by Steve Turchet
B
ack in the days of acetylene headlights, most vehicles
were not equipped with fi lters to protect their engines
from dusty air or dirty oil. This was mostly because it
was simply not known how much damage dust and grit could do
inside an engine such as scoring cylinder walls, scuffi ng piston
rings, and scouring bearings and other moving parts. Of course,
the tolerances in the engines of this period were loose and sloppy.
They were low-compression, low-RPM, and not very long-lived.
All engines could have been fi tted with air cleaners if their
manufacturers had realized the need. No matter how old or prim-
itive an internal-combustion engine might be, the air needed for
combustion of fuel is sucked into its intake manifold by vacuum
Bypass or full-fl ow
22 http://www.militaryvehiclesmagazine.com
Whether it is a common chore for you or brand new, servicing your
oil fi lter is essential and not something you can overlook. These
WWII Seabees on Eniwetok realized how important it was to service
their vehicles, so they created this clever, makeshift grease rack.
Signal Corps
Servicing Your
HMV Oil Filter