External oil filter on a '36 engine?

sjaakslinger

Senior Member
Anyone ever installed an external oil filter on an engine which didn't have one originally?

Any ideas/tips? I thought about using the top hole next to the oil sensor, which normally holds the bolt for the battery cable.

Dennis

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Yeah,I know, it's about installing one on a 36 engine that originally didn't have an oil filter at all.

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I don's like that external oil filters block the view of that handsome flathead. They are just plain ugly. Modern engine oil is much better than in the 40's, and relatively cheap. I am no expert but have no qualms about going 2,000 miles with no filter. Except that I change oil once a year, regardless, and have never exceeded 2,000 miles in one year on my '41 coupe. In my case, the esthetics outweigh the economics.



But if you plan to put a ton of miles on your '36, the filter might give you a few more years before needing an overhaul.
 
I have one on my engine. It is a French block if that matters. The pic shows the plumbing arrangement. I have a 1 1/4" face mechanical oil gauge in my glove box. The filter mount is a stock Ford piece with an additional tab welded on to accommodate the B-hive filter. This 8BA style filter mount prolly won't work for a stock 36 motor. It bolts to tapped holes in the head. I soldered up the filter inlet fitting and drilled it to the recommended restrictor size to avoid the hunt for another obscure piece of plumbing.
 

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I don's like that external oil filters block the view of that handsome flathead. They are just plain ugly. Modern engine oil is much better than in the 40's, and relatively cheap. I am no expert but have no qualms about going 2,000 miles with no filter. Except that I change oil once a year, regardless, and have never exceeded 2,000 miles in one year on my '41 coupe. In my case, the esthetics outweigh the economics.



But if you plan to put a ton of miles on your '36, the filter might give you a few more years before needing an overhaul.
Yeah, I actually prefer the stock look without the oil filter. It was asked by the engine rebuilder, so I figured we'd give it some thought. If we would install one, maybe we'd mount it on the firewall. We won't be driving the car a lot.

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I have one on my engine. It is a French block if that matters. The pic shows the plumbing arrangement. I have a 1 1/4" face mechanical oil gauge in my glove box. The filter mount is a stock Ford piece with an additional tab welded on to accommodate the B-hive filter. This 8BA style filter mount prolly won't work for a stock 36 motor. It bolts to tapped holes in the head. I soldered up the filter inlet fitting and drilled it to the recommended restrictor size to avoid the hunt for another obscure piece of plumbing.
That actually looks pretty nice, that type of filter.[emoji106] Thanks for the pictures and info!

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Some people run no filters but if I was rebuilding a motor, I'd add one.


See page #2 of the techno link in my signature


553577



I don't know what the back left side of your block looks like, but on my 59AB I went with the 95% modification.


553579
 
I like the original ford bypass filters, they work good. I also mounted mine on the firewall so its not using the head bolts. I cut the mount off a ford can, then used the bracket from some after market can from the era, and that mounts to a base on the firewall. I hate drilling extra holes in old cars, but I drilled them on top the stamped ribs in the firewall so it would be easy to fill in with weld if it was to be eliminated. My 34 jalopy with 59a motor...
 

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It is more important to run a filter with modern oil than it was years ago with the old motor oil. Today’s detergent oil keeps impurities in suspension, while non detergent settled out impurities into sludge, not needing filtering. The type of filter used is not as important a question as using one or not using one, but also, the best setup would be to install both full filter and bypass filter to get the best features of both. If you don’t want to use a filter at all, you might consider using non detergent so you don’t recirculate dirty oil.
 
If you decide to add an oil filter, you may want to figure out what percentage of the oil flow is actually filtered. The original Ford accessory oil filter design was only filtering a certain percentage of the total oil flow. Not sure if this matters, but check out how the system works since a filter system on a 1936 block is not automatically liek the modern engine full-flow oil filter.
 
I installed a remote oil filter to my 1937 Ford V8 engine while I had it dis- assembled. My background was as an aircraft mechanic so a good oil filter system is important to me. I used the information in Ron Holleran’s book Nostalgia and other on line sources. If you need help with hardware that I used PM me.
 

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I put one on my 34 with a 36 engine. Just brazed a fitting on the oil pan for the return. It is in the same area as the 46-8 return fitting.
 
You might want to consider installing a Baldwin B50 bypass filter. It has a finer filter media than regular oil filters and has a 1/16 inch orifice to restrict the flow. They make a filter mount with the correct size 5/8" threads for this filter that you can mount on the firewall. You will need a fitting on the oil pan for the return line. I have this on my 8BA and it keeps the oil very clean. I believe Baldwin has distributors in Europe. Just Google their website for details.
 
While it's good that alternatives are available, that Baldwin filter has specifications that sound a lot like a stock Ford filter. I guess a lot would depend on the availability and cost of the filter elements. One thing about the Ford filters is that I've never had a problem sourcing the elements. I believe this is because the same element is used on a variety of agricultural and industrial equipment. Perhaps the Baldwin unit has a choice of particle size to be filtered, which would be nice. I think the easiest retrofit would be a stock Ford bypass system or aftermarket replacement.
 
I have one on my engine. It is a French block if that matters. The pic shows the plumbing arrangement. I have a 1 1/4" face mechanical oil gauge in my glove box. The filter mount is a stock Ford piece with an additional tab welded on to accommodate the B-hive filter. This 8BA style filter mount prolly won't work for a stock 36 motor. It bolts to tapped holes in the head. I soldered up the filter inlet fitting and drilled it to the recommended restrictor size to avoid the hunt for another obscure piece of plumbing.

John: Are those oil lines made of plastic tubing? The heat in the engine compartment might eventually cause them to become brittle and crack.
Switch to metal tubing, if possible.
 
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