The picture is of a fresh paint job 10 years ago
I drive the truck about 500-1000 a year
don"t have any problems with oil vapor or oil useage
here are a couple more pics

ad picture of 226



a closeup



JOE

 

Thanks for the responses Joe(s)! So it looks like the tube is on the original engine in the ad. In the closeup picture, 48ATOY, it does look like you have a short tube in the same spot. So is it a short tube and does it vent from the valve cover?

 

It looks like I am missing lower tube



numbers



JOE 48ATOY

 

The tube is on the valve cover

 

OK, so it seems like I misunderstood your first post - you're just missing the lower extension on your road draft tube. Looks like there was a design change somewhere along the line - the tube on my truck is one piece, like this:



This image is from the 48-56 truck parts catalog, but it is copyrighted 1964. Maybe you have an different version of the catalog (and tube?)?

This also might reflect a minor difference between the car and truck engines...

 

I have two of them, one from a 51, the other from a 52. The 51 is mounted in the rear cover, the 52 in the center.

 

Thanks for the info Wayne. The tube on my '49 is one piece, but it vents from the rear cover. I'm pretty sure it is not the original engine though. Looks like it was frankensteined together with whatever would fit on it. Believe it or not, it has a 254 head (8MTH), even though the block is a 226 (7HA)!

 

Here's some pictures of what I have. Near as I can tell, they have not been altered, except for the 40 years of grease and grime. Both tubes appear to be one piece. The 51 has no other clamp, while the 52 has a clamp that attaches to the oil pan rail.

1951 rear cover mount.



1952 center cover mount



And the air cleaner brace, which is not much more than a simple, easy to duplicate strap.

 

OK, so in summary that makes 3 different pipes for 3 different years:
48 - 2 pc straight, rear cover(?)
51 - 1 pc bent, rear cover
52 - 1 pc straight, center cover

Is it too much to assume that 49 & 50 should also be 2pc straight, rear cover mounted?

I also noticed that Joe's catalog lists two different configurations for the flathead 6's; 48-51 226 tube mounts on rear valve cover, and 50-52 254 tube mounts on center cover

 

I think the oil pans are differant on the 48 and later ones
I have a clear shot down past the starter and oil pan on the back cover

51 and later have a bulg on the oil pan so you have to go to the center cover

take close look at the oil pans...

Joe

 

My drain plug is on the bottom of the pan
and it about 3" wide the style of mid 40s
later have a normal type of plug.....

Joe

 

For the record, both of my engines are 254's.

According to my Ford Service parts book, the 2 piece design was used in 48-49, and replaced by the later, one piece tube (8HA-6756) in 1950. That shows as the same part used for the 226 and 254, with the smaller engine having the tube on the rear cover, and the larger being in the center. Interesting.

 

I think I've got it. And Joe is onto something here with the oil pans. You can see the sumps on the pans on both of Wayne's 254's. They are also shown in the 1951 repair manual:



So it makes sense that the 1pc 'straight' tube was moved to the center valve cover for these engines to clear the sump. The 254's were introduced in 1950 (correct?), so it seems that is when they changed the stock part from the 2 pc to 1 pc tube (8HA-6756) for both the 254 and 226. However, since the 226 had no sump, the new 1 pc tube was mounted in the original position, on the rear valve cover.



So why do we have pictures of 3 tubes then? I suspect it is because that bent tube on Wayne's 1951 254 was a 'custom' job. Maybe it was deliberately bent to fit around the sump by someone who put the valve cover back on in the wrong place sometime in the distant past. That's my guess...

 

That's funny right there. I don't care who you are.

 

The first part I believe you have correct. That's how I read it, as well. Using one tube simplifies everything.

The second part requires understanding that the replacement parts mentioned in the service parts catalog is a list of parts currently available as replacements that will work. That's not necessarily the same as production parts. I believe the tube on the '51 254 is correct and original. It shows no signs of being modified or it being a custom job. But if it were broken, and you went to the dealer for a replacement, you would get something more similar to what was on the '52. In the catalog listing, it calls out all of the pieces necessary (tube with cover, clamp and bracket, hardware, etc.) to replace the earlier tubes with the 'current' replacement parts. My catalog is an original, November 1954 printing.

That's my 2c.