I have of course heard of FoMoCo parts and Motorcraft parts but just yesterday a old man in the neighborhood gave me a bag of old NOS parts and one of the items was a Rotunda oil filter.



He thought he was doing me a favor thinking the filter would fit on my truck...but it will not fit.



I never heard of "Rotunda" before and cant find any info on the net....(except of course info on the Ford Rotunda) which is what the line of parts was named after I'm assuming ?



Does anyone know when they started and ended the "Rotunda line" ???



Thanks Bob

That oil filter fits about 98% of Fords from 55(with spin on adapter) to 1985 or so.Real gem you have there.To a collector its gold.Rotunda was phased out in the mid 60s when " Autolite" took over.Dont know when it started but 57 or so would be close.What else did he give you?By the way if you want to send me that filter I will send you one that fits your truck.Deal?

  

Nothing to get excited about...



3 Fram inline gas filters.



a N.O.S. choke conversion kit to make a auto to manual type choke (bowden cable) still in the package.



3 brand new lawn mower blades (I repair mowers as a sideline) for mowers that have not been in production for over 30 years .



and the filter....Im just gonna keep the filter and use it after I retire in about 12 years and put it on my 59 Skyliner...(the one my wife tells me I can get after I take my pension)



BT

Rotunda has been and is currently Motorcraft's special Ford service tools and diagnostic equipment supplier.

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdirs/retail/default.asp?pageid=pubs_rotunda&gutsid=pubs_rotunda&kevin=rules

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

There's lotsa Ford Rotunda Tools on ePay... http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1311&_nkw=rotunda+tools&_sacat=See-All-Categories



Along with an Oil Filter like yours for $325.00 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NOS-FORD-ROTUNDA-R1-A-OIL-FILTER-GALAXIE-COBRA-MUSTANG-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem5d2a3e1cccQQitemZ400140672204QQptZVintageQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_12667wt_986




"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Thats just CRAZY !!!....oh wait "free shipping"....sorry I didn't see that part !



For that much money it should be hand delivered by a ......NEVER MIND !

You are right.Thats crazy.That filter is not worth more than $299.99 even with free shipping.I won't buy it until that outrageous price is reduced to what its REALLY worth!So there!If you change your mind on the filter I will send you two(2) correct filters.Final offer!

  

I went to work for ford dealers in 1966, there were still a lot of Rotunda parts on the shelfs but all the new stuff was Autolite or Ford parts. Later the Autolite stuff changed to Motorcraft. There is an old family owned Ford Dealership near me that still has some Rotunda oil filters on the shelf and no telling what else. I have talked to the owner/service manager/parts manager/salesman before about digging through the old stuff. He keeps putting me off because some idots from Georgia came through looking for mustang stuff and left him with a mess. They opened some of the orginal packages looking because they did not know how to use a parts book and then did not take the part I think that one day I can get in there, but it will be when he can stand there and watch every move and I don't blame him. I did buy some plugs and a NOS Y block flexplate from him at a fair pricel.

Glen Henderson



Freedom is not Free

Letohatchee, AL

A longtime friend of mine worked in the parts department of Hughson Ford in San Francisco. It was the first Ford dealership that started in 1903. I bought several engines and transmission from them. They finally closed in 1979 and the gold mine of stuff left faded away. The last dealer I worked for was in Watsonville, Ca. Oldest continual operating L/M dealer in California now Ford and Lincoln. The son has the dealership now with a treasure trove of old parts, flatheads, unrestored early Tbirds, Mercs, Rancheros, etc. in a storage building rotting away. Tried buy one the Rancheros without luck. He won't part with any of it. Many "pickers" travel trying to buy old parts inventory, basically raiding the places leaving bad memories for owners and parts managers. Most of the Rotunda tool kits on Ebay have come from Ford dealers by "interesting" means until a flood of them showed up when so many dealerships were closed after the recent financial crash. Most of the specialty tools are made by OTC for Rotunda.

57 Black Tbird 312/auto

Hmmm, at those prices I guess my Rotunda filters will stay on the shelf.

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?