The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop How I mounted my oil filter (full flow 235 mod)

Just wanted to share this in case anyone else is interested. Start HERE and click the NEXT button a few times for a complete look including the part numbers of the parts I bought at NAPA. I think it worked out well.

If you want to see a larger picture click LARGE next to OTHER SIZES under the description.

This block was originally set up with side front mounts so I'm not sure if this is applicable to blocks with front mount only.

Hey Woody. I like your bracket. What size lines are you going to use? Do they have to be any special size - so they don't reduce your oil pressure in the engine?

I haven't gotten that far yet but whatever size lines go on a 3/8 pipe thread. There's a how-to in the tech tips section for the mod and I'm just following that.

Full flow should be large.

That makes sense... all of the oil entering the engine must pass through these hoses and filter. Any restriction in this area will reduce the volume of oil regardless of the pressure. Since pressure is measured at a point in the engine rather than before the filter it would appear that any restriction to increase pressure in front of the filter would actually lower pressure and volume in the engine.

Do you think this will cause some discussion?

i am going to do the same thing with my oil filter. i love the way yours turned out. i hope from the picture i can get a bracket built or do you have a timplet? I have a 51 also with the side mounts this will work perfect.

Unfortunately I didn't make a template and the sketch would up in the trash. The only hard part is figuring out the angle where the part that holds the filter welds to the part that's bolted to the block. I did this with a level, cut a piece of cardboard and laid the level on the top and kept trimming the angle until it was level.

I used a piece of paper over the holes in the block and pressed into the holes and used the indentations to get the hole locations.

Hope that helps.

I like it. But am not sure of line diameter and pressure changes within the original set-up. It appears that during this period no filter was designed. I believe if the oil is changed every 2,000 miles there is no need for the filter except for cosmetic looks or providing a cool factor.

I'd like to see a larger thread into the main gallery, but it doesn't look safe (see Doc's articles).
3/8-18 NPT is up to .545" ID, which is pretty close to the actual passage ID, so it's not that bad.
However, rather than a small ID hose fitting as generally used (which restricts flow in the fitting), 3/8-18 to 1/2" ID hose fittings are available.
Don't use any actual pipe fittings to make 45 or 90° bends, the angle inside the fitting is very restrictive, use high quality Russell, Earl's, etc. stuff with formed steel tubes. If you enjoy fabrication, you can bend steel lines to work around the mount, follow the block etc. neatly, then solder the ends to accept a male NPT fitting and attach with a swivel, union etc. They should attach to the block with Adel clamps to protect against vibration fracture. Braided steel line is very attractive, but complete overkill due to the low pressure.
The filter base is typically a casting with fairly rough interior surfaces and sharp edges, casting flash, etc., which can be ported and all passages and intersects radiused.
The oil pump's pressure relief valve will still control the system pressure. A big line can't reduce it, because it goes back to the same main gallery. A small line will reduce the pressure after the filter.

Could you please provide a link to Doc's articles?

I'm not aware of any controversy surrounding this conversion and it's been around forever. I personally know two people who have done it and have had no adverse effects after thousands of highway miles.

But I'm willing to listen to what anyone has to say.

My father bought a new '58 Chevy Yeoman wagon with two options, an oil filter and a radio. I believe the deal was to change oil every 500 miles.

However, his car came with a warranty so in the unlikely event that the engine screwed up from something left inside during the manufacturing process it would have been fixed free.

The only insurance I have is the reputation of my builder and a filter that will catch every speck before it goes into my engine.

There's nothing at all wrong with running a full flow filter to catch the big chunks, but keep the bypass filter on it as well to strain out the smaller contaminants. If you follow the example of the commercial engine manufacturers such as Cummins or Detroit, they have both types of filters installed. The filter media of a full flow type must be fairly open-weave, to allow enough volume to get through to supply all the engine's demand for lubrication. The only way to do that is to do a mediocre job of filtering the oil.

If a very close-weave element like a Frantz toilet paper filter is installed in tandem with the full flow, it will clean up the oil a lot more effectively, while the full flow protects the bearings from grains of sand, horseshoes, and small boulders!
Jerry

I did considerable research on this mod and filtering in general and wondered why I can find no evidence of a seized engine due to a plugged filter and that some have gone their entire life without the filter ever being changed. Is it not true that at cold startup, high RPM, or any other condition where the pressure differential is more than 15 lbs. (plus or minus depending on manufacturer) none of the oil is filtered?

There is a bypass valve built into a full flow filter housing that allows oil to route itself around the filter element in case the media gets severely clogged. The pressure differential is usually 5 pounds or less, so as long as the filter media is fairly free-flowing, most of the oil gets filtered even when the viscosity is high. Most full-flow filter elements have very thin pleated media with lots of area for the oil to flow through, so it must necessarily do a pretty poor job of filtering small particles out of the oil.

The manufacturers try to strain out anything like a metal fragment that could become wedged between a bearing and a crankshaft, for instance. Soot and small dirt particles that do not present a danger to moving parts just don't get removed from the oil flow. The detergent/dispersants in detergent oil grab these contaminants and hold them in suspension until they can be drained out during an oil change.
Jerry

I wasn't sure on the oil filters and filtering a low percentage of the oil.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Sorry if I offended anyone

Is that one the 2-quart filter that hangs down even with the bottom of the oil pan? I used those filters on the dirt track 327's and 350's we ran in California about 30 years ago.
Jerry