Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Lynn Eades]

Tony the CMPs that used that system were the Carriers, not for a full flow filter, but for the oil cooler. (as with Aust. carriers) They had a bypass valve that let the oil by pass the cooler if it was too cold and thick. (later in the war the Canadians added a filter to that system in the Carrier, Universal, MkII*
I am sure you would already be aware, but the "partial' system you refer to is/was called a "bypass" system. The bypass system used a finer media in the element. it was supposedly to catch the very fine particles and was intended to stay in service for longer. Only a small percentage of oil from the pump was diverted through the filter. Often removing the lid, you would find them pretty much clogged up. I believe that any filter housing that you removed the lid to get at the filter was a bypass system. The British tended to use throw away steel bodied filters. Around WWII a bypass system was the standard filtration system common to most makes of the day.

[Shane]

A little off the subject mate, but could you please put up a picture of the fire extinguisher in your truck? Yours looks like the one i have and I would like to know if you believe this was the right one that was used in the CMPS. Cheers Shane

[Private_collector]

Shane, my extinguisher is a period correct piece, but the one which is 100% correct would have "Heavy Vehicle" on the brass plate. Mine does not, thats another reason why I didnt make the effort to paint it the vehicle color. That, and I couldnt resist putting a shine on it!

Tony W., thanks a bunch for the info and posting that French Flathead picture. I have searched the internet a number of times, but not found such an instructive shot that shows the block-off plates and the oil pipes in such clarity & simplicity. Hope you wont mind if I copy the photo for later reference. Tomorrow, I will check for any differences internally. Dont expect to find any, but keen to know for sure.

Lynn, I should have at least one of the bypass filter cans laying around here somewhere. With that, and Tony Ws photo, I shouldnt have any problems sorting out something suitable. I'm really not concered about having full filtration. Lets face it, some of these engines didnt even have an oil filter at all. Something between the two extremes will be acceptable. Oil changes will occur on an annual basis, and I am using a magnetic sump plug to catch what I hope wont be there in the first place. I'll have a look for good filter system parts tomorrow morning.

Thank you Gentlemen.

[Shane]

Cheers Tony. Hope you dont mind if i can ask for a close up shot of the FE as i only have mine on lone and need to make up my mind to buy it or not. Thanks Shane

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Tony the CMPs that used that system were the Carriers, not for a full flow filter, but for the oil cooler.

Lynn, the system I was referring to is the one shown in the CMP manual, not the carrier system with the oil cooler. It's described in detail in Section C. Lubrication and it's definitely a full flow system. They don't actually use the term "full flow" but the diagram and text are clear. It uses the standard filter housing which is bypassed in the event of blockage, by means of a bypass valve set to open at 10 psi pressure differential b/w the inlet and outlet: "If it were not for this valve any stoppage in the oil passages to and from the filtering element would prevent all oil reaching the engine."

As mentioned though I've never seen the filter configured that way. As you say they're designed as a bypass filter, dating back to the 1930s when they were fitted by Ford dealers as an optional extra. I believe that's the one with the oil return to the top of the motor, through one of the mounting studs on the rear of the inlet manifold for the fuel pump / breather stand. Presumably the drilled stud was part of the kit, which would have continued to be available throughout flathead production. In other words, just like the old NASCO kit for the Holden grey motor, which used the exact same filter housing, and was available from around 1950 until they introduced the red motor in '63. By that time the disposable spin on filter had been developed and it became standard equipment on all cars.

Presumably the optional filter on the flathead became military spec during the war, and they were introduced into production for the first time ever, with the return pipe subsequently redesigned to the oil pan. Once again of course it was a standard bypass system typical of the era. That's what makes the system described in the CMP manual so extraordinary. The idea of full flow filtration in 1942 was at least 20 years before it came into being on cars, and something even the hot rodders didn't develop as a flathead modification until at least 20 years later either. That's why I'm interested to know if anyone has ever seen it on a CMP as described in the manual. Certainly the third oil passage is commonly present on CMP motors, but it's always plugged in my experience.

Personally I suspect the full flow system was abandoned early in production, possibly including a field mod kit to revert to the bypass system. I can see a number of potential problems with the full flow system, particularly the bushing which separates the vertical and horizontal passages. That would constrict both passages severely unless they were drilled oversize first, which clearly wasn't done, because the thread size is standard throughout production, including CMP motors with the third oil passage. Even the Ford manual emphasizes the danger presented by sludge blockage, and that bushing would be the perfect place for it to lodge. Also as you suggest Lynn they probably required a coarser filter to accommodate full flow volume, which would mean less effective filtration of fine dust particles, which are the main enemy in military use. Then there's the bypass valve, which unlike the one on the carrier has the potential to destroy the motor in a few seconds if it malfunctions during a filter blockage, which was presumably not uncommon with the non-detergent oil in those days, plus the extreme dust conditions in military use, esp. in convoy, and the high dependence on frequent oil change and filter cartridge replacement. As you say Lynn they're invariably clogged when you lift the lid. That presents no problems with a bypass filter, it simply reverts to a standard flathead, and we know they ran for decades without an oil filter.

