1949 Merc engine external oil line diameter

[50mercman]

I'm installing a stock oil filter system on a 1949 Mercury engine (going in my 50 Ford F1 pickup). The original oil lines from the block to the filter canister to the block are long gone. I hit NAPA yesterday for fittings and such and the only size line that they had was 1/4". Is this sufficient in diameter. I know that the inlet side fitting is .040" and the internal canister ports are around the same diameter. Will 1/4" line allow sufficient volume of oil flow?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[51 MERC-CT]

!/4" is standard size to and from canister.

 

[50mercman]

Copy! Thank you, Sir.

Kurt

 

[JSeery]

The hole sizes should be .060, not .040.

 

[rotorwrench]

Drain back was slow when cold but faster when warmed completely up to operating temperature. The restriction on the inlet side is the most important aspect of the bypass flow system but the size of the tubing and fittings is limited by the size of the ports that were used. Fittings are harder to source for anything other than the OEM internal tube size. Not to say you couldn't adapt a smaller or larger line but it still would be restricted by the size of the OEM ports. Ford & Mercury stuff should be somewhat interchangeable here.

 

[tubman]

Drain back was slow when cold but faster when warmed completely up to operating temperature. The restriction on the inlet side is the most important aspect of the bypass flow system but the size of the tubing and fittings is limited by the size of the ports that were used. Fittings are harder to source for anything other than the OEM internal tube size. Not to say you couldn't adapt a smaller or larger line but it still would be restricted by the size of the OEM ports. Ford & Mercury stuff should be somewhat interchangeable here.

The operational word here is "somewhat". I am putting a '51 Merc engine in my '51 Ford and was surprised at the differences. The inlet to the canister was at a different position and the fittings were quite different. When I get some time, I'm going to post pictures of the canisters so one can see the differences. It will be another thing to check when trying to differentiate between a Ford engine and a Mercury.