jerry whitfield Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 hiI am fortunate to have the dealership invoice on my 1950 chevy. It lists under options:heater and deft. $59.75white wall tires $28.65OBAC $4.75any idea what OBAC stands for ?thankyoujerry whitfield Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dkhunt Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 On Board Air Conditioner...Haha -- I think not!Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter J.Heizmann Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 hiany idea what OBAC stands for ?thankyoujerry whitfieldJerry,Many moons ago there was a topic about oil bath air cleaners. This sort of stuck in my mind out of interest as I never heard of it before. I am quite certain someone with more knowledge will chime in here in time.Regards,Peter J. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WQ59B Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I believe Peter nailed it. This page in the '50 Chev owner's manual states "If" the car is equipped with an oil bath air cleaner, so it was optional equipment:Directory Index: Chevrolet/1950_Chevrolet/1950_Chevrolet_Owners_Manual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I see the correlation of OBAC to "oil bath air cleaner", BUT this was the default type of air cleaner mechanism for almost every vehicle prior to the "dry element" air cleaners of the later 1950s. Remember the dual versions on many of the higher-horsepower dual 4bbl 1955 V-8s? Chrysler 300, Cadillac ElDorados, etc.?Regarding what the referenced owners manual states, the filter element "mesh" is certainly NOT a "dry element" air cleaner, especialy considering that it must be re-oiled. I don't know what such an air cleaner would be if it were not some sort of "oil bath air cleaner", all things considered. But it could be that there were "normal" and "HD" versions of the oil bath air cleaner available.Respectfully,NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Commodore Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 The oil bath air cleaner was an option on many cars. The standard air cleaner was an oiled wire mesh air cleaner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Especially on the cheaper cars and pickup trucks. Medium price and high price cars got OBAC as standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Skyking Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Oil bath air cleaners were standard on a Metropolitan, so were heaters, electric wipers, lighter and duel visors. Some manufacturers were still fitting their cars with vacuum wipers but not for the Met, starting in 1954. The original "Smart Car" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave@Moon Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I think it stands for "Oh boy, a chump!"According to The Standard Catalog of Chevrolet oil bath air cleaners were standard on Chevys beginning in 1949. This looks like somebody got taken to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 My '72 Wagon had the "Heavy Duty Air Cleaner" which consisted of an oiled foam ring that went around the outside of the conventional paper air filter. Did not last very long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5219 Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I think it stands for "Oh boy, a chump!"According to The Standard Catalog of Chevrolet oil bath air cleaners were standard on Chevys beginning in 1949. This looks like somebody got taken to me.I think that the Standard Catalog is mistaken. I had a 1950 Fleetline DeLuxe that did not have an oil bath air cleaner. The air cleaner was a wire and mesh ring that you were supposed to clean and oil periodically. It was basically capable of keeping leaves and small birds out of the intake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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