Diesels make black bits of carbon that get into the oil, and are abrasive.

VR-1 is another tricky one... I have some VR-1 20w50 and some straight 50w VR-1 on the shelf, and both say they meet or exceed SM requirements, and are OK for street or racing engines. Their website implies they are high-detergent (and you can't pass Sx ratings without it). Both have ~1100 ppm ZDDP. It's usually pretty expensive but I had a rebate coupon to get a case for $20 or so (those days are gone!).

AFAIK, any oil with an upper-limit rating above 30 is exempt from the requirements on ZDDP (because by definition they are not Energy Conserving with higher viscosities).

 

The Lucas Break in oil has 3,600 PPM of zinc

 

i also use 20w50 vr-1 oil in a flat tappet camshaft engine i've owned for the last 20 years. it's kinda expensive, but does have the zddp that these camshaft designs require. the downside is the oil is very thick when it's cold out so i don't use the car much in the winter

 

My cousin in Indiana who I don't see too often is a Ford guy. He sells an oil he has told me about. Last night I sent him an email. Lo and behold it is refined right here in PA from PA crude! Here is his email reply to me with a link to the company:

Abe
This oil Brad Penn, is made for these old engines. It has high zinc and a high cling factor for storage. It is 100% American company and refining Pennsylvania crude. Here is a link. I would love to sell you some but the freight of about $20.00 is tough.

There is a dealer locator on their web site.

Welcome!
Penn Grade 1 High Performance Oil
Next time I come east I will see if you need a case. I sell most weights for about $68.50 for a 12 qt case.
Warren



What do you think? Have you used it? Looking at the testimonials it looks like it is used by the racing faction.

 

Amsoil makes a product called ZROD, which is marketed toward hot rods and classics with flat tappets. It has additional zinc, along with some anti rust properties for vehicles that may sit alot. It's fully synthetic and available in 10w30 and 20w50. It has a one year or 5000 mile drain interval, so I change mine once a year.

 

My cousin emailed me this in response to my question about using it for older engines as most of the testimonials were from racers.
"85 to 90% of the oil I sell is for old classic engines like yours. This is the oil of choice by most classic car people."


He said it costs $68.50 for a 12 qt case. Which comes to about $5.83 per quart.

 

There's also the "Driven" Joe Gibbs Racing oils such as the HR-4. It has a high level of ZPPD, with cam shaft wear protection, and storage protection.
It's expensive, about $10 a quart. Despite the price, I use it in my flat tappet, street cammed 302, and its what I stick with.

 

Guys, any of these expensive specialty oils are not needed in a flathead Ford. Just use an off the shelf 15w-40 CJ-4 as the valve spring pressure is minimal. These engines aren't picky as they run for many years on sub-par oil that was available when they were new.
I have a '48 & '52 , along with two flathead Chrysler industrial 6 that have been run on 15w-40 for the last 20 years or so, without issue. Prior to the 15w-40 switch my dad religiously ran ND 30!! Correct ND means non-detergent.

For fuel I've found MMO to work the best at keeping everything running properly, dosage of 32 oz. per 100 gal. of gas. The Chryslers were terrible for valves sticking after sitting through the winter, while the Fords needed help with keeping the valves clean also. The Marvel oil has did the trick as since I've been adding it everything runs smoother, and the cost is minimal.

My engines sit for the winter months, and when they're used its generally idle time running their PTO application, similar to someone doing the parade route.

 

VR-1 is available in 10w-30w. Hard to find on the shelf. I order it by the case from a local independent auto parts store. Agree, 20w-50w was fine in the summer but too thick for winter driving.

 

I bought a case of the Brad Penn oil a few years ago that I used in an air cooled older Porsche. The higher temps in an air cooled engine required more protection than the current SM oils were providing. Most of the Porsche people with the older air cooled engines were running the Brad Penn oils and were very happy with them. I also own a supercharged Ford Probe that I use for drag racing and am using the Brad Penn oil in it. It is my understanding though that racing oils (which is what the Brad Penn oil is) have very little detergent dispersants in them compared to regular motor oil so changing oil more often may be required depending on how much driving you do.

 

Getting in a little late but, back in the 1950's and 60's guys on LI (NY) were using AMOCO high test (no lead) in their antique vehicles.

 

Here is why I don't think lead is responsible for sludge in the oil pan. Dad bought a new 1964 Galaxie with 352 engine. In 1972 with 100,000 miles on the engine we pulled the engine to replace all the gaskets for oil leaking. It was CLEAN inside without a spec of sludge or buildup anywhere. Dad used Havoline or was it Valvoline oil and changed it regularly and every bit of the gas used was leaded gas. Unleaded cars came out in 1975. We were amazed at the cleanliness and thought it was the modern detergent oil that kept it clean. Patrick

 

Yes, you're right. The sludge in our older engines is mostly from operation on non-detergent oil and leaded gas. That and never changing the oil once they became a secondary vehicle, and running without thermostats because "they run cooler that way", and other abuses.