I'm trying to ID the oil filter on my '50 Chevy Styleline. The filter mounting bracket is bolted directly to the engine block and the oil exchange takes place through the mounting bracket - no oil lines are externally attached. The cap is more domed-shaped than flat, and appears to have been originally painted gold. I've checked stovebolt.com/techtips and my filter does not match their choices for 1950 Chevy.

I'm not sure how to attach to this form, but I can email a photo of the filter to you.
Thanks.

Thats was called an InnerLine oil filter. The body is cast aluminum and when new the lid and body were "natural" aliminum color and the lid had a black and yellow decal. I don't know the number but the cartridge can be found at NAPA.
The filter had nothing to do with GM but a lot of Chevrolet dealers installed them when the cars were new. They were popular in 1950 and 1951. The new side motor mounts screwed them up in 1952 and they died after that.
At one point they also made one with a taller cover that had ribs on the sides. It required a taller cartridge.

Thank you for the great information. I've located and ordered the black and yellow InnerLine decal that you described.
I appreciate your help!

.

You won't find any info. on these filters over on the StoveBolt 'cause that place is full of dummies that don't know anything over there.

Those " Direct Feed " filters were actually advanced beyond their time for the babbitt pounder motors as they mounted cleanly directly to the block & eliminated any worries of leaking oil lines which = less things to go wrong.

I have one of these I'm thinking about putting on my 49 pickup with a 216. Any positive/negative comments on their reliablity over the years? Just don't see many around and the info on reliabilty is very hard to get. Anybody got one in use? Input would be appreciated. Thanks.

Uses the same filters as the AC & Fram cannister filters & this filter eliminates the need for hoses & hose fittings so...
95% of the problems I have ever had from oil filters were from leaking lines & line fittings.
From a reliability standpoint ...there are less things to go wrong with this style of filter because there are no lines or fittings to leak.

We installed a lot of them at the Chevrolet dealership I worked at from 1950 and up. They never gave a problem. The only drawback is that they are not a Chevrolet product and could cause points to be deducted for judging - if that would be a problem for you.
In 1952 Chevrolet cars had a new motor mount on each side of the block and made the filter installation kind of a pain - also the 1953 stick and truck engine was the last models they can be used on so that was the final blow to their use.

Thanks guys, always good to get input from long time Chevy guys. Think I'm gonna install it since I just don't see many vehicles that have them. Looks a bit tight by the exhaust downpipe but I'm sure the fit will be just fine.

I have one of those exact same filters on my 1951 Chevrolet. The filter was installed at the dealership when the car was new and after all of these years I have never had a problem with that type of oil filter.

I have not seen this filter before .... how does the filter "filter" the oil, without the traditional oil lines?

bob

Thanks Junk Yard Dog. This is the in use info I was hoping to get. Makes me feel a lot better about replacing my current AC canister filter.

Glad to help out.

How does it filter.....It gets pressure from the high pressure that normally goes thru the main oil gallery (the line filters are tapped of from this gallery or sorce) and is returned thru the low pressure side.

Thanks, Gene.

Bob

Maybe someone else can chime in on this but....
Both of the NOS filters I have came with their own oil distributor valve.
Not sure if one supplied with the filter has to be used or you can get away with using the stock oil distributor valve.

That's a good point! I just assumed that the stock valve was used. I don't suppose there's any #s on the valve that came with the NOS units. (would be too easy!)

Does anyone know the replacement cartridge number for the InnerLine Filter?
Thanks.

WIX 51010 fits nicely and includes the cover gasket that fits nice and snug.

Then would take a Napa 1010.
Neil

Or Fram C3 or C3P.
Taken from old Fram catalog 1971.
Neil

The valve did not come with a new filter. Just the one gasket next to the tin plate. The plate was discarded and I would like a nickle for every one that got thrown away. We installed probably three or four of those filters each day. Every Power Glide (owner) was sold an oil filter due to the hydralic lifter problems back then. A lot of the stick shift cars got one also.
The biggest problem with that filter was the cover leaking if the person changing the element wasn't careful in keeping the gasket in place.

Thanks for info Gene on the distributor valve. Might be a good idea to put a touch of Pematex to keep the cover gasket in place.

Thanks to everyone for some great info concerning the InnerLine!

Might be over thinking this but....was the gasket supplied with the filter the same as the original cover gasket with just a large opening in the center or did it have a separate hole for the input to the filter and then a long hole that sealed the outlet pipe and the indentation next to it. In the pictures above it appears that a gasket like the original cover one was used on the filter shown. Anyone know if that is right? I know it's been a long time since anyone has probably installed one. Thanks

The original gasket was about a little less than a 1/2 inch wide and fit just around the edge of the cover. I sold a lot of the elements in their day and also had a 1950 (back then) that had the filter.

