Remote Oil Filter to Cadillac Flathead

what you need is a restricted spin on oil filter,napa has them.
i just bought one for my cat forklift with a red seal engine..
then you will be in good shape..

 

Fiftyv8, I have a 37 cadillac and what I did with the oil filter is I cut open the old filter trashed the innerds and machined a filter head that would fit inside the old filter. Made the filter head fit the base of a moderen oil filter- slipped old filter body on. Now it looks like an old filter but inside it is a new filter that can be replaced.

My thoughts on this is that the oil that goes through the filter is just the oil that goes to the lifters, after that it drains back to sump. so a filter that can handle full flow to a whole engine must be able to handle the oil flow just to the lifters. And it is strong enough to hold the pressure that your 346 would have. --What you are worried about is a full flow vs bypass filter system. In your 346 the filter would be used in a full flow appaication and the new type filter is a full flow filter.

My car has been on the road for more than 15 years now, no problems. I also made this mod for some others in our Cadillac club with no problem
Hope this helps,
Tom

 

Fiftyv8, You will have only two points to connect your filter, 1st main oil gallery to filter, from filter to the port in the lifter gallery that feeds the hyd. lifters. The factory used the main gallery in the left front side of the block.

 

Hi Tom, nice comments, sounds like you really know your stuff.
Do you have any pic's just so I am 100% sure of your method.
My original plan was to run a pressure line to my filter from the front lower oil gallery below the gas pump and an return line into the timing chain cover as I had seen on the engine above and also in tech articles.

I am lost by your comment about the lifter gallery port although it is more the name, I could be talking about the same point???

 

NO! do not run the outlet from the oil filter to a return to sump! This will dump your oil pressure. The outlet of the oil filter will go to supply your hyd. lifters with oil. This is the steel line that goes up to the lifter galley under the intake. At work now, when I get home I can get back with more detail
Tom

 

Thanks Tom, I okk forward to your next reply. Russ.

 

fiftyv8, Ok now I have some time, First, there two types of remote oil filters. The first type is a BYPASS type filter this is the type we see on most old engines, what it does is it taps into the main oil galley and has a resrictor type fitting in that connection or the filter element offers the resistance (this is to maintain oil pressure) now this oil goes through the filter and then drains back to sump. Take note that not all of your oil that comes out of the pump will go through the filter, just the oil that does not leak past the bearings etc...

The second type of system would be the full flow type, in this system ALL the oil that comes from the oil pump will go through the filter (execpt the oil that gets bypassed through the oil bypass valve in the filter head/base) the oil that comes out of the filter then goes to the main oil galley, to the bearings etc.. then drains back to sump.

Now on your Cadillac motor, you have some of them new fangled hyd. lifters. and becouse Cadillac thought it best to have clean oil at the lifters, they installed a filter. At least on the Cadillac motors, on the LaSalle motors (they are the same but only322cid) I don't think they installed them at the factory, some have them some not. Dealer installed? Option? not sure. If you do not have a filter you will have a steel line going up by the fuel pump an then going under the intake then into the block. This oil line carries the oil to the lifters. The factory oil filter will go before this line.
Your filter that you posted uses a full flow spin on element looks like a standard Ford filter for a 302/351/6cyl. Funny thing is that I used a Ford filter in my adapters also, but the one I used was for a 4.6L just becouse it would fit inside the old housing. As you need full flow (no restriction to flow) oil to the lifters this filter WILL work. Just plumb it so the unfiltered oil from the main oil galley goes to the outside port of the filter. And connect the port that connects to the center of the oil filter to the line that goes to the lifters. This is the filtered oil. I will go out to the garage and check where mine is connected to the main oil gallery and get back to you with what all the ports are in youe photos.
Also send me your serial number on your block and I will tell what car it came from. Did you knoe that they used that motor in tanks made for WWII?
Tom

 

Russ, just got back from looking at my car, The factory connected into main oil galley on the left side(drivers side) of the block right behind your #3 I think I can see this port in your photo it has a plug in it. Your #3 is the main oil galley end plug, mine is pluged. you can see the hump running down the side of the block, this the main oil galley, see your #7-this is also mail oil galley, mine is pluged. Your #2 may be antifreeze drain, you could remove this and put some water in motor and see if it comes out here. I don't have your #1, don't know what year you motor is, must be a change. Your #4 looks like antifreeze drain other side of block. #6 is the oil port at the rear camshaft bearing this was used for the oil pressure guage. #5 is that the rear of the cylinder head? Looks like antifreeze, some of these motors would run hot and if you would run a hose to carry water from one side of block to other this would help, this may be left over from this or it could be a heater connection. Have you found the oil line going to the lifters? it goes up by the fuel pump under the intake then turns into down into the block. Right into the top of the block between the cylinder banks. dead center right to left. Now if your motor is alot newer than mine they may have changed where this port is, but rest assured that you must get oil to the lifters. let me k now your motor serial number.
Tom

 

Thanks Tom, I await your response.
I have a 137, 1938 & a 1941 engine.
I am using the 1938 and have checked the numbers on it and they dont line up with any car stuff and the 1941 had tank exhaust manifolds on it, that is the one in the pic's earlier on this thread. The 1937 engine I have not checked, but it came out of a 1937/38 Lasalle from the west coast. I should take a look before you get back to me if possible.

