Could anybody tell me what grade of oil and how much I would need for a 1964 sbf 289/302 and what grade for the gearbox and how much,its a 3 speed manual
cheers Dave

 

I'd run the best 5W30 conventional (not synthetic) oil in it that you can find. I'm not sure how they're designated over there.

 

If oils still had ZDDP, that would work but they don't, so stick with Valvoline VR-1 10w30 if you can find it. The clearances on those old engines are too loose for 5w IMO.

 

Prepare yourself for very little agreement on this subject Dave. I agree that 5weight is generally a little thin for a 64 289 if it hasn't been rebuilt with fairly tight bearing clearances. I have a considerable number of drag racing buds that do it anyway. I think 10w-30 or 10W-40 is a safer bet for you. The zinc additives that flat tappet cams like are virtually gone from modern oils. You could run a zinc additive if you want some extra security, or run a racing oil that contains it.

 

I agree, 5W30 is too thin IMO too. I run Brad Penn 10w30 or 10w40 in all my old iron. The Brad Penn has the ZDDP already in it, although not cheap at 5-6 bucks a quart. You can get ZDDP additives just about anywhere now, that can be added to 5qts of off the shelf oil to bring the ZDDP levels up to par for the flat tappet variety. These ZDDP only treatments/additives run in the $10 per bottle range. There's no cheap way around it, you're gonna get boned either way.

How many miles are on your 289? Does it have a stock oil pump or a High Volume oil pump?