a 1950 so it should be the same size - 2 1/4", which is the same as your Rochester.

They want $15 plus shipping for replacement elements.

Use a small spool of PVC plastic drain pipe to make a spacer between the filter housing and the carburetor air horn. If the diameter isn't quite right, the PVC plastic can be shaped easily with a drum sander in a hand drill motor or a drill press. There's no need to reinvent the wheel because of a minor diameter difference.
Jerry

Agree with Jerry, but you should be able to find a 2-1/4” filter assembly.

Here’s mine which is 2-1/4”. And don't ask why my fuel line is soooo bent. Next project......

What happened to the leaking gas stains on your carb Craig?

I bought an air filter designed for a 4 barrel carb. To fit it to the much smaller Rochester, I sacrificed a spare headlight bucket to make a spacer/adapter. Of course, I needed a longer stud to attach the air cleaner to the carb.

Obviously, this won't work if you need the clamp on style air cleaner.

If you have a John Deee around you , check out one of these grass deflectors used on the bigger mowers,
https://www.greenpartstore.com/john-deere-deflector-m163053.html

They fit small carb openings when you cut the top off, I had a couple on my truck for a while, painted gold to match the old Moroso Racing velocity stacks from the 80's. They are pretty heavy duty and will take welding and cutting pretty easy.

huh?

Sorry Craig. Was just a backhanded compliment to your nice clean Rochester which are usually stained with gas leaking from the warped joint between the carb's body and the air horn.

That picture was taken prior to use, just after installation.

It's all good Bill. Pic from yesterday. Carb rebuilt 2 years (2,800 miles) ago. Still trying to find Red3100 a air cleaner assembly like Otto's and mine.

Here it is:

https://classicparts.com/1941-59-original-style-air-cleaner-assy-6-cyl

That filter would probably work on my 46 but with any oil/air filter swap do u need to make any changes to the carb settings?

No, as long as the carb is getting enough air. If it doesn't, your engine will run rich. My truck, with the filter pictured, gets around 12-13 mpg which is what others get with the stock mesh filter.

Yup! I'm averaging 14 mpg with the filter shown above and a light load.

Great, thanks. I’m not necessarily good with carb adjustments

I may be reopening a can of worms here but my reaction to the paper element conversion issue is: "Why bother." It can be a lot of work or at least head scratching looking for a solution for little benefit. Consider that the expensive cars (think Cadillac) were the last to adopt paper elements. And medium and heavy-duty trucks still had oil-bath cleaners into the seventies. IMHO the major issue with oil-bath air cleaners is maintenance costs. It's far less time consuming to swap out a paper filter than clean an oil bath. For the amount of driving most of these trucks get a minor improvement in air quality just isn't an issue.