I got to say pic's or a diagram will go a long way to helping be 1005 sure and also other who may read this in the future.

 

Russ, send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will send you a photo. I would post it but don't know how
Tom

 

Russ, I wonder if the tank motors had solid lifters? but even if they did, they would still need oil feed around the lifter bore so they would have the oil line.

 

Tom, I have never looked inside that valley yet, I have a problem pulling stuff apart as it never seems to go back together for a long time if ever.
I got to stop doing it or else I misplace stuff and once apart it seems to take up more space.
But damn it now, you got me thinking!
Yes you are right they will still need oil so lets leave it at that for now.

 

Here is the oil line that Tom was describing



And to add to the confusion you can see I do not have a boss for an oil line on my timing cover either, mine is a 1947



Russ can you post any pics or diagrams Tom sends you (with his permission of course)

 

No problems about posting any stuff I have, since that is what this is all about - getting the info out there.

I am glad we have a few quality Threads running that should be of HAMB historical value as time goes on.

 

Just been going back over old Cadillac flathead threads in search of this very thread.

I have reached a point in my adhoc engine build to a point where I do really need to be satisfied what I am doing is correct oil lines wise.

Since I've only had one complete engine that had pic's posted previously on here but confused the heck out of some of us, me included, however as time has passed I have discovered the following;


1. I have an original oil line that runs from the center of the valley to an entry oil into the block about half way down the drivers side.
On closer inspection it has the usual 90 degree brass fitting at the valley end, but at the block end I noted a cone shaped brass end fitted to the line with a very small hole drilled in it.
So if this right then it is not just a line screwed into the block but it has a restricted flow...
The 1st & 2nd attached pic's show the cone shaped end.
The 3rd & 4th pic's show where this was located on the engine I removed it from and that on my built block I have a fitting in the main oil line that needs to be removed to accommodate it...

2. From earlier in this thread we have already determined that a lot of these engines did not have any form of canister filtering of the oil system.
We also determined that the engines that did have filtering ran a return line from the canister (not sure which point in the canister) down to the side of the timing cover where filtered oil obviously lubricated the timing chain and flowed back down into the oil pan.
The 5th & 6th pic's show where I have drilled my timing cover to receive the filtered oil returning from the canister and what the canister looks like.
It seems smaller than those I've seen on flathead Ford engines.

3. I dont recall receiving any info from 46international but that could be because I may have missed that post and not forwarded my email address, it sure has been a few years since this thread was discussed.
Knowing what I know now, anybody can email each other without needing their email address as it is drop down when contacting another HAMBER.

 

I guess what I need to know now is where to I pull the pressure line from that runs to my canister.

 

Bump...

 

Just added a oil return line to my timing cover and think I have the rest figured out now...

 

Russ, you got a lot of great answers on here, but I believe the bect/correct ones are above.

You know how many blocks I have-and how much time we've spent looking at them! Tapping into the main galley, on everyone I've ever seen, will only filter part of the oil, not all of it. Some will go to the cam, some to the lifters, etc., back to the pan, and not be filtered.

I'd take the extra time, and set it up as described above-IMHO, it will be worth it!

 

Thanks, yes I am following up on all the info.

 

I've compiled a Cadillac flathead 346 remote canister document from info provided to via my Cadillac restorer friends.
I believe it may assist those like myself who are looking for specific details about these old engines and have difficulty sourcing good info.

I have had no success trying to post it so should anybody think that they may like a copy please email me (not PM) and I will send you a copy by replying to your email.

Once received if anybody would know how to resize it and post it in this thread it would be even better for all of us.

 

Thanks for all the info Russ! Here you go.

Part 1:

Cadillac 346 - Oil Filter Canister & Lines Info.
I'm just about done with the overhaul of my "spare" 346 Flathead, which will replace the original in my 1940 60 Special. The "new" engine is a 1947 variant.

