Hi all;
Can I add a little history to this discussion, based on my 25+ years working for Mopar Parts Division?
A few items;
- Spin on filters were introduced with the 58 "B" engine series, and were painted black with a yellow-orange "Forward Look" Mopar logo. existing engines carried over the old canister type filter, but most of these were changed to spin on for the 1963 model year.
These filters had a canister with a quarter sized dimple in the center of the can end.
-Sometime in the mid 1960's Mopar changed over to the "OMEGA M" logo, after Corporate dumped the Forward Look logo for the Pentastar. I don't yet have a date for this change. That change spread to oil filters installed on the assembly line. The higher volume filters also got the Omega M stamped on the end of the filter canister.
-Mopar parts were sold via two distribution systems, dealers (sold all parts) and independent parts distributors, who sold a selected line of fast moving maintenance and repair parts; this independent distribution chain lasted until about 1980.
- Independents demanded a simple and logical part numbering system, unlike Chrysler's random number system. This generated oil filter numbers like "L72"(oil filter part 72), (this is the main Chrysler vehicle application) This was similar to Ford Autolite/ Motorcraft and GM AC/Delco systems.
-Dealers resented the added competition for the same part sold by the independents, so Mopar added a "Chrysler Parts" brand line in the mid 1960's; same part and number, but with the blue and while logo. The green parts with the Omega M went to the aftermarket, and to those Chrysler dealers who preferred to buy from distributors (less stock investment, sometimes cheaper prices).
-In about 1971, Mopar consolidated both logo styles into the red/white/blue Mopar parts logo parts. This is also about the time the "shorty" filter was introduced (1972), to address a change in the engine belts in "C" bodies.
- Mopar Performance reintroduced some of the older logo filters in the 1990's when I was Manager. We tried to get the logos as correct as we could but the engineering documents were not very clear. We wanted to add the Omega M to the canister, but we were told this was a weak spot in the stamping and could cause a lot of failures or scrap.
- Chrysler part numbers are almost completely random. Central Engineering issues a "block" of 50 or so part numbers to the individual Engineering departments to use for each new part released. The only thing you can tell form the number is the general year they were first used (excepting trim, accessories, etc., of course).
The five digit number found on many parts (eg. 42358)is the supplier code, each supplier was issued one when approved by Purchasing.
I hope this helps. Questions welcome, as best as I can answer.
Mark
