Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Has anyone out there installed one of these vacuum delivery top cylinder oil mist systems, or know of anyone who has?
If so, are they worthwhile or a waste of money? Thanks for your thoughts.

Probably as effective to put some Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank. This provides "top cylinder lubrication" and has been around forever. I've used it. Does it do any good? I'll leave that up to the experts on the forum to debate.

An Ampco top oiler is absolutely a good idea, especially for a flathead ("valve-en-bloc, sidevalve") engine, won't hurt in the least. I installed Ampco top oilers filled with Marvel in both my '40 120 decades ago, and my current '47 Super. These devices are more than mechanical rabbits' feet.

The British version of the SAE, the Royal Society of Automotive Engineers, in the 1950s dismantled a fleet of cars and lorries so equipped driven in London and suburban traffic, and after checking the heat zone/wear items with micrometer, reported the Ampco-fitted vehicles had half the wear.

Probably overkill and perhaps even a useless gesture, but in addition to the Marvel in my Ampco which is piped directly into the intake manifold, i also toss 4 oz. in the gastank per 10 gallons of gas along with the one ounce of Red Line Lead Substitute per 10 gallons which uses sodium as the dissimilar metal to cushion the fleeting microweld of exhaust valve against seat.

An ancient friend, an aero/auto mechanic/machinist/pilot,
recalled, as a very young Pan Am mechanic during War II, Pan Am's chief of maintenance swearing by Marvel Mystery Oil, ordering it by the 55-gallon drum. They didn't want anything happening to those big Pratt & Whitneys in the airborne Clippers over the vast expanse of the Pacific.

Not that many of us care about clipboard martinets, but since the Ampco devices are N.O.S. period correct, no one can dock you a fraction of a point for one, if such still matters to you.

Order the one-quart jar for your Packard, one-pint for an MG, two-quart cansister for a big truck. You can monitor flow via a glass site tube, and a thumbwheel allows you to vary consumption, a quart of Marvel per 800-1,000 miles being a good rate.

Marvel smells nice. Believe it'd make a swell after shave.

Thanks for those replies!

I have never seen any data. What would be done is a motor test in a laboratory.

Believe it or not, if you rigged up a home made EGR and PCV that would do alot more for the motor. However, that would require new carburetor jetting as well.

I'm curious what the exhaust looks like using one of those oilers. Does it have a nice mosquito fogging effect while driving?

While the poster asking the question or other Texas drivers probably don't have to worry anytime soon, other states are using remote tailpipe sensing gadgets or have nosy drivers looking for "polluters" to turn in. Apparently any smoke from the tailpipe is a big NO and not considered a normal emission that older cars are exempt from -- at least not in Calif.

The oilers used to be installed regularly back in the day but wonder if we could get away with putting one on today and if they would do any good with the stuck valves from sitting problems.

If you want to find some long, involved, largely worthless discussions of the pros and cons of MM oil, just poke around on-line. They are generally a marvel-ous waste of time. Hope nothing like that gets started here.

I think putting MM in the gas is sufficient "top cylinder" lube. As an oil additive it touts benefits in improving oil viscosity. I don't know.

The nice smell is Wintergreen, added so there's no mistaking it for any other kind of oil or fluid (and maybe wintergreen oil is part of the "mystery" of its lubricating qualities).

I've never noticed any additional smoke when adding it to the fuel in recommended quantities. It seems to be a wonderful varnish-fighter in carburetors.

Have fun with your Ampco oiler!

I have one on my 49 Desoto. It was there when I bought the car, has a very thin tube going into the intake and the MMO level slowly goes down so I think it is working. I don't see any ill effects, no excess smoke or fouled plugs. I wouldn't install one but since it was there, I leave it alone except when adding some oil. Interesting conversation piece, I get many questions when I open the hood and they see that attached to the firewall, as I recall it has a light bulb on it, not sure what it does--

Sheds a little light on the mystery. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I've got one on my '51 and it runs a little quieter after the install. I've had it running for 2 years now and there isn't anything visible out the tail pipe at all. Mine had a stuck valve when I bought it and my mechanic said that the oiler would probably help especially since it's an L head. I found my kit on e-Bay. Don't remember what I paid for it so it couldn't have been much.