As I was fabricating a new external oil line for the hydraulic lifter feed, I noted that the oil line fitting at the block has a restrictor, with a very tiny hole in it for oil passage, which is about the diameter of a pencil lead, as pictured on the left below. However, the fitting from my original '40 engine does NOT have this restriction and just uses a standard fitting which allows for a full flow through the 1/4" line (shown on the right in the picture). These lines are connected at different places on the block for each respective engine. The earlier engine connects near the front of the block, while the later connects about midway along the same (driver) side, although it looks as though both ports come from the same internal oil gallery.

Now I'm wondering if I should install that restrictor in the new line (which is going to make my line too short, since it doesn't incorporate a 90 degree Elbow), or just go with the full flow as from my earlier engine.

Secondly, and even more important, while switching over the fittings for the external oil filter from the original engine (it appears the later engine did not have an oil filter), I managed to over-torque the banjo bolt on the filter return line, which goes into the lowest bolt hole in the timing chain cover.. The threads failed. That banjo bolt also has just two tiny, pencil-lead sized holes to allow flow from the discharge line of the filter. It makes you realize just how little oil goes through that filter during operation. And, I assume that the very small holes provide a necessary restriction so that too much oil flow (and pressure) doesn't bypass the critical engine journals, flowing only through the filter (banjo fitting pictured below).


Keep in mind that the engine was not designed to have a bypass type oil filter, as was a popular aftermarket accessory for these engines. If there were unrestricted fittings in the oil filter system, it would bypass too much oil flow around the normal oil feed to the engine. Likewise, while the feed to the lifters was sufficiently restricted in the prewar engines, they were able to restrict the feed to the lifters in the later models.

While the new design lifters (AC) are interchangeable with the early lifters (Wilcox-Rich), it could be that Cadillac felt that less oil flow was sufficient for the lifter feed. I don't know where you'd ever confirm any of this today.





Incidentally, Cadillac did experiment with a full flow filter at one point. I have one on one of my '41 cars. It was a prototype, and a proving ground test block. The VIN number on the block is something like EXP-47-1. It never went to production, and that block is now in one of my '41's.
Leave that restrictor out and assemble as stock '41. Call Bruce Berghoff for the banjo set up for your external filter.
I have a 37 engine with the original canister type oil filter which mounts onto a bracket bolted to the left side of the timing cover, below the fuel pump. This filter is plumbed up using 1/4" tubing. The filter oil supply line runs from a fitting in the oil gallery at the front of the block to the inlet fitting on the filter. The filter discharge line runs from the outlet fitting on the filter canister to the lifter oil supply fitting located on the block underneath the intake manifold. There are no restrictions in any of these fittings. Apparently, the lifters offer sufficient restriction to oil flow that nothing else in the engine is starved for oil.
That seems like a smart approach. At least that way the lifters are insured of filtered oil! Unfortunately, I've had to relocate my filter to the inner fender because of the A/C compressor mounting at the head, and then using flexible hose for the oil lines. At this point, I'm just going to stick with that setup, but I certainly see the merit in plumbing it that way.

Instead of mounting the filter on the fender panel another option would be to mount it where Cadillac mounted the 37 filters. That would allow you to keep in on the engine and still be out of the way of the A/C compressor. I did that on a 38 engine and used a spin-on filter hidden in a fake filter canister. This allows access to the filter from underneath and saves the mess of dealing with those paper cartridges. I could round up a couple of pictures if you are interested.
I have that set up on my '37 that uses a Fram PH 2 (maybe 3 can't remember). I'd like to see a picture of yours. The spin on that I am using does not extend below the canister and is hard to change without removing the whole unit.
For what it's worth, "The Cadillac Service Man" for June 1941 (Vol. XV, No. 6) has on page 28, third column, a discussion of how to install an oil filter on any 1936 through 1941 V-8 engine. The relevant text is as follows:

"All of these engines have an oil header drilled in the left-hand side of the cylinder block and crankcase casting, with clean-out plugs along the side of the block. The feed pipe to the filter can be taken off one of these 1/8 inch clean-out pipe plugs, or it can be taken off the valve silencer feed pipe at the block by installing a tee fitting at this point.

In order that the oil supply to the filter is metered properly, the fitting that replaces the pipe plug should first be filled with solder and then drilled out with a 1/16-inch drill.

The filter return pipe can be connected by installing a hollow bolt and sleeve in the front cover. This bolt should be installed in the second hole from the bottom on the left-hand side.

The mounting of the filter will vary according to the series of the engine and the other accessories installed, but the filter must be mounted on the engine. Mounting it on the dash would cause flexing in the connecting pipes and might easily result in fatigue and failure. [Presumably the same considerations apply to mounting it on the fender -CWC]

The connecting pipes should be made as short as possible and should be looped to minimize fatigue due to vibration. If pipes of any length must be used, they should be clipped to the engine. Fittings should be either S.A.E. flared tube or Weather head inverted flared tube type."


