55-59 V8 oil bath air cleaner questions

[NW Task Force]

I have been putting together a "retro" style engine and wanted to run the oil bath air cleaner on my vintage 283 V8. I don't really want to deal with the sloshing oil inside and wanted to know if anyone has successfully converted to a dry element inside their oil bath unit? I picked up a 1955 oil bath air cleaner several months ago. The air cleaner was pulled from an all original 55' Chevy COE with the 265 V8. I was wondering if anyone could identify the added on parts...........

[dicer]

I have never seen something brazed on the old air cleaners like that. Its probably some add on someone did, thinking it was the thing to do for PCV.
I plan on doing the oil bath thing, that is why these things were called air cleaners and not air filters, I think they did a great job of air cleaning.
The only way you get that stuff out is take the unit apart, pretty much destroying it.
If you want the correct piece for the truck you wil need to research it some, I'm not sure what the V8's had for air cleaners.
The stud is most likely for a supporting brace.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by NW Task Force

I have been putting together a "retro" style engine and wanted to run the oil bath air cleaner on my vintage 283 V8. I don't really want to deal with the sloshing oil inside and wanted to know if anyone has successfully converted to a dry element inside their oil bath unit? I picked up a 1955 oil bath air cleaner several months ago. The air cleaner was pulled from an all original 55' Chevy COE with the 265 V8. I was wondering if anyone could identify the added on parts...........

If the truck had a hydravac brake booster. They connected the air pipe to the top of the air cleaner. The stud is for a bracket to help secure the air cleaner.

If it didn't have a booster then its for blow by like todays engines. A PVC system of sorts. They would connect from the air cleaner to the oil fill.

[NW Task Force]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

If it didn't have a booster then its for blow by like todays engines. A PVC system of sorts. They would connect from the air cleaner to the oil fill.

This is exactly how I found the air cleaner on the engine. A rubber hose was connected from the brazed on tube to a small tube inlet on the oil filler pipe.

I found a good link to get my air cleaner converted over to a dry element.

http://www.classicchevy.com/assets/p...evy/18-276.pdf

[dicer]

After looking at some old sales brochures the basic style is correct. Still not sure about the tube at the top though.