How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I found one the other day and I'm curious how rare these are, I've never seen one before on one of our years. Thanks Randy

I've seen a ton of 67-72's, and I've only seen one with an oil bath air cleaner. That was a 71 C30 with a 307 and a 4 speed. Had a TON of options including a/c, and was a bucket truck. I think Yukon Jack's 4x4 had a factory oil bath too. Definitely not all that common though.

My 67-inline 6 has one.Not sure if it is that rare??????????????

my stock 67 lwb fleet has 283 v-8 w/oil bath. these are fairly rare options from my experience. i can provide a pic if needed-just let me know.

my 67 k10 with a 292 six originally had one, its long gone now and a stroker is in the place :)

My 68 lwb 307, 2bbl, manual 3spd, a/c had an oil bath breather. Still have it I think. I'll take $500 for it, or trade for BBC with all brackets and pullies... :D

My green 67 came with one but my red 67 had a paper element... I'm told that oil bath is way better for dusty situations like gravel hualers & the like....

i've heard the same-oil bath is for heavy duty enviroments. also my oil bath w/283 is specific to that year and model according to interchange manual. i saw one for sale here a while back for about $250-they are hard to find and thode that have one do not want to part with it.

Oil Bath???
 

What exactly does an oil bath air cleaner look like??

i'll try to post a pic of mine tomorrow if i get home before dark. the oil bath air cleaner is an enclosed assembly that fits over the carb like a conventional air cleaner but is filled with oil that soaks up into an element that traps the dust in it thus cleaning the air. i change the oil in it when i would change the crank case oil.

Couldnt get the pic to upload right. Below is a link to a pic of the oil bath on my truck. I imagine the newer oil bath air cleaners look different tho. I know the one on my grandpa's 283 is different then mine also (bigger).

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...9/434644_6.jpg

Sorry I dont have a pic of what it looks like inside at the time. Im at my grandpa's and mom's right now doing some stuff to my car and doubt ill be heading to my house...but I can snag a pic of the inside of the one on my grandpa's truck tomorrow :D

My 65 series IIa Landrover 88" had one!

would it be listed as a 'HD air cleaner' on the glove box? I might have one if anyone is interested in one, its currently on a 71 c50 with a 350 4bolt.

Here is a pic, its listed on the glove box as "Oil bath air cleaner".

I've seen one now and then on pickups around here and are listed as a HD air cleaner. I'm sure they are standard on the 40-70 series gas engines. Every farm truck we have or have seen came with one on it and they are 327's, 350's, 366's and even a 427.

I have an "ultra-rare" one. It's for an I6 equipped with power brakes. :D For anybody that has tried, even finding the standard I6-PB air cleaner housing can be tough.

randy,

here is the one i had one on my 327. it is listed on glovebox door. actually thought about using it again but it won't fit on my edelbrock.

The one that was on my 307 looked like the ones bucket and teeitup have posted.

My friend had one on his 67 Chevy with a 283. He took it off and put it into storage somewhere.

Older style oil bath. Last 2 is of the one on my grandpa's 283 (no thats not the original oil filter, new air filter he found that fit because his original was falling apart). First is the inside of the oil bath on my 235.

Here are the installation rates I have for the oil bath option.

67 - 17%

68 - 10%

69 - Not given

70 - 5%

71 - 3%

72 - Not given

Looks fairly common in the 67's and 68's and fairly rare later in our series.

other than dust filtration, what are the advantages and disadvantages? would an oilbath work ok with an aftermarket carb (edelbrock) assuming you could find a suitable adapter ring? i might be interested in reinstalling mine for the nostalgia factor.

here is mine w/o cover. cover looks just like 72c10step's. this is on my stock 67 c10 w/283.

Mine is off a 69 with a 350.

Sad thing is..........I know I've thrown some out before, maybe I need to look through some of my sheds and see if I cant round up a few

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Old thread!!
Does anybody have pics with oil bath on a inline 6?

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Here's one that I found on google images...not mine, but from a '53 Chevy

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I have a pic off the offset aircleaner on my six but it's not an oil bath.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I tried several times to sell mine off the 67 to no avail....course I have trouble selling anything that anyone else can sell in a heartbeat. Wound up giving it away.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Not a very good pic...I'll see if I can't dig up a better one tonight.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...7/00278e0e.jpg

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

They are messy, heavy, & restrictive. They do not filter better then a dry cartridge they just go longer between service intervals in dusty conditions.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I read a magazine article recently that said the modern pleated style cleaners are way better at filtering, and that dirty air is about the worst thing for an engine. An oil bath cleaner is probably not the best way to go if you like your engine...

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Here is the oil bath on the 1958 Apache 3200 (that means long bed 1/2 ton).

It is a 235 CI 6 Cylinder engine - standard for those times. The oil bath was also standard. It runs perfect with it. (Of course, it also still requires lead in it's gasoline too! :lol:)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/emailjewels/SHP...0/IMG_5539.JPG http://lh5.ggpht.com/emailjewels/SHP...0/IMG_5540.JPG http://lh5.ggpht.com/emailjewels/SHP...0/IMG_5541.JPG

Enticement:
If you come to the National Board Meet this weekend, you might just see her in person! ;) :two: :three:

R U Coming?!?!? :D
~jewels.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I didn't waste any time changing mine on my 68 GMC six cylinder. I heard they're not the best for the engine.

I have seen them on a lot of old trucks. But, unless you're going to keep the truck completely stock, I'd change it to a new style. Maybe keep the original one just in case someone needs one or you want to convert it to stock.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I had one once,on my '63? The advantage was that no matter how much dust you had to drive through,there was no paper element to clog up.There was an oiled mesh and then the oil bath its self, IIRC. From what I remember of a study done way back when,the oil bath was superior in all ways. Downside was that they were more expensive initially,you had to clean and re-oil the mesh,then drain and replace the oil. I guess people would rather just replace paper elements. But for dirt roads etc. I think they are the only way to go.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

I had one on both my 67 LWB fleetside with a 305 V6 and on my 61 GMC 3500 stake also with 305 V6

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Mt. Man Chad, I've got an oil bath air cleaner from a 292 I-6 w/out brake booster. I don't have any photos of it on the engine, but it looks similar to the one off the '59 Apache posted above by jewels. It's also available...hint,hint...

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

Here's some pics of the offset oil bath cleaner for a 6 with the brake booster

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

You're right. The oil bath is better than any paper filters in dusty conditions. You must remember that when these were put on trucks back then, they were put on there to maximize engine life. Manufacturers used to do everything in their power to make a truck last as long as possible because people couldn't afford to buy news trucks as frequently as they do today. That's why they were slower to try new things on trucks first. A prime example of that is that even though the 350 Chevy debuted in 1967, trucks didn't get them until '68. They tried them in cars for year and opted to stay with tried and true 327 until the 350 was deemed relieable enough for the truck line. They are many other things as well like disc brakes, long style water pumps, power steering, big blocks, etc. that were used in cars and took longer to find their way into trucks.

Re: How Rare? Oil Bath air cleaner?
 

You don't happen to have an extra for a V6 do you? I need one of those.