Tech- Save that old oil breather cap

It only seems appropriate. Last tech week we ran through how to save aluminum valve covers.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=216368

This time we'll talk about that nasty old breather cap. You could buy new, but what if you're ventilating your 1949 Glockenspiel Kustom V8 and can't find a replacement at NAPA. Or even worse, what if you're just cheap

So here's where we start. 392 Hemi oil cap. That's right, the king of all early hemi....oil caps. At this point it's been soaked in vinegar for weeks to dissolve rust, then thorougly flushed with a garden hose (removing the last of the media). Then primed to keep flash rust at bay.




So now we gotta open it up. Using a chisel, screwdriver, or other pointed object, pry the crimped edge up



Now you've got it down to the essentials.



Here's your chance to get it looking decent with a little spot putty and a body hammer.



Now we're on to the filter media. Here we're using an surplus polyethylene filter discarded by my wasteful employer. Things I would suggest are
#1 buy a large auto parts store crankcase filter and crack it open.
#2 lawn mower sponge air filter





OK, now that it's packed, we gotta reassemble the egg by crimping what we uncrimped earlier. I used a brass hammer and the edge of my vice.



Now that we're done brutalizing it with a hammer, it can be painted. I pre-painted the inner piece, knowing that the media should be masked in order to breathe properly.



FINITO!
(That's foreign for dun)

 

Sweet now I can save this ultra rare one off 710 cap I got off a buick!

 

Great Tech! That breather is the same as the ones off my 318 Polys and Slant Six Valiants and I've got a number of them which need rebuilding so now I know how to do the job.

swifty

 

Thank you! I have several old breathers that I do not want to trash and the new ones (from China) just do not cut it. Thanks for helping me preserve the looks (and the functioning) of my old engine!

 

On my '55 331 Hemi oil cap I was able to remove the tube part that fits on the oil fill tube. I then cut down a lawn mower foam filter, cutting a round shape that follows the shape of the hole that's aready there, to fit the mounting tube. I then squished up the filter & stuffed it in. Once in it popped into shape!

 

Kool tech. Both my Holden Gray caps (AC) are flogged. Not rare, but they are all the same, ie. 45 plus years old and no re-pop.

 

that's cool, hope you don't mind if I share it w/some fellow Stovebolters....joe