That's very informative Chris, if I read this right it would seem Cadillac advocated taking a feed for the filter from the supply to the valve lifters but returning it back into the timing cover, not on to the lifters, this would explain the reducer fitting that Phil had, thus making sure that the lifters were not starved by the filter.
This explains a lot as I have found these reducers on two different engines, one without a filter and one with a filter but the filtered supply went from the gallery feed through the filter and on to the lifters. I'm glad I removed this filter as in this case the reducer would have been a big problem, someone in the past had obviously re routed the return away from the timing cover and on to the lifters without removing the reducer, in effect, starving the lifters.
Personally unless you have a full flow filter like Doug has I wouldn't use these by pass filters, I have just finished working on a pre war Buick engine for a friend who had fitted one and couldn't understand why his rebuild engine was so noisy when hot, his filter was a new old stock sealed canister type and was restricting his oil flow to the rockers by a staggering 75%, it was supposed to have 2 pints of oil per minute but was only getting 1/2 pint with the filter connected, bad filter maybe, but when they get clogged up you have no supply to the lifters, I prefer changing the oil regularly.

Below are pictures of the filter housing compared to an original 37 filter canister and of the unit installed on the engine. The spin-on filter does not extend below the housing but there is enough clearance around the outside to accept a filter wrench. I have had no trouble changing the filter and there is plenty of room under the car to get at it.
The spin-on filter has a built in bypass if it becomes plugged so I think the lifters would be ok in any case.







When you add an oil filter to a 346 flathead (1941), do you use an additional quart of oil (making it 8 quarts) for fill up? Is this addressed in any shop manual anywhere?
With the added oil filter the capacity will be eight quarts when the crankcase and filter are changed. The filter soaks up about a quart of oil. I doubt you will find this in any manual because Cadillac did not offer the filter.

When the oil pan is drained on a 41 Cadillac and refilled with seven quarts of oil, the dipstick will show almost one quart over full. If a 1942-48 style fill tube and dipstick is used in the same engine, it will show very slightly over the full mark. I just recently verified this on my 41. It appears the 41 fill tube as built by Cadillac goes about 3/8 too far into the engine, which could be corrected by removing, repositioning, and re-brazing the bracket that holds the tube to the block.
I'm looking for an oil filter conversion for my 41 coupe. I would think that anything for a 41-48 would work. Most of these seem to bolt to the head (I don't want to use a U clamp on my exhaust manifold) and the think the bolt pattern is different after 48.
I got most of my information from Bruce Berghoff.
He sells complete systems.
In my case, I got a canister housing from a junked car and cleaned, blasted, and painted it and made a bracket. Bruce provided the fittings, one of which is a special banjo type.
It's not a perfect solution, but it does help as, at the very least, it adds to the volume of oil and gives a place for sediments to collect and filter.
I've also heard that there's a way to put a screw on type filter on flathead, but I've not actually seen one of those for sale.
I've attached a picture. Decals for the canister are available.
Colors vary. Most are engine green, black, red, or orange bodied with black lids.
I've seen yellow too. Restored canisters can be purchased on e-bay for around $60 to $70.



Does anyone out there have a remote oil filter installed on their flathead? I've just gotten one and made a bracket which I will install on the first two (lower front) head bolts as I've seen done, but I'm not sure of the best place to install the feed and return lines. There are two plugs on the side of the block near the oil filler tube and one in the front of the block on the driver's side. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I have installed a remote filter on my '48.

My car had the valve train oil line at the very front and an plug in the center of the oil channel.
I ended up moving the valve train line to the center and using the front to deliver oil to the remote unit. I felt that it was safer to feed the valve from a point closes to the oil pump....but in theory it doesn't matter as oil pressure should be equal
at all points. None the less I used the center fitting for the valves, and the front fitting for the remote filter.


As far as the oil return line it is typical to feed it back at the timing chain cover. I believe that there is a special banjo style bolt with a built in fitting that is used in place of one of the timing cover bolts. This will allow you to hook the oil return without any modifications.

In my case I could not locate such a bolt. I drilled a hole and installed a fitting at the left side of the timing cover where I hooked up the return line. I chose the middle to avoid getting too much oil splattering on the chain, but still have some for extra lubrication.
I assume the oil pan line you're speaking about is the one that goes from the front lower left block up to the middle of the upper block between the two valve covers (under the intake manifold). Mine has a brass elbow there (front lower block) and right beside it is a slot headed plug. I would think that I could put a line into that plug or put a tee in the current feed line where there is now an elbow. I think that line would go to the INLET side of the remote oil filter housing. Then I'd need a line for return. What about those two plugs down low on the driver's side of the block near the freeze plugs? I'm not seeing an option up front around the timing chain cover. I've also heard about a location near the oil pan, but I don't see that. Could be that 48 and 41 has some differences.
Yes, your set up was exactly like mine, with an elbow at the left front of the block beside the very large slotted head plug.
I don't see why you could not "T" of this front fitting and feed off to the remote filter.

