Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1954 kaiser oil lines, oil filter housing, mid fifties

Question
I am helping an old friend restore a 54 kaiser manhattan the motor had been rebuilt but not finished whe he got it my problem is figuring out where the oil lines that go to the filter go. there is an outlet on the middle of the pan on the driver side at the lowest point and there is another one further back on the pan the same side but higher up and I dont know which one goes to the inlet on the filter canister. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hello James,

You have what sounds to be a "bypass" type oil filter on your Kasier. This was from back in the days when even an oil filter was optional equipment on a car. Thus, this filter gets whatever oil it can pick up from the block and pan indirectly as opposed to the "full flow" filter that would be standard on most cars by the mid-fifties.

Understanding the theory of operation helps tell us the hose attachment. The upper hose goes from the top of the filter housing to the higher location of the block. This is closest to the oil pump on the engine and provides pressurization of the system. The lower line goes from the base of oil filter housing to the lower location on the oil pan. This is your drain line from the filter. Thus, you can see the circuit path--oil enters the filter housing from the top, is filtered by the element within and circulate "clean" oil back to the oil pan.

Hope this helps,

Bob