Hi Pete . . .

I am actually a big fan of high tech . . . but not on an early fifties era hot-rod.

There are all kinds of things that are done better today. But where does one stop. For example, Jay Leno has a really sweet Roadmaster that sports 4 wheel independent suspension (borrowed from a Vett) and a big-block v-thingie 'crate motor' that makes 700 horses. It's all modern "drive and forget technology" and it looks like it would be loads of fun to drive . . .but in my book it's no longer a '55 Buick . . . but I digress.

Modern oils and filtration systems were designed with two objectives, improved performance and extended maintenance intervals. In road racing the trend went to smaller displacement higher reving engines. Tight tolerances at high rpm is no place for dirt. For the street, Detroit wanted to offer a car that didn't need to be tweaked and tuned every other month - not to mention one that would be reliable in spite of the neglect that most of the driving public dishes out. Hence the modern car that can go 7500 miles between oil changes.

So do these old 235/261 engines really need full flow filtration? Does a 216 really need full pressure oiling? For recreational driving, probably not.

Does this mean I'm ignoring a little dirt and grit between oil changes for the sake of a stock look and experience? Probably.

Is this the only answer. Nope.

In the end its all up to the owner of the vehicle and what they are trying to accomplish.

regards,
stock49

[Linked Image from 49fastback.com]