Oil

[KurtS]

The oil has a unique green color...

When PA crude comes out of the ground, the color can vary from water clear to dark brown. They must be adding a dye to it.

[cook_dw]

They must be adding a dye to it.

They do. 

[L78racer]

Valvoline VR1.

[Emo1956]

I have been building engines and racing  for over 45 years and I only use 20W-50 Valvoline VR1 High Zddp . Oil is cheap protection for your engine and A good filter. Rotella no long has ZDDP. You need at least 1300 PPM .

[bertfam]

Rotella no long has ZDDP.

That's an incorrect statement. Rotella T4 15W-40 is still rated CK-4, CJ-4, CI-4, CI-4 Plus and CH-4, which means it has the correct levels of ZDDP these old cars require. (The picture below is Rotella T4 15W-40 I picked up today at Walmart.)

The above link I posted from Duke Williams no longer seems to be working so let's try this again!

http://www.corvettesinternational.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=370.0;attach=40

From the article:

Thus, CJ-4 is the best commonly available oil for vintage engines because you are essentially guaranteed a near ideal amount of ZDDP for maximum protection of vintage engine sliding surface components.

The maximum P concentration per the CJ-4 API specification that has been in place and unchanged since 2007 is 1200 ppm, which would yield Zn in the range of 1300 ppm.

Bottom line is use ONLY Parkerized cams and use ANY oil with a primary C-category, and ignore any secondary categories. (Primary C-category oils are also identified by the 15W-40 and 5W-40 grades that are unique to C-category oils.)

Ed

[Bigfish45]

There are all kinds of fancy and EXPENSIVE lubricants out there. I'm old school and know what has worked for me in all the big block Chevy engines I have owned, built, raced and destroyed since 1979. I'm assuming your engine has a flat tappet camshaft in it and is used just for a cruise-in/show car. Without getting into a long educational reply on today's oils vs oils of the past that had lots of zinc and phosphorous anti-wear additives in them, this is my recommendation to you. Go buy a premium brand of 10w-30 conventional motor oil (Valvoline) and put a bottle of Comp Cams #159 camshaft break-in additive in your engine EVERY time you change your oil. Change it at 3000 miles and use the most expensive oil filter you can buy. That's what I use in my cars and what I recommend to everyone that I build an old school flat tappet camshaft engine for. We have not experienced wiping a camshaft yet.

[bertfam]

So there you go wiljoe765. Opinions on what oil to use are like a-holes. Everybody has one. You can go expensive or you can go reasonable. It's up to you. But before you go adding ZDDP to any oil, it would be a good idea to read THIS because YES, there's such thing as having too MUCH ZDDP!!!

And I echo what bigfish45 said about the filter. Use a GOOD filter, and by that, I mean try to stay away from Fram. I've used Wix in the past but lately I've heard a lot of good things about BALDWIN, which most people have never even heard of. Apparently they're the standard in the medium/HD truck trade and off road equipment for construction and mining. They're not usually sold through your local FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto Parts Store), or even RockAuto, but can by bought from parts dealers that cater to the above mentioned trades. Their part number P18 is for 1967 and prior cartridge applications, and their part number B27 is for 1968 and later spin-on applications.


Ed

[bcmiller]

I asked JohnZ a few years ago about Shell Rotella and it was fine then, so should be now.

I use NAPA Gold filters.   

[cook_dw]

Napa Gold = Wix

[bcmiller]

Correct. Just wanted to see if anyone was paying attention.

Napa store is close to me and gives me a discount. They get plenty of my business.

[cook_dw]

[Brent396]

Bertfam - has 15w40 worked well? I always use 10w30 in my 396.

[bertfam]

Yes, no problems at all.

Ed

[Brent396]

Yes, no problems at all.

Ed

Thank you.

[althomas55]

I've used the "Brad Penn"  green oil for several years in my 454 and have not had any issues,buying through Cumberland Truck  parts  here in Pa. around 5.00/qt.