I recently ordered a oil filter cartridge for my Zodiac from Kip Motors and was surprised to receive this really old NOS item. Check out the original 25 cent price on the box (my cost was nearly $30 with shipping). I guess that I could save the box as a display item.
BTW, these old cartridges are a bear to install, but I always feel very accomplished when I finish.
You would be better off installing an oil filter adapter plate so you can use a quality spin-on filter. The old paper element filters are worthless, expensive and won't filter particles under 30 microns. There was one on ebay for the ZZC MK2 out of Australia.
Bob Bissel, who has a Zephyr MK2, mentioned that a company in France is selling them. Also check with the ZZC club in Australia and Graeme White of EnFord Spares.
I have one installed on my Zephyr and filter changes are a cinch and filters could be inexpensive; $5 for a regular 14 micron to a $20 Mobil 1/ Amsoil 4 micron filter.
You probably think I'm nuts, but I am happy to keep the old cartridge system in place in the name of originality. However the prospect of increased engine ware does concern me. How important do you think getting modern oil filtration is on a car that get light use -- no more than 1,500 miles a year (often much less)?
I am interested in your thoughts on this.
Michael
PS: the last cartridge that I bought from Kip seemed to be newer in apperance and possibly in materials as well.
Last edited by IFHP on Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Michael
on the filter cartridge i was able to buy a new one for my mrk 1 cortina straight from napa autoparts i had to provide the original ford part number for it though in order for them to find me one but it wasnt terably expensive it was only a few bucks. im not sure if you would be able to do it with your zodiac but as far as the paper cartridge i think as long as you do regualr oil changes you should have no issues with it doing engine damage i feel that regular oil changes and a good functioning air filter are more important but thats just my opinion
I think in this case re-using the original oil filter cannister is a disadvantage. Here's why.
The Zephyr uses a full-flow oil filtration system as most cars after WW2.
Meaning that all the engine oil flows thru the filter before reaching the engine moving parts. Early insert filters were basically paper though improvements in the paper element came over time and they are still being used.
The problem is not the material of the filter so much but after the engine sits still the oil drains out of the cannister. When starting the engine it takes awhile to get normal oil pressure because the cannister needs to be filled first. Causing quick wear on moving parts.
Modern spin-on oil filters incorporate an anti-drain back valve to keep the oil in the filter after the engine stops and the reason for this valve is to avoid oil-starvation on start-up.
Some modern cars are going back to using element inserts but have a built-in anti-drain system.
You can always remove the new system with the old again,
or even paint the spin-on hammer silver. Tell them it's original. Just kidding.
Thanks Pete. I think you told me this once before and I managed to forget it as it is kind of depressing. The truly depressing thing is that I may have already damaged the car. I’ve noticed that I am starting to blow blue smoke when starting up, and not just on cold starts. The car has only 35,000 miles on it and I think I first notice the blue smoke last year. I guess that back in the day, people thought nothing of having a major overhaul of their engine before 50,000 miles. Probably one reason why there were not as many truly old (25 years +) cars on the road 30 or 40 years ago as there are now.
BTW, my 1961 Taunus does not even have an oil filter! The one time I got it started it didn’t seem too smokey and it has many times the mileage on it as the Zodiac.
Anyway, based on your information, I probably will convert to a spin on. Thanks again.
If you're not using it already, try a high mileage 20W-50 oil may help the oil rings or it may just be dry valve stem seals. Those are easy to change with a special tool without taking the head off.
I remember looking in an Anglia 105E advertisement claiming the engine will last up to 100K miles. That's only if one changed engine oil every 1K miles. Usually the hollow crankshafts would snap before then because of worn crank bearings. I'm sure there is someone in the group who can relate to that.
Using modern engine oils in our classics ( I use syn Amsoil 20W-50 which contains zinc as does Lucas / Royal purple ) and Redline GL-4 trans oil will help increase eng/trans life beyond to what they were intended to.
One more point for all. Stay with the oil-bath air cleaner instead of switching to a modern air filter sys if you are still using the same type of carb. ( I know Michael likes originality, in this case, I would agree ).
This was an ingenuous filteration sys. and expensive to produce and the reason why they don't make these anymore
The wired thing is that a couple of years ago I switched from multi-grade oils to Rotella 30 weight in my vintage cars because of stuff that I half remember reading about saying that modern olis were bad for vintage cars and that the straight 30 w used in diesels was the way to go.
Rotella has enough ZDDP to protect flat-tappet engines. I've tried Rotella 15W-40 in the Zephyr when I drove up to Victoria B.C. a couple of years ago. After returning from the 2K trip the oil looked dirty but was told that this is normal because of the ZDDP in it.
I've done some research on motor oils for older cars and prefer using 20W-50 syn with ZDDP @ .125 ppm. There is tons of info on the subject on line. Sam Nicolosi developed a special oil for older cars. http://www.wheels.daytondailynews.com/d ... 15WOW.html
Older engines, esp. those with rope seals, normally leak oil and component clearances are not as tight as on newer engines. So I think a higher viscosity oil like 20W-50 helps.
Last I heard even Rotella changed the formulation of their diesel oil. I would check the label. Valvoline VR1 does contain ZDDP and it is available at autozone.
