Engine Oil?

[mhsprecher]

10W-30 synthetic

[jb-ob]

Mr. 1929,

Great question for a Saturday Am second cup of coffee.

Did Rich Falluca rebuild your engine ? If he did, probably a good idea to follow his suggestions. If not, new topic.

Probably the 'gold standard' of motor oil would be a modern straight 30 weight. What you start your trip with is the same as when you arrive.

Engine and oil manufacturers seem to agree that oil needs to 'be there' on start up, so we have 15w, 10w, 5w and even 0w available. A modern multi-weight has more 'wonder' chemicals in it than a pro-athlete.

Question; To get all the benefits from a multi-weight, you probably should also be using a thermostat?

'Just Asking...' JB

[JD 1931]

20 x 50 super tech (Walmart) along with stp....

[Brianfrench65]

You can use the Rotella T Triple Protection 15W-40 especially for older engines with flat tappets because this motor oil has 1200 ppm of zinc for more wear protection.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Kevin

Shell Technical Help Desk - US

[Mitch//pa]

Originally Posted by 1929

Mistake, still using 15w40, just wondering, because Falluca recommends 5W30 SN.

It goes to show ya on schwalms inserts they recommend 15W40,,,
AER inserts 5W30
Its. All a matter of preference. I use 15W40 on my AER motors...
But any viscosity will work...

Some engine rebuilders like chocolate and some like vanilla

[1929]

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Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

It goes to show ya on schwalms inserts they recommend 15W40,,,
AER inserts 5W30
Its. All a matter of preference. I use 15W40 on my AER motors...
But any viscosity will work...

Some engine rebuilders like chocolate and some like vanilla

Its just a matter of curiosity, just want the best for my A.

[Mike V. Florida]

The cheapest I can find as any oil today is better then what was available in the 20's-30's.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I prefer 36-21-34. About 120 weight.

Oh, it's oil you're talking about.

[CWPASADENA]

It is very important to try to drive your car on a regular basis.

Most of the time I get out the car I use for touring, it is usually for a drive of at least 10 miles or more one way and a lot of the time it is for more than that. I use a thermostat and get the engine up to operating temperature for a period of time. This helps keep all the moisture out of the oil which is very harmful to the engine.

I have a babbet "B" engine and I often use the car for long distance touring. I like a multi grade oil which is a little thicker than some like to run. Also, it gets hot in California in the summer. That is why I use 10-40 (winter) or 20-50 for long tours in the summer.

It is true that we do not really need zinc in the oil as we are running steel cams and the valve spring pressure in a Model A is not very high. Oil in the 30's did not contain zinc. It was not until the late 1940's that zinc was added to oil for passenger cars. This was with the introduction of the Kettering Engines from GM, Cadillac and Olds, OHV engines that operated at higher RPM and had higher valve spring pressures then was commonly used before this.

I gave up on trying to tell folks that Zinc was not really necessary for a stock Model A. Zinc is absolutely necessary for most OHV flat tappet engines to protect the cam from scuffing. Zinc will not harm a Model A engine and most people seem to think it is necessary for all old engines so I just leave it there.

Rotella is good as well as a lot of other oils. I just do not feel it is worth the cost to use synthetic oils. Also, they are usually thinner and tend to leak more. I do not like to run oil specifically formulated for Racing. Racing oil does not contain the anti corrosive agents and other additives "street" oils have. Remember, todays oils are all much better than what was available when our cars were new.

Drive your car on a regular basis, get it up to temperature. Use a thermostat to help keep condensation to a minimum.

This is JUST MY OPINION, and once again, I am sure others will have different opinions, which is fine with me.

Chris W.

[mshmodela]

Nice to see all polite responses to this post. Yes a repeated question but no problem with that... Looks like Ryan new rule are working...

[ODFever]

My 2 cents plus tax:
I know the history of my car going back to 1968. The previous owners told me to run non-detergent 30 or 40 weight, and change the oil every 600 miles. I'm not one to fix what isn't broken or change what doesn't need to be changed. I bought 5 cases of 40 weight ND at Sam's Club. It was very inexpensive. I have plenty of oil to last me years. I only drive the A about 1200 miles per year. Changing the oil is so easy, and only takes me about 15 minutes.


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[ODFever]

I just had another epiphany. When I first bought my A I thought that oil was a one-size-fits-all kind of a deal. In the two years that I have owned my car, I have learned a substantial amount about these vehicles. The engine blocks are almost 90 years old, and in some cases they are 90 years old. Engine rebuilders can have slightly different procedures and methods. Not every engine wears the same either. It now makes sense to me that different oils are required by different engine rebuilders.


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[glenn in camino]

I use multi grade synthetic in all my antique cars.

[31 Model A]

Finally a thread that I can weigh in on.........on the engine oil I use in a Model A Ford!!!!

Rotella T Triple Protection 15W40................ See Mitch, he has free coupons.

[31 Model A]

Originally Posted by tom wesenberg

i prefer 36-21-34. About 120 weight.

Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[swo4rd]

Our car engines today never had it so good...
but I still use SW non detergent starting w a break in oil if the engine is new.
Swoff

[George Miller]

I like brown oil, black is not good.

[henry's 31]

As you can see as long as Model A's are around we will continue to debate this topic. I believe we all should use the oil that works for us.

[Larry Jenkins]

I like Tom's specs.

[1929]

Originally Posted by henry's 31

As you can see as long as Model A's are around we will continue to debate this topic. I believe we all should use the oil that works for us.

I would think that in my opinion, when this question comes up on a thread, its mostly because Model A owners want the best available for their car.