Originally Posted By: PimTac
... On the ‘54 Chevy, the oil change was a real pain in the arse as the filter arrangement was one of the worst ever. Trying to keep a small O ring on the housing while negotiating a frame member in the process kept us busy for a long time. ...
That's odd, because filter changes on our '54 Chevy were easy, except for the need to suction out roughly a pint of old oil left in the filter housing after the old canister was removed. The gasket on the cover was flat, not an O-ring. The filter was clamped to the side of the intake manifold, up high where it was far from any frame member and easily accessible.
Oil filters were optional accessories back then. I believe someone said in an earlier thread that GM used more than one filter model on that engine.