Since I had the engine out of the car, it was real easy for me to relocate this elbow to the center side of the left block where it was closer to the oil pump. And then I used the front fitting to feed the remote filter. However I see no reason why you could not T into the front fitting to make life a lot easier.

You CANNOT use the two plugs you mentioned as return oil lines because they feed directly into the main oil channel and such they too are under the same pressure as the plug you are going to use to feed the remote filter. That would mean you will have no circulation to the filter and it will serve no purpose.
The oil return MUST be under lower pressure than the feed. Ideally the timing cover as oil will run out down the inside of the timing chain cover and into the oil pan. I've never seen one feed directly into the oil pan....but I guess it is possible.

I would be very hesitant going to the oil pan directly. As you cannot be certain where the exact oil level is. And your return inlet should be above the oil level to work properly.

Maybe you can solicit some of the folks on the list to find the timing cover banjo bolt for the oil return. It is by far the easiest approach. There are few out there...I was just not lucky enough to find one at the time I did mine and I had to drill into the timing chain cover and install a fitting.
Ok, since I have that one line at the front of the engine and its original and since my filter housing INLET line is turned towards the firewall, I'll just remove one of those plugs down on the lower left block near the oil filler tube and use that for the pressure fitting (3/16th's?) and then I'll see about finding a banjo bolt for the timing chain cover. If that doesn't work out I'd appreciate it if you could tell me about where you tapped in to the timing chain cover.
I will install mine on the inside of the fender.
I had one that was installed on the block many years ago and I decided to remove it for cosmetic reasons and install one on the inner fender. In the process head bolts broke when removing the original filter and I ended up rebuilding the engine. I don’t know if your engine is fresh or older but it is apparently problematic with the 346 to break head bolts as they are long enough to extend into the water jacket and they rust and then break during removal. Most of mine broke while preparing for the rebuild which is occurring now. If you get the bolts out I would consider coating the ends with something to prevent the rust issue in the future. I am trying to figure out now what to use for that?
As I said, my engine had been rebuilt and the head bolts came out nicely, but I was definitely being careful. I've cleaned them up in my bead blaster (wire wheel will do fine) and next I'll coat them with some POR 15 and then some anti seize before I run them back through. Please let me know if you find those instructions for routing the oil lines on that remote filter.
Here are some pics which will show you where I installed the return fitting etc.





Looks like you're running pressure to the valley pan from that port down by the freeze plug. I can also see that you're running pressure to the filter from that lower front left position, but I still can see where the return (non- pressure) line is going. I think you said you tapped into your timing chain cover.



I'll tap into that spot unless I can come up with a 5/16th's banjo bolt...actually the bolt is less of a problem than the line I'd imagine. I'm using hard lines on the other connections. I checked and the lowest corner bolt hole on the timing chain cover (driver's side) goes all the way through to the pan.
I just heard from Bruce Berghoff up in Michigan. He has a special banjo type bolt that he makes on his lathe. It's basically a hollowed out 5/16ths bolt with a big square head that is tapped on one side to accept 1/8 NPT. He also has the neoprene lines. I'm going to get that bolt and one line and some decals from him. I'll use hard 1/4" hard line for the INPUT and will take that from that port that is low on the block near a freeze plug (slotted head not the square head one that's closer to the firewall). I have my bracket made. You obviously had the right idea on the approach using a banjo bolt.
I have seen a fair amount of variation of where the oil is picked up and returned.

I have seen systems where the oil is picked up at the center of the oil channel (left side of the block). I have seen ones that use a fitting which takes it off the end (very front) of the oil channel. I have seen ones that use the fitting next to the end of the oil channel.
In terms of return line....again lots of variation. The most common method is a special "banjo" fitting used in place of one of the timing cover bolts. I have seen the banjo fitting....but IMHO, very difficult to get.
I have seen return lines that used a fitting that drilled into the side of the timing cover, dumping the oil over the chain.

In my '48 I opted to use to the fitting at the end of the channel because I felt the middle fitting would be more appropriately used for oil to the lifters.
I used the drilled hole and fitting in the timing cover simply because I had no "banjo" fitting and felt that the return oil could better lubricate the timing chain.

As for the lengths....it would depend very much on where your fittings are....I had mine made to specific length I needed.



