Engine: Motor oil thoughts?

[Surfpilot]

The manual calls for SAE 30 motor oil in the 63 Lark, but I was wondering if anyone is running multigrade oils and what the results have been. It seems to me that running a 10 or 20w30 might be a little more beneficial just for the start/warm up. I don't believe multigrade oil was commonly available in 63, otherwise Studebaker may have recommended it. I realize this is a highly debatable topic, but regardless would appreciate your thoughts.

[Commander Eddie]

I am no expert on engine oil but have been using multigrade motor oil in both my '50 Commander with a 245 cu. in. six, and my '61 Champ truck with a V8 engine with no ill effects. I started using it upon a recommendation from by brother who is a master mechanic and expert on Studebakers. I would suggest trying a grade like 10W-30 and watch your oil pressure on cold starts and after the engine is hot. You may find that changing to something heavier in the summer and lighter in the winter is a good choice.
I will be very interested to see what other replies you get.

[Skip Lackie]

Multigrade oil was available when your car was new, but it wasn't as good as it is today. Both engine/metallurgy and lubricant technology has changed greatly over the years. Your engine never had the close tolerances of today's cars, and 50 years of driving it probably hasn't tightened it up. Agree with Commander Eddie -- start with something like 10w-40 (or even 20w-50 in summer) and keep track of oil pressure and oil consumption.

[warrlaw1]

I run 10W30 but use the "diesel" grade (because I read it here on the forum and I trust these guys).

[R59hawk]

I would bring up the point of lack of zink in modern oil, that is a must for your flat bottom lifters! So consider "ZDDP" additive. I recently bought a car with no history, I sent the oil out for analyzation ($15) they told me that the engine has multi weight high detergent oil in it. But if it was straight weight oil, but if I put multi weight detergent oil in a car that was a non detergent straight it can release lots of sludge and clog the pick up screen on your oil pump causing loss of oil pressure etc. I also pulled valve covers to see how clean things were. Again do some reading about zink, lot of people have lost cams on brand new rebuilt engines due to the fact EPA has mandated oil mfg's lower the zink. And delvac and the diesel oils have been forced to lower there zink. Hope this helps, Tony from Maine

[Bud]

I use either a diesel rated oil such as Chevron Delo 400 or Shell Rotella T in either the 10W-30 or 15w-40 grades. The modern heavy duty engine oils have more than enough zinc, around 1,200ppm vs 1400ppm of the earlier oils which is far higher than the amount of zinc and phosphorus that was available in oils back in the 60's and early 70's. I don't like to add anything to engine oil as I don't believe I'm smarter than the engineers at the major oil companies. Keep in mind zinc is an abrasive and in excessive amounts can actually increase wear to internal engine components and arbitrarily adding something with an unknown quantity of zinc and phosphorus such as a ZDDP additive is in my mind not a good idea. Bud

[Paul Keller]

The "Tech Guys" @ Chevron/Texaco (my gas & oil of choice) sent an e-mail showing the zinc content @ 1100 ppm. If you know what the zinc content is of your particular oil, you can add enough (only enough) ZDDP to bring it up to the desired 1200-1400 ppm level. According to a very detailed Corvette Owners Organization research project, they found that ZDDP in amounts over 1600 ppm can cause premature ring wear - In other words, more is not necessarily better.
Paul TK

[rockne10]

I continue to use Rotella T 15-40 in all my older engines.
When I had the 289 rebuilt, each journal was polished and a bearing was matched; with that, and new cam bearings, the oil pressure pegged on start-up and dropped to 60+ at hot idle. For that, I switched to 10-30. I can live with 45 lb. oil pressure at hot idle.

[Surfpilot]

I continue to use Rotella T 15-40 in all my older engines.
When I had the 289 rebuilt, each journal was polished and a bearing was matched; with that, and new cam bearings, the oil pressure pegged on start-up and dropped to 60+ at hot idle. For that, I switched to 10-30. I can live with 45 lb. oil pressure at hot idle.

I'm pegging on startup too, but with SAE 30. Maybe I'll switch to a 10w40 and see if that helps. Good stuff guys, it's always fun to bang the knowledge around.

[JimC]

Depending on the weather, I've used 15w40 and 10w30 in the 63. I don't see much of a difference in oil pressure or consumption. Either way I'm getting just a hair over 40 lbs. at hot idle conditions. I'm tempted to try some 20w50 on my next oil change to ride out the rest of the summer, but really, it seems to like what I'm giving it, so why mess with it? (Plus when Bob Palma pointed out the sale on VR1 racing oil, I went out and bought a whole bunch of it, so I may as well use what I've got! )

[Swifster]

Mobil 1 for my modern cars and Brad Penn in older, flat tappet cars.

http://penngrade1.com/

[JoeHall]

This subject has been well addressed here, many times. If you do a search in the archives, you can read about it till you fall asleep each night for a week.
I have been using Mobil-1, 15W50 in Studes since the late 1990s, and change it every 10,000 miles, and have never had an engine problem that could be linked to lubrication. I recently installed Mobil-1, 10W40 in a GT Hawk, and it is working well. Reason for the switch in viscosity was because this was an NOS motor with still less than 10,000 miles on it. Besides, 15W50 is getting harder to find, and more expensive when you do find it, at least here in Kentucky.
However, do not try to break in a new Stude motor with Mobil-1. Give it at least 5000 miles on dino oil first, since the rings will not seat with Mobil-1. At least that has been my experience.

[Jet Green Daytona]

I recently spotted a synthetic blend made by Valvoline that has extra zinc over other oils specifically for older engines. It comes in multi-viscosities, so you can choose which one. I decided to use it just because of the zinc, now I don't have to worry about using an additive. This oil might have been around for a while, I don't know, its just that I spotted it when looking for something else in the oil aisle.

I use the shell rotella T synthetic in my diesel Ford truck, it is highly recomended by most of the diesel magazines that are out today, but I haven't actually thought about using it in my Stude. The truck gets an oil change every 5000 miles, however a few times I let it go as long as 8500 miles before a change.

[Surfpilot]

This subject has been well addressed here, many times. If you do a search in the archives, you can read about it till you fall asleep each night for a week.
I have been using Mobil-1, 15W50 in Studes since the late 1990s, and change it every 10,000 miles, and have never had an engine problem that could be linked to lubrication. I recently installed Mobil-1, 10W40 in a GT Hawk, and it is working well. Reason for the switch in viscosity was because this was an NOS motor with still less than 10,000 miles on it. Besides, 15W50 is getting harder to find, and more expensive when you do find it, at least here in Kentucky.
However, do not try to break in a new Stude motor with Mobil-1. Give it at least 5000 miles on dino oil first, since the rings will not seat with Mobil-1. At least that has been my experience.

you must have an oil filter I have a 62 engine with no filter, so i do oil changes every 1000 miles or so...not a big deal since i only drive it about 3k a year.

[jackb]

another question should be: at 3000 miles ayear (or less) what do you need to add to your fluids to enjoy the ride ????