VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Oil filter or overflow tank?

What is the cylinder mounted to the intake manifold? It is never in any diagram but I have seen it on every car out there so it must be important. The hoses need to be replaced on it. I have seen fuel filters for 48's but have never seen one on the car. I also heard the radiator overflow tank was an option? So could anyone clarify?

What you are refering to is the oil filter. They were clamped onto the front of the intake. The oil filter would only be found on some cars because it was not standard equipment. Chevrolet sold the AC brand of filter but there were a dozen or more of other brands made and installed. The filter is not 100 percent necessary unless you drive on a lot of dusty roads.
The radiator overflow tank would be mounted on the firewall above the battery.

So is the filter inside the cylinder or is the cylinder the filter?

The filter is inside the can. In the old days they were replaced every 1,000 miles. Today that would not be necessary unless like Gene said if you are traveling on dirt roads.

ok so looking at it there are three connections. Two large hoses connect at the bottom and a small connection at the top near the lid. what is that third connection and where does it go to? (all but one are already disconnected on mine(the short one from the engine to the forward low connection is still there))

Also, what color should the outer cylinder of the filter be?

Depends on what brand of filter. In 1948 the GM - AC brand was yellow with a black lid if it was dealer installed. If it was installed at the factory as an option it would be all black. The next most common brand to find is the Fram. They could be all orange or orange with a black lid. The other dozen brands sold could be most any color.

For that filter changing the element inside was done every 6000 to 8000 miles. They were only a by-pass filter and just a small portion of the oil would pass through it at one time, unliike todays full-flow where all the oil the pump puts out is passing through the filter.

At 6000 it was common to find about an inch of sludge in the bottom of the filter. Engines were a lot dirtier back then because they are run at a lower temperature.

Black works for me! Was the bracket painted? so how about those hose routings?