The oil filter canister, most (if not all) these oil filter systems were dealer installed.
The canister itself was NOT exclusive to Cadillac and as such these same canisters were used on any GM that the customer requested an oil filter on. In fact, I'm not even certain they were restricted to GM.

Now to answer your question, I just matched the colors that were on the old units to the engine enamel that was available at my local auto parts store...As it turns out, both colors matched very close to Chevrolet engine colors.
I've used a restored Fram system of the 40's that picks up at the front of the engine and returns to the timing chain cover through a hollow 5/16" bolt. The mounting bracket can fit on two different locations on either cylinder bank. High pressure neoprene hoses are 22" long, or lengths can be custom fabricated out of metal brake lines.



Don't believe what the other posters are saying. Your car (1937 models only) came with a factory oil filter, part number142 0677. They used a new air bleed valve lifter for that year. The claim was it needed filtered oil. The preliminary shop call for 12,000 mile replacement later changed to 6,000 miles. A new lifter was used in 1938,so it was dropped.
It was located on the front of the engine below the fuel pump. Like the ones on 1930 era cars the can was replaced with the filtering material.



I've seen the blue and orange filters on 1950 with the P-115 decal around the lid. The S-6 decal is correct for 49 but I have no idea for a 48 ?





I do know that the canisters must have the correct brackets to fit a flathead or the ohv engine. We diced about the correct color of the cans and the decal while working on the 48-9 authenticity manual. My OEM canister came with an S-6 decal but had a space to write the mileage on it in the center. I've never seen another S-6 decal like mine though it was the shape/color to the reproduction decals. Note the top NOS filter has instructions for a 49-51 Cadillac, but no way will this fit my engine that I can see?

 

Part 2:

The dealer options were fine.

Purolator had a small one, which I have on my 38 engine, waiting for the restoration of their 65 series. See the picture.

On my La Salle I have the larger filter, which has the same element as the overheads till 56 , but the mounting is will not work for the overhead on the flatheads.





I'm wondering if Warren, Vic and others know if LaSalle and Cadillac had exactly the same (factory) oil filter in 37. If so, then I think a picture of my 37 LaSalle filter might be helpful. I'll try to retrieve it tomorrow as I'm up in Chico where the filter and engine are stored. I do believe this was the original filter as noted by Warren, but of course for a LaSalle, not the Cadillac model 60. As I recall, the canister is orange and the lid black or dark blue. I think also that the brand was AC as in AC Delco, but I need to check that. From what you are asking, you are trying to add the filter assembly, but to a tank engine. Of course, this would mean that the block is later than your 37, and I'm guessing that the aim is to end up w/ a filter (an all together good idea) and have the look authentic for the year of the car.

What is apparent to me is I still need some more bracket information, as mine matches none of yours.
An interesting variety of engine heads as well as canister colors. So it is no wonder I haven't seen the same bracket I have yet. A few more pictures guys and I will probably see mine, and figure out how it goes on the block.





Back to the original question, tapping into the oil galley to filter the oil. Does this affect the oil pressure in anyway? Is there a resistor in the oil line or filter so the oil pressure isn't affected? Has anyone tapped into the oil pump to filter all the oil as it is pumped?

It has been stated on this forum before by some who don't believe using the head bolts for the bracket is a good idea. I tend to agree, and will be mounting mine probably on the left fender well. Cadillac seems to have tried out several places during the flatheads production life.

A very sanitary looking metal bracket can be fabricated to mount it somewhere else.
Oil filters were a dealer added item as they were not standard. That is why there is no standard place to mount them. I had a bracket only on the left head of1942 I am restoring and the engine was running well so I decided to leave the engine alone. I told the painter to take the bracket off, not knowing that the head bolts protrude into the water jackets and he broke a couple of head bolts. Of course this happened due to the rusted condition of the inside end of the head bolts. The short story is that in taking the head off we broke most of the bolts and decided to rebuild the engine as long as it was out of the car with a head off. As I recall about 3/4 of the head bolts broken in the process.

Show cars have no oil filters or they lose points for them if they do.
I found an old machinist who had a fool proof method for getting the broken ends of the head bolts out of the engine so I hired him to do all of the machinist type work on my engine. "The filter itself must be mounted on the engine. Mounting on the body dash would cause considerable flexing in the connecting pipes and might easily result in fatigue and failure within a very short time".

Most of the installations of oil filters are mounted to the engine.

If you do not mount it on the engine, use hose instead on metal lines to reduce the chance of damage via vibration.
I would assume that either the earlier engines did not have the rusting bolt in the water jacket problem due to design differences in earlier engines or they were not around long enough in 1938 for the problem to have manifested.


