This topic is constantly changing, but things seem to have settled down a bit. I'll be briefly discussing this [again] in the December Co-Operator, but today learned of this new oil specifically for our older engines:'Most everyone is finally in agreement that contemporary oils marketed for contemporary engines don't have enough ZDDP (zinc dialkyldithiophosphate, if you can pronounce it) in them to protect flat-tappet camshafts. If you don't believe that, quit reading and go on to the next topic.
Enthusiast Dennis Kirban of Kirban Peformance Products was kind eniough to sit in on The Co-Operator Tech Session at Lancaster and explain the benefits of the product ZDDPlus he markets. It is available through vendors Jon Myer and Studebaker International, and possibly others, in Studebaker-land. You can add a pint of ZDDPlus to just about any contemporary oil of your choosing and restore the ZDDP level needed by the older, flat-top camshaft engine in any Studebaker.
Castrol is now marketing a Collector / Muscle Car Oil as well, readily available at most retailers around the country. It already has enough ZDDP in it if you prefer to not use a separate additive. But it must not be used in cars newer than 1988, either, so don't buy a case of it and figure you can use it in both your Studebaker and your late-model, daily driver.
The D-A Lubricant Company on the west side of Indianapolis, manufacturers of the oil in above-mentioned link, has been in business for years. I even took a sample of Kendall C-999 Steering Gear Lubricant in there several years ago and got an audience with one of their chemists, to see if they had a product we could use in Studebaker/Ross steering gears. He analyzed my C-999 sample in their lab while I watched (interesting process!) and concluded they did not. We then explored the possibility of manufacturing such a product for Studebaker use. The cost and quantity involved were prohibitive, so that's where that project ended.
Anyway, it looks like D-A has created a Classic Car Oil with ZDDL and additional ingredients for collector car engines that spend a long time in storage, so that might be something to consider, too. (Personally, I bought so many cases of old-formula Shell Rotella-T two years ago that it's going to be years before I have to address this issue for my own cars!)
BP
We've got to quit saying, 
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