Problem with 223 air cleaner filter

[bbskip]

I have a '59 Ford Custom 300 with the 223 six. After a recent 140 mile trip I opened my hood to find my air filter just sort of hanging out. The wing nut was hanging out in some wires but the lid to the filter was gone! Apparently the wing nut loosened during the trip and the lid is now history. The filter and wing nut could have easily been replaced but so far I've had no luck in finding a replacement lid, there are no old car yards around here.

In the meantime I couldn't run without an air cleaner. The Holley 1v carb doesn't even have a stud to mount another air cleaner so I bought a Mr. Gasket adapter that has a stud and came with a 6 inch air cleaner. I took a 40 mile trip with the 6 inch filter with no problem but the next time I went to use the car it would not start. However when I removed the filter and tried to start it it started and ran with no problem. Examining the filter I found that it was dirty, very dirty. I bought a new filter and it started without a problem. I just took another 40 mile trip and had no problem until I started to slowly back into my garage and it stalled and again would not start until I removed the air filter. I have no idea how a filter could get so dirty and clogged in only 40 miles.

I know that the 223 six '57 Fords had the air cleaner mounted horizontally but for '58 and '59 they went to the vertically mounted air cleaners. I wonder if there was some problem when they were mounted horizontally.

I'm not satisfied with the way the Mr. Gasket adapter screws into the carb body to mount it. I've ordered another type of adapter that clamps to the lip of the carb similar to the way the stock air filter housing does and I've bought a Holley air cleaner adapter kit that will adapt a larger air filter to he Holley 1v carb. But I have no idea if that will solve the problem.

I can't find a lid for my stock air filter housing and the little 6 inch filters apparently won't keep me running very long. Any ideas or help in finding a lid would be appreciated.

 

[bubba22349]

Those Little Tiny Air Cleaners are a waste of your money they are just way to small for any car that you need to be able to use often. You need a much Larger Air Cleaner like a 15 or 18 inch Dia. or else find a replacement of the stock one which would be your best bet for good operation. You can put a free add in our For Sale, Trade or Wanted section and maybe some site member might have that part. Below is the Link to that section. Best of luck

Buy, Sell, or Trade - Vintage Six

fordsix.com

 

[bbskip]

Those Little Tiny Air Cleaners are a waste of your money they are just way to small for any car that you need to be able to use often. You need a much Larger Air Cleaner like a 15 or 18 inch Dia. or else find a replacement of the stock one which would be your best bet for good operation. You can put a free add in our For Sale, Trade or Wanted section and maybe some site member might have that part. Below is the Link to that section. Best of luck

Buy, Sell, or Trade - Vintage Six

fordsix.com

Thanks. I put a post in the BST board and my next step is to try a topside air cleaner using the adapters I now have but I'm still going to try a stock lid just in case.

 

[myfoxmystere]

bbskip, I hope you have some encouraging updates on this. In the meantime, I suspect the 57s may have had the problems you had. I suspect the air filters picked up the fumes from the draft vent and got clogged when they were mounted topside. There is a way to reduce the fumes inside the engine bay: a PCV Valve retrofit. Just so you know, I have a 1959 Ford F100 with the 223 six engine. My late dad bought it new in Southern California. In 1966, California mandated a PCV Valve retrofit be done to all 1950-60 vehicles and to 1961 and later non California vehicles that were not originally equipped with PCV Valves for 1967 DMV renewals. This applied to most regions of California and got expanded later to all of California by the late 70s. While it's likely not mandatory in your region, your car will benefit with a cleaner engine bay if you choose to retrofit it. It might even allow you to use a top mounted air cleaner without a problem. Your old oil cap might be the culprit in soiling the air filter as well. When the state approved Sears garage retrofitted my dad's truck with the PCV Valve retrofit kit, they changed the oil filler cap for proper breathing and venting. It uses Stant SO68 as the old Ford cap causes the engine to run rougher. The shop plugged the draft vent, punched a hole in the valve cover, installed a PCV fitting and ran a 1/2 inch heater hose to a spare vacuum port on the intake manifold with the PCV Valve port fitted in place. I have a 1962 California model Rambler Classic sedan with the 196 OHV 6 cylinder engine. It has a factory PCV valve per California mandate for 1961 and later cars sold new in California to be equipped with a PCV valve. That PCV Valve is also used on Ford cars with a 6 or V8 engine starting in 1961. Ford trucks in 1961 & 62 used a different PCV Valve for California only models with the 223 six, but switched in 1963 to using the same PCV Valve later on. The photos provided are from NAPA Auto parts. They sell the PCV valve shown. The one modification would be removing the draft vent tube and putting in a freeze plug with a hose fitting snapped in place with a rubber PCV grommet.