I have a 1955 Chevy 3200 with a 265, the oil filter is located in a canister on the front wall of the engine compartment. I have replaced the filter inside the canister and the gasket that was supplied with the new filter does not fit so I attempted reusing the old gasket (temporarily). Also some research states that this style of filter is not the best design. Any recommendations on what to use for making a new gasket? or Any recommendations of replacing/doing away with this filtration system? While trying to keep a stock look?
What filter did you install ? If the correct filter and gasket were used, the accessory filter system worked fine. "Any recommendations of replacing/doing away with this filtration system? While trying to keep a stock look?" In 1955, the oil filter assembly was an a ACCESSORY unit, no other stock looking unit was available. Whether you have the genuine "GM ACCESSORY" is unknown, without pics.
I wouldn't use inner tube it won't stand up. You can buy neoprene gasket material at auto parts stores. An industrial supply store might have suitable gaskets or O rings.
I used a canister filter from LMC or Classic Industries, I'm not certain of the brand. The gasket supplied was rubber but bigger then the diameter of the canister. Cutting a new one from an inner may do the trick.
Whoa, no need to cut anything to fit here. Look for a FRAM C4, NAPA #1100, AC P 115. ALL come with the correct gasket, verify application on box. The 1955 265" accessory filter assembly attached to the area of the thermostat housing. http://www.emdpix.com/ebay/cloudy55/00engined1.jpg By 1956, the oil filter assembly was integrated into the block.
I'll look into the neoprene material. I do not currently have a picture but will post one within a few days, I'm almost positive that this is the stock system.
'55 did not have a "stock oil filter system", so to speak, that was on each and every 265 engine produced. Just an optional GM oil filter accessory kit was available , in '55. If the accessory kit was not installed, there was no filter assembly on the 1955 265.
So if this was an option, I'd assume without a filtration system the oil would be changed more offen?
As said before, these oil filters were an option, and were installed, most of the time, by the dealership. They are very common at swap meets. Also tractor shops can sell you one. Take your lid to your local tractor shop and most likely they will be able to supply you with a gasket. Most filter kits have a couple different size gaskets in the box. And a good service shop will keep all unused gaskets.
I heard rumors that these canister types are actually better at slowly filtering fine particulates than full flows. But full flows are better at quickly filtering out sticks & stones. 8^) . Me? I got rid of the PITA canister on my 265 and just change the oil every 2K whether it really needs it or not. Jack E/NJ
Let me just throw this in, your oil filter, or at the very least it's mounting location, is not stock. The stock location was mounted to the thermostat housing by sandwiching it between the thermostat housing and the intake manifold. I'm guessing a do-it-yourselfer, somewhere along the line, added their own oil filter, and that's fine. The stock filter was an OPTION, and most were installed by the dealers, although they could be ordered from the factory that way. As far as the oil filter being, "not the best design", is't the issue. I don't think your oil filter is actually the one meant for a 55, 265, so I think you should find out what oil filter was used; that's why your gasket does't fit right.. The oiling system of the early 265's, 55-56, "were't the best". They were't full flow, but a pulsed flow design, that was dependant on a notch in the rearmost camshaft journal. There are ways to improve on that, but I won't go into it here, it's already been discussed in the forum many times. I had an X-NAVY, 1958, 3/4 ton pickup truck with the l-o-n-g box, around 1976. The truck was grey, imagine that. Somewhere along the line, a 55, 4 barrel, 265 was installed, and it had NO oil filter. The rear main seal leaked oil so bad I was always adding oil, so it did't need to be changed. I replaced the rear main seal twice, but it still leaked (???). I had to replace the transmission, because it snapped the tiny input shaft one day, and went ahead with doing the clutch due to the rear main seal leak had sprayed oil everywhere. When I took the flywheel off, I saw the rear cam bearing soft plug was cocked; that was what had been leaking. It also takes a different rear plug that other SBC's, a narrower one, so that got replaced also. Someone had also installed the wrong rear plug, the wide one, so that when the camshaft was slid it, it cocked the plug, and they obviously did't notice it. No more oil leaks after I installed the right plug! Good luck with your oil filter problem, I wish mine had been that easy. You might want to look on E-Bay, just to see what the stock oil filter looks like. I am Butch/56sedandelivery. .
If you look at that filter, it gets oil from the port on the lifter oil galley at the front of the engine. The oil is pumped into the engine in the rear so the filter gets a fraction of the oil through a small port to keep the oil pressure up. The oil and any debris in it has already gone through the engine. Then the clean oil is returned to the lifter valley through the intake manifold. The wear on the engine parts will be the lifters, cam, cam bearings, main bearings, rod bearings, pistons , rings and cylinder walls. All of that goes into the oil pan to get pumped through the engine and a little of it might go through the filter but only after it has gone through the engine.
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