All things considered I can see no benefit in a full flow system in military use and plenty of potential problems. That's why I find it interesting the French continued with the bypass system on the militarized block, when they had every opportunity to drill a proper full flow system if they considered it of benefit. Clearly they did not, and they were obviously concerned with service life, as evidenced by the governor and hour/rev meter.

Of course, the debate still rages today in the hot rod community about the relative benefits of full flow and bypass flow systems on flatheads. Personally I reckon full flow is the ideal system for normal driving conditions, and the modern automotive industry obviously agrees. However they're producing vehicles expected to travel several thousand kilometers without engine replacement, and even a million kilometes in the case of taxis and transport vehicles, and with extremely long service intervals. That just wasn't the case in the old days, even in the '60s and '70s you were doing well to get 100,000 miles out of a motor, and that was with 3000 mile oil change intervals. All those oil changes kept me in a job for several years!

Therefore I see no point in a full flow system on our flatheads, or even in hot rods for that matter, because we simply don't do enough mileage to realize any potential benefit in terms of engine life, and we still need to change the oil just as often, because service intervals are time dependent as well as mileage dependent, and infrequent use and short trips call for more oil changes, not fewer. Most importantly though, as everyone knows, 90% of engine wear occurs during cold running at start up, and no amount of oil filtration can change that.

[Private_collector]

Shane,

Hope these photos will do. Some of the photos were already posted on this thread.
Could take you a week to find em though!
pyrene 3.jpg pyrene 1.jpg pyrene 2.jpg rifle cups finished 1.jpg P4131138.jpg
If you are intending to polish (which is not original finish), do it easier than I did. Use a buffing wheel, but stay away from edges of the label, or you will wear the colors off.

Enjoy!

[Private_collector]

Should have added that if you extinguisher is not Pyrene brand, it may not have Heavy Vehicle written on it. Other guys may know more about this subject, so I will invite further replies for you on this topic. While looking through my photo archives I came across a number of vehicles that had extinguisher which was not painted at all. Perhaps they were not universally painted in military colors after all.

This is an interesting site regarding General brand extinguishers. http://www.vintagefe.com/general.html I bring that to your attention to show there is a fairly broad range of models & manufacturers which made these little gems. Some of these portables are just beautiful pieces. In hindsight, if I had no other hobby interests I would be very happy to collect & restore portable extinguishers.

http://www.vintagefe.com/pyrene.html Interesting Site!
fire.jpeg
I want one of these pistol style extinguishers from the 1950s. Man they had some cool stuff then!!

[Shane]

Your a good man Tony.

Mine is the same as yours, without the Heavy Vehicle stamped on it. When i say mine it will be for $65 it has already been polished and is in good condition. It looks like it was situated between the seats about half way up the cab, not sure if there was a specific place they put them in the cab. I only assume mine goes between the seats as there are three vertical holes which i guess was where the fire extinguisher bracket went(could be wrong it wouldn't be the first time) What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks again Tony

[Private_collector]

Weather quite overcast today. Poor light under the truck where I would be working on emergency brake, so I went on to other things.
Pressure plate apart.jpg Pressure plate springs cleaned.jpg Pressure plate cleaned 1.jpg Pressure plate cleaned 2.jpg
Pulled the pressure plate assembly apart to inspect for any damage. Nothing broken or bent, but I did pull another assembly apart, to use the plate that was best of the two. After a lot of cleaning and a little light sanding of the face, everything came up quite well.
Pressure plate parts 1.jpg
Freshened all the bits, and they are now ready to go back together when I get the chance. Won't need to purchase anything. Not a single bolt.

[Private_collector]

On Wednesday I removed the rear drive shaft from the other truck.
Suspect rear shaft.jpg
I was immediately aware that the rear uni joint was different to those I have already installed on front axle prop shaft and shaft from gearbox to transfer case. The locking of the uni joint ends are on the inside of the cups, nearer to the uni spider. All the others lock on the outside of each cup. Is this even for a Ford? Doesn't look like anything in the manual. Is the rear shaft same diameter tube as front? This one is, but I would have expected thicker than front! If this thing is NOT Ford, then I am in trouble again. I have a badly butchered piece of thicker shaft, which had been cut to about 3'. It has a uni (larger than front ones) on one end, but I don't believe I have the other section. Just another example of getting incomplete parts from the guy I bought the truck from.
Different uni spindle.jpg
This is the different type of uni that was on one end of the narrower shaft. That one was complete, but too long (expected that) and will not attach to the coupling part on rear diff.

On another topic.
Radiator test fit.jpg
The radiator is temporarily in place. It's only there because that is probably th safest place for it to be. If I put it back into storage, it would be likely to become damaged.