Resurrecting 1954 Dodge 241 V8. No oil filter!

[fdcg27]

Nice find and a nice old truck.
WRT detergent oil, this thing is a '54 not a '34, so it probably saw detergent motor oil over most of its life.
The lack of an oil filter is of no great concern.
There was at least one manufacturer (Rambler, I think) which advertised the lack of an oil filter as a virtue, since you'd save money not having to buy one with each oil change.
In truth, with an engine that's had proper maintenance throughout its working life, an oil filter is hardly needed.
There will be no difference in the life of any modern engine between those run on the cheapest quick-change e-cores and those run with Fram Ultras.
With the drain intervals that would have been recommended for your truck, an oil filter would have been of little benefit.
If I'd bought the thing, I'd probably put a modern 10W-30 in it and give it a few short runs just to see what the oil looks like as well as to clean out anything that may be in need of cleaning.
No mere oil is going to unleash huge aglomerations of crud and no mere oil will cause the pickup screen to clog unless that was already in progress.
JMHO, since it is your truck and your engine.

 

[ledslinger]

Cool truck with a cool engine. Don't put a filter on it unless you are going to commute in it and run it over 1K miles per year. Yes that would be stupid. I'd run 15W40 HDEO for short intervals.

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

There will be an oil filter. I've torn down enough engines with layers of sediment in the oil pan and deep scratches in the bearings to convince me a filter is a good idea. It's no cure all, but filters do help.

I've decided against using the stock wheels as the only thing that fits them is a 6.50-16 bias tire and those aren't cheap or much good by modern standards. I may as some later date widen the stock wheels, but for now I have a set of Ford Explorer wheels I'll hide behind Moon discs.

 

[Greg L]

Joshua-
I was in the same situation 15 years ago that you are now. I spoke with many people about non-detergent engine oil. And they all suggested that I stick with modern 10w30.
I've had my 1951 GMC for years now and no problems using modern oil; there really is no significant scare of having sludge turned up in your engine.