Quote from 1942 Authenticity Manual "No oil filter was supplied when these cars were new, but some cars have them installed. Some parts books show an installation kit as being available. It is possible that these were dealer installed. Suffice to say that most authentic cars will not have an oil filter"
In 1937 oil filters were a standard option offered by Cadillac. This was discontinued in 1938. So these old flat heads did have an oil filter at one time. But if you see pictures of it one wonders how you changed the filter.
I just bought a the whole setup from a gentleman named Eddie Jones he lives in Minnesota Phone # 612-558-2629.
I got a 346 engine I am rebuilding for myself and want to add a remote filter, just wanted to know where to hook it up on the block, I have no info and I am sailing blind on this one. Was unsure where to start since a Ford flathead guy tells me with the fords a hole must be drilled into the block.

I am starting to figure that the Caddy has existing bolt in points, if so I just need to know where they are and if there is anything that I need to do to ensure that it will work correctly since I have also heard from other that some engines require blank off stuff to ensure the correct direction of flow etc.
I’m a bit foggy on whether you have a problem with the filter mounting or not. There were two mounting places for filters (all bypass types) on the 346 engine. All of the filters were aftermarket products. The ones I’ve seen were either Fram or Purolator.

On the pre-41 engines, the bracket had to be mounted high on the driver side of the engine, because of the narrow engine compartment. Starting in 1941, a bracket for the filter was made available for mounting on the front end of the driver side cylinder head. That carried through 1948.

In all cases, they used a tee fitting in the front end of the oil gallery, where the feed tube takes off, and goes to the lifter fitting beneath the intake manifold. The filter inlet is connected to this tee fitting, along with the lifter feed pipe.

The filter outlet line has a banjo fitting in it for a 5/16 hollow bolt. This hollow bolt and banjo fitting replaces one of the bolts from the timing case. The oil from the filter then squirts into the timing case.
If you have the time look at my website I created during my restoration of a 1948 6267x. The section which talks about the engine install will show you the location of the lines and the fittings from the block and timing cover, and the two lines going to the filter assembly. If you look closely you will see the fittings and their location. The fitting from the timing cover is as stated elsewhere, second bolt from bottom, drivers side is a hollow bolt with a hole in it. This one may be hard to find but they are out there and if you have a problem finding one e-mail me and I will try to look for one in my stash of parts.

The site is desserconsulting.com

I’ve often wondered about the effectiveness of a canister type bypass filter considering a very small portion of oil that goes thru the pump passes thru the pinhole in the canister in order to maintain pressure. It would seem to me that it would take many, many miles of driving for all the oil to pass thru the filter element once and by that time the car is due for an oil change anyway
If the car doesn’t have one (some people added them aftermarket) you may want to be that people! It won’t hurt anything and probably will help. Use a magnetic drain plug too.
Bruce Berg has kits for the filter.

I bought the optional oil filter with all the factory type brackets to install on my 40 sedan when I was rebuilding the engine. When I received the stuff from the seller, I realized that given the small amount of oil passing thru the pinhole to the filter, this thing wasn’t going to remove any contaminants before the damage had already been done so to speak. Guess if I was going to the trouble to put a filter on, I would figure out how to tap into the oil pump discharge, run it through a full flow filter, and then on to the engine lubrication galleys. Guess some filtration is better than none, but I didn’t think it was worth the effort to install the bypass setup.
There were two types of brackets for aftermarket filter installations on the engines from 1936 through 1948. The first placed the filter above the LH cylinder head, with brackets attaching to the manifold mounting dogs.

The second design placed the filter bracket on the front of the LH cylinder head down nearer the bottom of it. The lower and wider engine compartments in 41 permitted the newer mount.

It isn’t really valid here, but I have an engine on one of my 41 Cadillac that was a test engine from about 1947 that was cast for a full flow oil filter, and that still has the filter on it. It never saw production.

Now, as far as the benefits of a bypass type filter, the filter does pick up a good amount of crap from the engine. This is sludge and solids that would not otherwise be filtered out. A bypass filter does do some good, so it should not be completely discounted. Sure, full flow filters have it all over bypass filters, but remember: Halitosis is better than no breath at all.
One benefit to installing the bypass filter, given earlier commentary, that it helps remove sludge might be that one wouldn’t have to drop the pan and clean the sludge out of it so often. I believe the factory manual recommends doing this annually. I don’t do it that often, given the ability of current engine oils to carry stuff in suspension. However, a few years after I rebuilt my flathead, I did drop the pan and was quite surprised at the amount of muck in the bottom of the oil pan.
My father was in the automotive service business most of his life, and he worked on quite a few Cadillac engines. When I bought my first one in 1956, he told me that while it was one of the nicest and smoothest running engines in the business, it was the muckiest one that he knew of. Of course, you have to remember that the oils in those old days didn’t have detergents in them, and might not have caused the sludge today, as in the thirties and forties.

