We Bought All the Motorcraft FL-1A Oil Filter Variants We Could Find | Take a Look
Evolution is a well understood and accepted scientific theory that often goes beyond the nature of biological organisms. In this case, the venerable Motorcraft FL-1A has adapted to changing engineering requirements for over half a century. The FL-1A became the gold standard for Ford V8 engines sometime in the late-60s. It replaced cartridge style filters like the Motorcraft FL-20. I searched for a more detailed history of these filters, but didn’t find anything definitive. I believe the FL-1 (the “A” would come later) was originally fitted to the 221 Windsor V8 when it was introduced in 1961, and it was originally marketed as an Autolite part instead of Motorcraft. There was even an FL-1HP Racing Oil Filter available at some point.
Still we can assume that most of the various filters I was able to collect were designed to deal with a range of fitment issues. The FL-300 is esstially a shorter version of the FL-1A, while the Motorcraft FL-400S is skinnier and the Motorcraft FL-910S is skinner and shorter still. The outlier is the Motorcraft FL-299 which threw space constraints out the window and went for max filtering capacity for industrial applications. Check out this vid for a closer look:
Ultimately, I like using standard Wix Filters for these applications. I feel they are a little better constructed than their Motorcraft counterparts, especially when you start considering cost. If anyone is interested, I have the part numbers and links where all these filters can be purchased below:
Motorcraft FL-1A - https://amzn.to/4gb7afa
Motorcraft FL-299 - https://amzn.to/4eXOA9E
Motorcraft FL-300 - https://amzn.to/4fWwYMo
Motorcraft FL-400S - https://amzn.to/3CSoMOC
Motorcraft FL-910S - https://amzn.to/4giMDpl
Motorcraft FL-20 - https://amzn.to/3OD1ZJq
Wix 51515 - https://amzn.to/3CPg3g7
Wix 51516 - https://amzn.to/3Vmb50K
Wix 51773 - https://amzn.to/3ZjJ76X
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