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MG TD TF 1500 - Oil Filter Color

I am going with one of the new stock looking oil filters that unscrew and allows you to screw in a modern oil filter into the can.

The unit comes primer red. Chris Cooper lists the early oil cannister as a yellow color. In the factory pictures, the cannister looks the same color as the engine.

Anyone add to what was the original color of the filter cannister?

Bruce Cunha

Bruce I can help with the colour of the later horizontal canisters, but that may not be of any use to you. The Purolator was a metallic green and the Tecalamit was a gold/bronze colour. See pic of mine. It has the later Purolator and sports a great facsimile of the original decal. Cheers
Peter TD 5801

P Hehir

I should not be surprised if the filter was fitted before painting for simple convenience. This may have been over the top of whatever colour the filter company supplied.

M Magilton

Hi Bruce,

I am not certain what type of filter up grade you are fitting. I have recently made up and adapter for my TF. The problem with fitting this was unscrewing the boss in the original filter. There is a cross hole about 5/16" diameter and I slotted a steel rod into this and used a 4' length of pipe over this for leaverage. The boss was so tight I simply bent the rod. It was only after Declan advised using an allen key rather than a mild steel rod that I was able get the thing unscrewed.

Jan
J Targosz

See http://www.ttalk.info/Oil_filter.htm for an approach that I've been using. Bud
Bud Krueger

Sounds like some of you may not have seen this new filter.

It looks identical to the original but is seamed at the ridge in the center. The bottom unscrews and allows you to put a new screw on cannister on and then put the bottom cap back on.

Not inexpensive at $179.90 from From the Frame Up.

Moss also has this identical cannister. They want $319.99

I am thinking that they were painted red from the factory, and then the ones you would use for then after were yellow like Chris says.

Bruce Cunha

Ok, now that I have made the decision that the first oil filter on the car probably was red, do you think it had a decal on it?

I am thinking NO. as it would have been painted over. The decal would have been on the oil filter that you purchased to replace the one from the factory.
Bruce Cunha

Bruce They were painted the colors of the company that made them. I had Fram painted orange. Rico was grey. Those are the ones I have seen.

Butch
R Taras

It's possible, as Matthew pointed out, the first filter may have been fitted during assembly and then got sprayed over with red.

Most restorers usually choose the color of the filter as it would be replaced in the first 500 miles, which as Butch pointed out was the manufactures color. Orange was the color of the Fram filters and there was a decal on the top.

At one time I thought I had a picture of one but cannot find it now. :-(
Christopher Couper

Here is a oil filter with decal that would have been fitted in the first 500 miles.



Christopher Couper

AS sells the decals for the FRAM

https://abingdonspares.com/products/fram-ps-821-filter
Christopher Couper

Here is the closeup of the AS decal


Christopher Couper

Thanks Chris.

That actually may be what we are seeing in the factory pictures. Yellow probably would show up liter, but Orange, as in your picture, may look dark in a black and white picture.

As the replacement filter will be on the Car forever, I may change my mind and make it look like your fram.
Bruce Cunha

Hi Bruce,
All the Ryco filters I have seen are a light grey. I have a couple of new ones (old stock) in my shed. They don't have a decal but I think they are labelled "E21". Ryco might be an Australian brand .. I don't know.

I guess the question is.. What brand of filter was originally fitted by the factory? I would not be surprised if the factory sourced from different suppliers during production. My Theory is that oil filters are "software", like spark-plugs, engine oil, wiper blades, fuel and tyres. As such they should be able to be replaced with any reputable brand. From memory, the WSM lists several brands of oil.

Cheers,
Bob
R L Schapel

These are three filters I have. The left and right one appear to be original. The seller of the middle one claimed it was NOS.

Tim

Timothy Burchfield

Interesting Tim. Your left one looks redder than the one Chris posted.

If that was on the car in the photo I posted, I probably could not tell the difference in color because of the black and white photo.

I would also agree that they most likely had contracts for batches of filters and looked to who gave them the best deal when redoing the contract.

So again, it appears if you stick to one of the colors of the filters that all of you have posted. You probably will be correct for the color of the filter.
Bruce Cunha

Tim. If it is not too much trouble, can you take a closeup of the Manufacturers label and the oil change label? of the filter on the left?

I enlarged the manufacturers label and can't read it clearly.

Also, can you give measurements of these?

Most appreciated if your can.
Bruce Cunha

Tim's photo of his toe reminds me of the old Moss catalog page with the photographer's toe in the lower right:-)

Jud

J. K. Chapin

J.K. I like to personalize my photos. Reminds me of the guy who posted a vase or something on eBay and his nude reflection could be seen when it was enlarged.

Bruce, I'll get the photo you requested. All of the pictured filters are the same size 6" x 3".

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

Bruce, here's the photo. It appears the filter was black originally.

Tim

BTW I rotated the picture twice after posting and deleting it and for some reason this site insists on posting it sideways.

Timothy Burchfield

OK, that's weird. I loaded the picture into photoshop
and saved it. It now remains right side up when I post it here.

Timothy Burchfield

The color is interesting. Wonder why the painted only part of it.
Bruce Cunha

Somewhere there is an article showing several original filters, perhaps in TSO. Doug Pelton told me that Detroit Diesel engine green is very close to the original Purolator color. The Ryco filters were the last available original types, and date from the late 70's/early 80s and were from Australia. Look at the style of the font- definitely not from the 50s, not something original. George
George Butz III

Austin Healey green from Moss is a close match too for the Purolator filter.
Frank Cronin

Bruce, the engine was probably painted (repainted) with the filter on it. That would explain why the sides are red but not the front. The painter wanted to preserve the label.

Tim
Timothy Burchfield

This thread was discussed between 24/02/2019 and 28/02/2019

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