There was also a larger version of the filter that came out at about the "end" in 1952. It had a taller cover that had like air cooled ribs running aruod it. The element was taller and it held more oil (larger filtering area).That was the one that extreme care was required for installation as the gasket could easily be knocked out of place.

Chevgene, sorry for the confusion. The gasket I'm talking about is the one used between the filter assy and the oil distributor valve were it mounts to the block.

The more solid gasket with the smalller opening goes between the distributor valve and block. The larger opening gasket goes between the original cover and the valve or if a filter is used goes between the filter and the valve.

Thanks Chev Nut. Just didn't know if the gasket provided with the filter was cut the same as the one used with the original oil distributor cover. Apparently it was. Thanks again

My old Checker Auto Parts store (they have changed their name this past year.)always stocked the C3P replacement filter. I have noticed that no one has addressed the efficiency of these filters (Fram or otherwise). When working properly they filter about or less than 1/3 of the oil. They are nice to look at but provide little protection. It is important that you change the oil on a regular basis and not expect any service from the filters. About half the cars I get do not have the oil filter on them and I never put on on--not worth the trouble to me.

While only a by-pass filter all of the oil eventually passes through it.
Back in the '50's we would usually change the filter every 5 or 6000 miles. Under normal driving conditions there would be at least an inch or two of sludge on the bottom of the filter + what was trapped in the element so they do work.
I ran the filter on my '50 about 4000 miles of highway driving. Removed the element and cut it apart and there was next to nothing in the bottom of the filter or stuck to the filtering media.
My '39 does not have a filter and I have never worried about it. Just change oil.
I have opened up the filters on my modern cars after 3000 miles and have found the filtering media to be clean also so I change my filters every 5000 or 6000 miles which is every other oil change.

Better manufacturing processes, paved roads, street sweepers and better lubricant chemistry have all combined to reduce the amount of stuff to be removed from crankcase oil. It means that filters last longer and the reason for the filter in the first place is basically eliminated for the older vehicles. We must all recognize that lubricant systems and requirements for our pre-60s vehicles are vastly different than the vehicles we drive daily.

I also have an InnerLine filter on my '52 Fleetline. It's the standard, version not the tall one. The canister part looks the same, but the "bracket" portion between the canister and the mounting boss is LOOOOONG, in order to get it up above the top of the side engine mounts, and away from the exhaust pipe.

The car, which was bought new by my great uncle, has had one of these filters since day one, and it seems to work pretty good -- certainly as good as the AC and Fram ones, and there are no hoses to leak or burst. As everyone else said, just be sure to get your gaskets properly seated and you'll never have a leak from this filter. BTW, don't forget to replace the washer-sized gasket beneath the head of the center bolt when you reassemble the lid to the canister -- that's the only place I've ever had a leak, and that was my own stupidity since the gasket was probably damn near as old as the car!

Scott, I've never seen one with the long mounting boss. Think there is a chance you could post a picture or email me one so I/we could see that? I'd like to ad that to my refference material.
Thanks
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

I can certainly get a picture of the top of the filter as installed in the car, but I don't know if I can get a camera into a position where I can get a decent picture of the lower portion. I do have an old used one (read: still encrusted in filth and not cosmetically restored) I pulled off a junker that I can dig out of storage, though. Let me see what I can do.

Many, many moons ago, I promised to post a picture of an InnerLine oil filter for '52 and '53. The subject came up again on another site, which jogged my memory regarding this thread! Anyway. I hope these pictures post. The first shows the gunked-up spare I have on my parts shelf, while the second shows one of these filter units installed on my '52 216:
http://s569.photobucket.com/user/ScottAndrews/media/spare-filter_zpsm9ffbzyy.jpg.html



http://s569.photobucket.com/user/ScottAndrews/media/installed-filter_zpsxehsfipl.jpg.html


Also, I tracked down a direct interchange for one of the replacement filters listed on the decal -- a Baldwin P73, which is still sold today as a diesel fuel filter.

Just for information, I recently saw the decals on EBay. Mike

"Your's truly" created the art master used to make that decal!

When I picked up the NOS filter unit some 20 odd years ago, it was shelf-worn and the decal, while intact was starting to flake. At that time, no one made a reproduction, and I knew that no one ever would, mainly because the low demand wouldn't justify the set-up labor.

Being a draftsman, I made some 5X enlargements on a Photostat camera and then inked out the artwork necessary to create a three-color decal. I then shopped the idea around to several decal makers until a place in Lawrenceville, GA agreed to produce the decal in exchange for ownership of the art master. The same place did the '49-'54 radiator overflow decal off of the NOS unit I had purchased.