When I first opened up the 41 engine, the valve lifter gallery was a smooth, shiny bed of muck, and there was no visible clue of what was under it all. The oil pan had contained about an inch thick of the same sludge. Father was right!

Converting one of those engines to have a full flow filter isn’t impossible. One of our local members is planning such an installation, and I’m hoping it comes off all right.

 

No, none of the 1936-1948 engines ever had solid lifters. They were all hydraulic, and there were 3 designs of lifters.


Personally, I like the idea of filtering ALL of the oil. I still suggest blocking off the oil pump, then drilling and tapping the side of the block at the oil pump site.

You can then plumb in both the mains and the lifters. There is no need to drill and tap the timing cover-that area is open to the block, and receives plenty of oil.

You will have completely filtered oil, with the same engine oiling adequacy as you do now. It will be far better, and easier, than the steps described above.JMHO.

 

I just found this diagram of a canister oil filter which I figured was worth posting, plus an outside view of the inlet and outlet ports.

Note some canisters have a 3rd port which is used as a drain outlet.

 

I have just finished making a new canister bracket from what I had.
I mounted it in front on the RH head as the LH side is blocked with my power steering pump.

I believe the canister I have is an LN4 or LN5 not quite sure.
I have not started looking for a filter element to fit it so if anybody knows exactly what unit I have and an element part number that works, I'd be happy to hear from you...

Originally, this bracket was side mounted on the LH head and was pretty industrial looking. My new bracket seems to fit well and feels stout.

The whole canister unit was not all that pretty with bad surface rust and several dents.

So the canister body, lid and strap all ended up in a molases bath for about 4 weeks.

I have it out now and will post pic's as I get it finished, but for now here is the bracket finished and mounted to the engine.

 

Finally got my canister looking a little better with a clean up, patch up and a coat of paint.
No decals as yet and may not use any but overall I am pretty happy with how it looks mounted now.

Next step will be to pipe it up.

 

ref the By-Pass filters.. A good trad look but I worry a tad re the flow volume.. would a diff/rear end cooler pump be a viable alternative ?
Let a scavenge port into the sump and direct flow to a full filter, even if in a period style canister, and through a cooler if heat became an issue. These units can be had 2nd hand, for less than a $100, and pump up to 20psi.. A lot cheaper than a single stage dry sump pump.

 

Swapped sumps today.. the deep one ( now it's off I can see it was fabricated and had a longer, deeper, pickup fitted) out of the car & onto the mock up motor for the Adapter revisions, The shallow Car sump onto the Rod, picking up 30mm extra clearance / room to drop the motor between the rails.
Filters..I know it's old oil and all that but.. the first engine was a runner, and smoothly, but the 1st pic shows what I dragged out of the gunk in the sump and I'd guess I lost 2/3rds of the fine stuff.
2nd is the sump on the spare.. it was kinda like bitumen, over a half inch deep and boy, did it have a collection of solids.
3rd shows the most interesting bits it had, collets, part of the lifters etc, as well as a bunch of glass.. someone has busted a light bulb.. perhaps a trouble light.. anyway, by the looks of this, glad I've got a couple of spare tappet blocks etc.
What's with the different engines.. The runner in the car, 4th & 5th pics, has a harmonic balancer, 2 vertical flats at the rear of each bank, a sump dipstick in the rear of the valley, opposite side to the dizzy and no "Flat' above the water pump.. rear of block is stamped BBB. than a 1 superimposed over the last B, followed by 8F4825.
6th pic is the spare.. different block contour at the rear and no dipstick at the rear of the valley, just one wide vertical flat per bank, with a "Flat" in the block, above the water pump, stamped with a 5 pointed star then 486220637 then another star. The other spare is still crated so haven't got its markings yet.
Appreciate advices re the I.D., original application, of these two Caddys.

 

With the Genset Caddy motor that I've just trailered home.. it also has a remote filter, Huge. The pics below show it's feed and return lines ( filter lines had been cut, filter unbolted, when engine removed from the Genset). 1st pic is of the feed line on the side of the block. The I.D. of this tap fitting is a shade over 1/8th". ( The line coming down, sharing a clamp with the dipstick tube, is from the carb.
Like Keepers pics, this block doesn't have a Boss on the timing cover, just a hollow bolt fitting, 2nd & 3rd pics, as a return line. These pics also show the feed line that runs up & into the valley cover.
The engine is also fitted with the enlarged, deeper, industrial, military style sump.