1982 Camaro Oil Choice

[ToddQ]

1. What kind of vehicle you have: 1982 Chevrolet Camaro V6.

2. What your owner's manual says: SAE 5w30 SF, SF/CC, or SF/CD every 7,500 miles.

3. Where you live: New York State

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?): Easy

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?): Mostly relaxing drives in the country, 60 miles or more. Some back & forth to work, 18 miles on nice days.

I'm looking for an oil that will stand up well to being stored for 5-6 months out of the year. The care will be driven rarely during the rest of the year.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I would use high mileage 5W30 with 5-6k miles OCI.

 

[ToddQ]

Sorry, I forgot to add that the car has 122,000 miles, but the engine was just rebuilt.

 

[Gunatics_Adler]

Im guessing that you have the 2.8 motor? Lots of Camaros did. I am also assuming that you are storing it in the winter? I know those cars got around horribly here in winter.

I would recommend a high mileage oil as well such as Valvoline's Maxlife or Pennzoil High Mileage (or Pennzoil SUV which is a blend)

 

[ToddQ]

Originally Posted By: Gunatics_Adler
Im guessing that you have the 2.8 motor? Lots of Camaros did. I am also assuming that you are storing it in the winter? I know those cars got around horribly here in winter.


You are correct sir! I'm restoring this car so I won't even be taking it out in the rain. It will be stored all winter.

Quote:
I would recommend a high mileage oil as well such as Valvoline's Maxlife or Pennzoil High Mileage (or Pennzoil SUV which is a blend).


The engine is rebuilt, would a high mileage oil still be a valid choice?

 

[HyperJinx]

flat tappet cam? If so, you may want to look into using something like rotella.

 

[Tremo]

Yeah be careful, modern oils are not nice on flat tappet cams. Not enough ZDDP any more. I might look at a Diesel oil or a racing oil.

 

[HyperJinx]

...also wanted to ask if you needed a original 1982 camaro owners manual for your restoration. Free of course, I no longer need it.

 

[ronrackley]

I'd use Rotella 15W40 with 20% of total volume replaced with MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) - 4 quarts of Rotella and 1 quart of MMO in a 5 quart sump - if it were my car. The mixture will give you approximately a 10W30 oil with higher wear protection for the flat tappet cam and excellent cleaning properties.

 

[jazeo]

Not to change the subject and if you don't mind me asking, why did you spend any money rebuilding the 2.8???

Any 10w30 HDEO in my opinion would be fine.

 

[GhostFlame]

I would do the Pennzoil 5w30 conventional, QS, Mobil Clean, and forget about the mileage because of the low miles driven but, change it very 6 months stored car.

 

[Gunatics_Adler]

Originally Posted By: jazeo
Not to change the subject and if you don't mind me asking, why did you spend any money rebuilding the 2.8???

Any 10w30 HDEO in my opinion would be fine.



We have done several of them for people with Camaros, Fieros, and S 10's of that era. They are not powerhouses, but they work. With an overdrive transmission they get pretty decent MPG's. I probably would have put a 350 small block in it, but that is just me.

 

[JT1]

Once a year oil change with rotella t syn. 5w40 and a delco filter.

 

[addyguy]

I'd use a 10w30 HDEO (Rotella, Delo) and change it once a year.

Nice car!

 

[ToddQ]

Originally Posted By: HyperJinx
...also wanted to ask if you needed a original 1982 camaro owners manual for your restoration. Free of course, I no longer need it.


Thanks for the offer, but I have the original that came with the car.

 

[ToddQ]

Originally Posted By: jazeo
Not to change the subject and if you don't mind me asking, why did you spend any money rebuilding the 2.8???


I didn't rebuild the 2.8, I bought the car with the engine already rebuilt. In addition, since I am restoring the car, keeping the original engine is the whole point.

 

[ToddQ]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
I'd use a 10w30 HDEO (Rotella, Delo) and change it once a year.

Nice car!


Thanks!

 

[ToddQ]

Originally Posted By: HyperJinx
flat tappet cam? If so, you may want to look into using something like rotella.


Yes it is flat tappet cam. I use Rotella in my motorcycle, I didn't think of it for a car application.

What item in the oil should I be looking for with a flat tappet cam?

 

[Gunatics_Adler]

You want to look for the concentration of zinc in the product data sheets many oil makers offer to view on their sites. Pretty much the consensus is that most non high performance flat tappets might not survive in oil with less than 1000ppm of zinc. Some do and some dont, a lot has to do with the materials of the cam and lifters. Any passenger car oil that is rated SM is not going to have that much. You need a car oil that is rated SL or earlier. Diesel oils do not have the same restriction on them for zinc concentration and have the required amount of zinc.

If you are looking for a synthetic passenger car oil that is SL rated, then Castrol Syntec 0w30 is SL rated. There is also the Valvoline VR1 line of racing oil which is conventional.

But Rotella, Delo, and Delvac all are cheaper and are good for long oil change intervals. Since you do not know the quality of the parts in the rebuild, I would suggest you stay away from SM oils.

 

[severach]

How about the SF oil that Walmart sells in quarts.