Oil recommendation for vintage Buick

[pint4 5]

I have a 1935 Buick with 30,000 miles and original straight 8 engine.  What are the best modern oils formulated for vintage cars like mine?  Have others used synthetic oil in their vintage Buicks?  Any problems?  What weight oil, straight?... multi-viscosity?  I am told high Zinc content and low detergent is critical.  

Thanks!

[copperjohn 0]

Lucas makes a hot rod and classic car oil formulated with the zinc and phosphorus needed for those engines.

[Bob Engle 170]

Everyone has their own opinion.  Use a quality oil and change it regularly.  I prefer 15-40 diesel oil.

 

Bob Engle

[hidden_hunter 266]

http://www.penriteoil.com.au/has lots of good options - I believe there is a U.S reseller 

[Mark Shaw 1,695]

Just about any modern oil will be better than the old stuff. Keep in mind that detergent oils are designed to suspend solids for the oil filter to remove.  So IMO, "non-detergent" oil should be used in an original engine that has no oil filter.  Older engines have large oil pans designed to settle out solids.  They do a good job too; just pull the pan and see how much sludge has accumulated in an original non-rebuilt engine. 

 

However, if the engine has been rebuilt and uses an oil filter, feel free to use detergent or synthetic oils.  Most of us do not run our older cars in winter, so regular 30 wt oil can be used.  If your engine is a bit tired, you may want to run multi-viscosity oil to help maintain oil pressure.  The best thing you can do is change the oil in a fall before putting it to bed for the winter.  This will eliminate corrosives that accumulate while driving that can damage bearings & other components while it is in storage.

[CarNicopia 422]

Is anyone familiar with the Hemming's branded oil? http://www.hemmings.com/classic-oil

While I suspect this is a licensing deal, I have more faith that Hemmings might care about the quality of a product with their name on it then, say, Barrett-Jackson (waxes).