I finally got around to cleaning out my 69 A108 and found a pair of oil bath air cleaners for the slant 6. As I've never seen one on a passenger car, I am guessing they were used on A & D series slant 6 trucks. Anyone have an idea as to what years/models etc they came on? Are they any better/worse/comparable to the paper filter cleaners. Finally, what might they be worth, if anything?

My Dad's 68 3/4 ton pickup had one. (225 w/727) I don't know if it was original or not. He loved the things. Knowing him, he snagged it off something else.
Unfortunately he's gone to the dark side, and drives a Nissan mini-pickup now....
One would think, as a restoration part, it would have value.
The last -original- oil bath air filter I had on a pick-up was a 66 Ford, 352. Took it off when I stuffed a 390 4b bbl in the hole.
After that, I don't think they were used on Light Trucks for emission and convenience reasons. It's probable they were used on industrial /6 power. I can check with my farmer buddies to see what their slant six powered equipment used. With all the dust involved in that particular industry, it would make sense.

Your A108 the 7 window?

CJ

Mine is the cargo version - no side windows tiltouts in the back doors. It's a slant with a 3 speed. Guy on another list has a 70 A100 pickup with a 392 Hemi stuffed in the hole. THAT thought has crossed my mind since I have a complete rebuilt 392 sitting on the stand waiting for a project.

The A100 series vans used one that was kind of oblong/bullet shaped and low profile. Most of the ones I've seen on D100 series pick-ups are perfectly round and taller than the van version since there was more room under the D100 hood than on a van.

They bring around 30$ on Ebay if they are in good shape.

The oil-bath air cleaner was offered on most all cars, trucks and vans (if you dig deeply enough in the parts catalogues!) as a fleet/severe-duty option. Not necessarily because they're better than paper-type cleaners, but because they can trap a great deal more dirt before clogging to the point of choking-off the engine. That means operability under very dusty conditions *and* less-frequent servicing *and* no need to stockpile filter elements; all desireable from a fleet perspective.

Restriction characteristics are completely dependent on the design of the cleaner; there is likely no extreme difference amongst factory or factory-type cleaners at the low airflows and air mass density typical of a stock- or near-stock slant-6 driven normally.

The oil bath cleaners were offered in different configurations to meet different engine and vehicle configurations' needs. Offset-mount to give clearance for A/C compressors, equipped with crankcase vent fittings, extra oil capacity, clamp-mount, bail-mount, etc.

From an engineering theory standpoint, oil bath cleaners are cool. They work by requiring the air to make a rapid U-turn over a puddle of oil. The cleaner is constructed so as to create air velocity through the U-turn such that larger particles of dirt can't make the turn and drop out of the airstream into the oil, where they sink and are trapped. The air then passes through a mesh or foam filter media which is oil-wetted. This catches and holds the smaller particles.

They fell out of favour by the early '70s in automotive applications due to the greater convenience of throwing out an old paper element and putting in a new one. Also, having oil mist enter the engine in any quantity hurt emission control efforts. They are still(!) used in some agricultural and industrial equipment.

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