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Classic car oil

I`ve been using Rotella 15-40 for years for breaking in and then switching to Lucas once its run in. Seems to be working good...
 
Rick62 said:
A friend of mine that distributes all kinds of oil tells me the unless the can says "not intended for highway use" the oil does not contain adequate zinc for flat tappet cams. The government mandated reduction of zinc from oil. In the olden days, say prior to 1990, most oil had 1500ppm or more of zinc. Today if an oil contains more than 800ppm is must be labeled as not intended for highway use or for racing only. I'm not sure which. Many oil brands today that advertise being good for older cars do not advertise their zinc ppm and that's because the ppm of zinc in that oil is less than 800.
Click to expand...


Check out the Brad Penn website.
Brad Penn: (Used to be Kendall Racing Oil in the 70s)

I don't want to be RUDE but your friend who distributes OIL is incorrect OR misinformed.
with respect to you and your friend.
As evidence, again check out Brad Penn oils OR:
ODZKing's post #10.

- - - Updated - - -

ODZKing said:
I've been using this but it is getting harder to find.
At one time Walmart had it but I haven't seen it now for months.
View attachment 298763
Click to expand...

Contains at least 1100 ppm Zinc
 
Okay, ALL GOOD INFO!

It seems we all agree that ZINC is an important additive for the Muscle Car Valve train.

Now, Weight Specific?

I recently picked up a 1969 SC/Rambler
Gorgeous car!
Well taken care of.
Old timer (like myself) always ran 20W-50 in the 390 engine.
To me, a 20-50 OIL is very thick.

I recently purchased Brad Penn 10-30 from Summit Racing.

Any input as to WHY we would need a 20-50 oil in our cars?
 

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I use the same stuff I have for the last 30+ years. The cheapest oil I can find and a can of STP oil. I've never had a problem!
 
I use 10w-40. I used to use 20w-50 but switched a few years ago after reading an article in Mopar Muscle about using 10w-40 over the heavier oils for cold starts and parasitic loss of HP.
 
The weight should really depend upon the bearing clearances your engine has been built with. Typical clearances for most street & mild performance carburetion-era V8's are around .002 / .003. High performance "racing" engines typically have clearances of .003+, perhaps as much as .005 for high RPM applications. Thicker oil is required at these larger clearance engines. trying to squeeze this "racing oil" into an engine with .002 clearances will show higher oil pressure, and many might say "that's good". Just because it says "racing" on the bottle, and the guage shows higher pressure, many car guys think they're doing the right thing. But this is fools gold. It robs horsepower as the pump is worked too hard to try to force this thicker oil into a relatively small clearance. It also can cause oil starvation at high RPM's. The right weight for your engines specs is the right choice.

I'm not an oil expert, but I'd say know your clearances and use that info to make an informed decision on your oil. For most carbureted era rebuilt V8's, my understanding is: Starting at .002, likely calls for something in the range of 10-30, and working towards .005 calls for 20/50.
 
Thank you LemonWedge!

I did order the Brad Penn 10-30
(He always ran Brad Penn 20-50W in that SC/Rambler)
I'll run the 10-30 in the cooler Mojave Desert winters.
And perhaps 20-50W during the HOT 100+ degree Summers

I think 20-50 is THICK and yet, this weeks 06 Jan 2016 GraveYardCarz episode they started up a FV2 (Burnt Orange) 1970 Hemi Charger and added Brad Penn 20-50 oil.

I do not think Chrysler told us to run 20-50 in the Hemi cars back in 1970 or did they?

I think I have 15-40 in mine...
(Old Age, I forget)
 
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Don't forget that the climate where you live plays a role in recommended weight of oil.
 
Longroof said:
Don't forget that the climate where you live plays a role in recommended weight of oil.
Click to expand...

Yes. 5w30 flows better at 20f than 15w40 diesel oil. I use Quaker state defy (1200ppm zddp) or 10w30 shell rotella t5 diesel. Both semi synthetics. My 383 has tight clearances and oil pressure is 50-75psi depending on temp and engine speed using 5w or 10w30. Defy is $3/qt at WalMart. I have a purpleshaft flat.

Racing oils are not intended for long service intervals but the valvoline racing oils perform really well according to benchmark testing I've seen. If you change frequently its not a problem.

I have heard good things about the Joe Gibbs ls30 oil as well. Bottom line is there are a lot of great oils out there and zddp is only part of the story. With a flat tappet cam its good to stay over 1100ppm...but you don't need to add a bottle of zddp for 10000ppm either.
 
super-bee_ski said:
Check out the Brad Penn website.
Brad Penn: (Used to be Kendall Racing Oil in the 70s)

I don't want to be RUDE but your friend who distributes OIL is incorrect OR misinformed.
with respect to you and your friend.
As evidence, again check out Brad Penn oils OR:
ODZKing's post #10.

- - - Updated - - -



Contains at least 1100 ppm Zinc
Click to expand...


How oil is labeled depends on when it was produced. Oil for sale produced and bottled before legislation becomes effective does not need to comply. Notice in post #10 he goes on to say he can't find it anymore.

Here's a very long but interesting article about motor oil. It includes the chemical breakdown on some popular oil. Since it's from 2013 the data may be out of date already.

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

Right or wrong I still try to use oil with 1500 or more ppm of zinc.
 
Last edited:
Rick62 said:
How oil is labeled depends on when it was produced. Oil for sale produced and bottled before legislation becomes effective does not need to comply. Notice in post #10 he goes on to say he can't find it anymore.

Here's a very long but interesting article about motor oil. It includes the chemical breakdown on some popular oil. Since it's from 2013 the data may be out of date already.

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/20/motor-oil-wear-test-ranking/

Right or wrong I still try to use oil with 1500 or more ppm of zinc.
Click to expand...
Yeah Rick, only place that seems to still have it is Amazon. And I am going to order a case or two before it is all gone.
Otherwise I saw great deals at Carlisle in July. It is not the same stuff but has the higher ZDDP. I will pick some up there as well.
 
Valvoline VR1 racing oil. Valvoline oil is all I have ever used since 1974 and I have never wiped a cam lobe. Ron
 
Where do you get the Brad Penn oil? Sounds like that has a lot of votes...
 
Castrol 5-30 in the wife's PT Cruiser

Castrol 10-40 in my Dakota and all 3 of my Chargers from the 60's

Castrol 20-50 in my little 88 Shadow with over 226,000 miles on it...

no extra additives either
 
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