Engine: Oil filter optional?

[drpreposterous]

Hey, everyone!

I'm the Michigan guy who bought Tom Noller's splendid little '60 Lark VI with its '61 Hawk 259 in it.
I just brought it to my mechanic for an oil change and fast once over. He told me there is no oil filter in it. I'm guessing it must have been optional then? At any rate, he asked me to ask you guys where a filter would meet the engine (scratchin' his head). I have ordered a '59-61 shop manual on CD, but it won't be here for a bit, so any feedback would be welcome.

Cheers!
Brian

[Tom Bredehoft]

Somewhere toward the rear of the engine, on the passenger side, is a plugged port on the horizontal rib that houses an oil passage. The filter would be tapped in there, the oil would go through the filter (make sure there is a .040 inch restriction between the block and the filter) and dump into the oil fill tube on the other side of the engine. This would be a partial flow filter, there is some thought that compared to a full flow filter (a la 1963-4) a partial filter is useless, but Studebaker got along with them for many many years before changing the block to be full flow.

Accessory filters are available from Studebaker vendors or after market.

[53k]

Hey, everyone!

I'm the Michigan guy who bought Tom Noller's splendid little '60 Lark VI with its '61 Hawk 259 in it.
I just brought it to my mechanic for an oil change and fast once over. He told me there is no oil filter in it. I'm guessing it must have been optional then? At any rate, he asked me to ask you guys where a filter would meet the engine (scratchin' his head). I have ordered a '59-61 shop manual on CD, but it won't be here for a bit, so any feedback would be welcome.

Cheers!
Brian

Yes, oil filters were optional until mid-62 when Studebaker switched to full-flow filtering. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about a filter. I had a '61 Cruiser without a filter and I simply changed the oil at 1,000-mile intervals as was the prevailing wisdom at the time. BTW, a '61 Hawk engine should be a 289.

[PackardV8]

This would be a partial flow filter, there is some thought that compared to a full flow filter (a la 1963-4) a partial filter is useless, but Studebaker got along with them for many many years before changing the block to be full flow.

We're going to have to agree to disagree on the above statement. Spin on full flow oil filters didn't come along until the late '50s. Most every OEM used partial flow filters up until that time. I've read SAE papers, spoken with lubrication engineers and have fifty years of first hand experience with Studebaker engines. IMHO, having a partial flow oil filter is a worthwhile addition to an engine which doesn't have one. The good news is the are readily available, easy to install and inexpensive to buy.

jack vines

[Skybolt]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I read some where that back then non-detergent oil was used so particles would settle in the pan for cleaning. With newer detergent oils one needs to use a filter because particles are being transported around the engine waiting to be filtered out. I don't know if this is fact or fiction but it makes sense.

[Warren Webb]

Back in the day non detergent oils were just that, they didnt clean or suspend the grime so engines got full of sludge. Todays oils suspend the dirt particles so that the filter traps them & the engine stays clean.

As far as the 61 Hawk engine goes, the partial flow filter was an option & would have been located at the top of the engine bolted to the oil fill tube. The full flow block didnt arrive until half way thru the 62 model year. At first those early full flow blocks had a block off plate intalled where later on the filter adapter (base) would be bolted. Those were not found on a 61 engine. Easy way to tell too is the casting number on the right/top of the block starts with 15 (7 digits total) & the block has "cupped" freeze plugs where the older block has the flat freeze plugs & the casting number is only 6 digits long.

[StudeRich]

/Cut/At any rate, he asked me to ask you guys where a filter would meet the engine (scratchin' his head)./Cut/Brian

The Fram Oil Filter would be a simple aluminum base for a spin-on type upside down filter PB50.

It mounts on a bracket on the Oil Filler Pipe front and center on Engine.

The pressure line or hose comes from the front of the left Cylinder Head.

The Return Hose goes into the side of the Filler Pipe.

If Tom removed the filler Pipe and Oil Cap for the '63-'64 Valve Covers with their own Oil Caps, then you will need to purchase a used Oil filler Pipe from one of our "well stocked" with spares members.

The really old fashioned F3 or F4 Fram drop-in Cartridge type Filter that uses a C3 or C4 Element can also be used, as used on 1951 to 1957 Studes.

[drpreposterous]

Wow! What a wealth of thoughtful information...if only everyone in the world owned a Studie, how much friendlier a place it would be!
Thanks for all your responses

[raprice]

My '59 Lark VI doesn't have an oil filter. Yes, they were optional. No problem, since I change my oil every autumn regardless of how many miles I'd driven during the year. It seems to work just fine.
Rog

[Dan Timberlake]

How far back in time do we wish to go? The 1951 Champion owner's manual states "most of the high priced motor oils sold today contain chemical detergents that hold extremely small particles of carbon or other foreign matter in suspension." It cautions that the particle are so small they will pass thru an oil filter, and will appear discolored, so mileage is a better indicator of condition than oil's appearance.

A few years later oils were somewhat arbitrarily rated ML, MM, or MS, with MS having detergent action among its attributes. Studebaker was recommending that only oil from "containers berng the label 'For Service MS" " be used.
Modern oils may well have more powerful detergent than oil in 1960. The strong tendency for gray (lead from leaded gas?) sludge to form in the cool low spots of the oil pan seemed to have been beyond the capabilities of oil or filters of the 60s and 70s.

[nvonada]

I have cut open the cartridges from my partial-flow filter and they do certainly catch "stuff". On our babied 1000-mile-per-year cars it might not make any noticeable difference to the life of the car but I am in no hurry to remove mine.

Nathan