my 53 of course came with the oil bath breather, i want to put a open ,paper filter breather on it but there is no stud in the center. i think the old one clamped on but i did not get it when i bought the truck.any body dealt with this before? any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If you would like to keep the Oil bath breather look you can convert it to a paper filter.
Here is an article on the subject.
Flathead V8: How to convert an oil bath filter to paper element .: Articles
Here is a video on it:
1952 Plymouth - Oil Bath to Paper Air Filter Conversion - YouTube

 

Does your carb have a straight vertical surface where the air cleaner mounts, or is it a horizontal Vee-shape? If it's straight, you have plenty of options, Vee-shape you'll want to convert the oil bath.