Motor oil question?

I have a 71 charger with a 318 and the stock vavletrain. I was told to use motor oil with a high zinc content is this true?

non roller cams need zinc for break in. after that any good oil is fine.

I just got a comp flat tappet cam with lifters. So just add zinc during break in and after that I won't have to worry about it then?

if you use valvoline vr1 it has zinc. good insurance with a solid cam

Flat tappet cams are prone to wiping out the lifters/lobes unless a good oil with phosphorous and zinc is used. This can even happen without a bunch of spring pressure. Most of the new oils are formulated with a "cleaner" formula as cars for awhile now have used hydraulic roller cams/tappets.
A couple alternatives to race oil are Brad Penn Oil, Schaeffer, and some Diesel oils that haven't suffered the "cleaning" effect yet.
Comp cams has published quite a bit of literature about this. They recommend a can of Oil Supplement at each oil change,( GM also makes it "EOS") if you insist on running modern standard oils.
My Dad's a Ford Tech at a local dealer. A guy was running a '56 T-bird on standard oil with a flat tappet cam and minimal spring pressure. After only 10000 miles the new cam and lifters were wiped out. The owner had been running new type 10w-30 oil with no additive package.
Be careful!!

How about synthetics like Red Line or Royal Purple? Are they OK for a mild hyraulic lifter 440 without any additives?

Thank you for the help daredevil and mopar873

Any oil that's up to the SL rating is good. The new stuff is SAE SM and is reformulated with about 50% less of the vital zinc and phosphorus content and it's advised you stay away from it unless you have extra additive like ZDDP or EOS - or a roller valve train!! I use SWEPCO and it has the additive package consistent with the older SL rating.

my builder told me to use a diesel oil like rotella-t plus an additive just for insurance

I used to run the diesel oil all the time (Chevron DELO) until it turned to crap too.

I've switched to Amsoil. They have (at least) one oil that has (at least) ZDDP of 1200ppm

How long does the Brad Penn oil last before it needs changed? Is it a 3,000 mile oil I couldn't find anything on this

As with any oil I think it's all subject to how you treat the engine. Too rich mixture, too hot, too cold, high RPM, racing, high loads, FI or carb and so on will have an effect on oil life. Using the good stuff like Brad Penn, SWEPCO, AMSOIL, etc. will help resist damage caused by the factors listed above. Back in the 80's I ran off the shelf Valvoline or Havoline and changed it very frequently, but it was good oil with the higher zinc and phosphorus content. A tear down after about 5000 miles of hard driving (by a 17 yr old banging gears at 6000 RPM every day) there was no wear to speak of . The bearings were not copper and appeared as if they never touched the journals. The tear down was not due to anything breaking, just improvements for more power :grin:

Ok thanks.