C-3 Mech 1 Judging question

[John D.]

I know that AC Delco used a PF-25 Duraguard as the current "service replacement" for C-3 oil filters. I understand that AC Delco made three grades of PF-25 filter, the Duraguard, duraguard silver and duraguard gold. Is there any difference in judging points between the 3, or are they all scored the same?

Thanks for the advice, John

[Joe L.]

Re: C-3 Mech 1 Judging question

John-----

It's, essentially, a moot point, now. The PF-25 is no longer manufactured, at all. I believe that the the Duraguard Silver is out of production, too. The Ultraguard (Gold) was also discontinued some time ago.

The plain Duraguard last produced were blue, as AC filters have been since about 1973, although the labels used changed over the years and the blue was lighter in later years. The Duraguard Silver were painted silver and the Ultraguard were black. The shell (external cannister) configuration on the Ultraguard filters was slightly different than the others, too, since these filters were manufactured by Champion Laboratories and not DELPHI.

As far as a differential point score for each type, I can't advise.

[Terry M.]

Re: C-3 Mech 1 Judging question

John,
C3 oil filters have a variety of colors and varying configurations as well as different score sheets in different classes with the concomitant possibility of different points assigned to the oil filter in each class. For a point estimate you will need to be more specific as regards to what year you are referring to.

[Todd H 26112]

Re: C-3 Mech 1 Judging question

John I posed this very question some time back regarding early C3s originally equipped w/ a 'white' PF-25. W/ respect to a current service replacement PF454, a 'recent' service replacement blue PF-25 and a generic filter of the same dimension and painted plain white w/ NO markings the 'average' I got from the various answers was as follows:

Current PF-454: 0 points, maybe 1 on a good day.
Recent or Modern PF-25: 1 point.
'White' filter: 1 point, maybe 2 points. (a repainted PF-25 for example)

Those are NOT my answers - they were the ones I took from what others posted.

Since then I've been doing some scrounging and inquiring online and compiling various photos and images form just about anywhere of the history of the PF-25. There is a loooong history of changes in labels once they turned blue over the last 30+ years!

[Terry M.]

Re: C-3 Mech 1 Judging question

For AC Delco oil filter information check The Restorer, Volume 28, #2, Fall 2001 for a story by Don Griffen. Another article by Lewis Russell appears in Volume 24, #4, Spring 1994 dealing with late C3 filter details. Not that these are the entire story, but they are a good start.