Robberbach Posted November 19, 2011 Share Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) I don't want to start the big oil debate, just wondering what oil would be best for my 1950 Buick 248. In the past I used Castrol 20w50. The car does not run in the winter, but is stored in a heated garage. What say you? Would a zinc additive be necessary? Edited November 19, 2011 by Robberbach (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brh Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 This may fall under the heading of "if it ain't broke don't fix it". Since the car is in heated storage, its not exposed to a lot of condensation. As long as this oil is working for you, and you change the oil and filter when you take it out of storage, why change? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michel88 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 I agree with brh, stick to the 20-50 oil. I like to change the oil and filter just before the car is put away for winter so you have clean and acid free oil in the crankcase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937-44 Posted November 21, 2011 Share Posted November 21, 2011 Not sure if I'm wasting a little money, but I've started adding a bottle of cam lube every oil change in my 54. The removal of the zddp in modern oil has made me decide a little precaution and $5 might be better than a valve job down the road even if it only puts it off a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbach Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Thanks for the responses. Sticking with what works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest autorestore Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 Oils: What motor oil should I use? Which oil is best for my Porsche or aircooled engine?While focused on the Porsche/VW market, an interesting read on the subject of oil, generally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fred_S Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Engine oil for any older (pre 1990) should carry a rating in that circle logo of SE through SL. The new SM rated oil has only 600 ppm or less ZDDP and should not be used. SL has about 1200, the SE through SJ has 1600. Some racing oils have over 2000 but that is not good for anything with a cat converter. nor useful under normal driving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 I've used Wal-Mart's store brand Super-Tech brand oil 20W-50 in many of our old cars. It is rated SH, SJ, SL, SM. Shouldn't this be enough for any of our flat-tappet engines? It is also inexpensive - I change it frequently since we do like to get out and do cross-country tours, and most of the cars do not have an oil filter. Wal-Mart oil is relatively cheap - engines, not so much.The oil I use in our 7.3L Diesel tow vehicle is Shell Rotella - has a rating of CJ-4/SM. This might also be a decent choice at 15W-40 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fred_S Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Marty, I love that Packard, but still maintain that any oil that meets SM will NOT have enough zink (zddp) for our old cars. I expecially fear for your '41 Cad as it has a vulnerable gearset off the cam driving the distributer/oil pump shaft. The Buicks should hold up better and I applaud your changing oil often in a non-filtered car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Fred,Maybe I'm confused -- If the "diesel" oil meets "SH" and all the way through to "SM", wouldn't it have the higher amount of zinc to meet the "SH", and not the lower amount to meet the "SM" ??I'm certainly no expert - so - just asking - Edited December 7, 2011 by Marty Roth sp (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Read the attached link, and you'll see that even diesel oils don't have the zinc that the older oils used to have, and it's not just zinc that's a factor.Performance Oils and Additives: Got Zinc?: Engine Builder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Armitage Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 (edited) I use Classic Car Motor Oil in my Classics. It's distributed by the Indiana region of the CCCA and has the ZDDP added to it.Classic Car Motor OilAlso, I recently saw that SynTech makes a classic car motor oil.http://www.castrol.com/castrol/genericarticle.do?categoryId=82915470&contentId=7032644 Edited December 10, 2011 by Andrew Armitage (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Roth Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 What about the synthetic oils?Are they sufficient?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andrew Armitage Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 (edited) Regular synthetics will not have enough ZDDP in them for our old engines. They purposely took them out because it destroys the cats on modern cars' exhaust systems.You can use them, but make sure you add a ZDDP additive. Edited December 11, 2011 by Andrew Armitage (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Take a look at Mobi 1 synthetic 10w-40 high mileage oil. It contains 1,100 ppm of zinc and 1,000 of phosphorous. I ran this in a flat tappet engine for a number of miles and it 1) cleaned up the engine after a couple of oil changes, 2) the engine ran smoother and I was getting better mileage, and 3) it's got the zinc and phosphorus needed for the flat tappet engines.http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Files/Mobil_1_Product_Guide.pdfPlus it's $27.19 per 5 quart container at Wally-World. I combine this with NAPA Gold filters which are built by Wix. No problems!! Very happy Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Green Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Also been running Mobil 1 since 1995 in many antique vehicles without an issue. Beat the snot out of the 72 Vette, zero issues. Synthetic can handle gas in the oil better than conventional oil and if you have a carburetor they all get some gas in the oil, some more than others.Mobil 1 saved my Amphicar engine. Drove it for 20 minutes at 50 MPH with the crankcase semi full of water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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