71 SS Chevelle 454

[Vernt19]

I recently rebuilt my baby which has a few mods to the original 454/365 hp hydrualic lift motor backed by a Turbo 400. I added a stage III cam, dome pistons, roller rockers and electronic ignition/stock cenversion. Carb (Rochester)and all other components stock with AC.
The builder esimated a 9:1 compression with approx. 400 hp. and reccomended using Pennzoil 30W oil only.
This is a show quality muscle car which is a full drivetrain and suspension rebuild (all but a frame off)with 1500 miles on it. Built for fun and show, I live in Colorado. Which oil???

 

[addyguy]

Use a 10w30 HDEO, like Rotella 'T5' 10w30, or Chevron Delo 10w30. That would be an excellent choice for that engine.

 

[hounddog]

Lots of restored muscle cars run Amsoil. If a Amsoil dealer will reply I bet they can steer you to the right oil for the that your cam/lifters require.

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Use a 10w30 HDEO, like Rotella 'T5' 10w30, or Chevron Delo 10w30. That would be an excellent choice for that engine.

 

[PHANI1]

Your AMSOIL choice: AMSOIL SAE 10W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil (AMO), http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/amo.aspx

I got 325k miles out of my 79 olds V8 with this oil; no repairs except timimg chain R & R at 305k miles and intake manifold gasket R & R along the way. One oil change per year with filter change every 6 months. Donated in 2005, engine still ran fine.

You can't do better.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Use a 10w30 HDEO, like Rotella 'T5' 10w30, or Chevron Delo 10w30. That would be an excellent choice for that engine.


Perfect!

 

[KW]

A 9:1 454 with a mild hydraulic cam... A good HDEO 10W30 like Rotella or even Amsoil AMO 10W40 would do the trick.

 

[troyb43]

Would think that the Amsoil AME 15w40 would be a decent choice as well

 

[Lost1]

Valvoline VR1 Racing oil, dino flavor. Excellent for pushrod motors, turning in great used oil analysis, and can be found on sale at AZ for about $2.50/qt. (or $4.50/qt when not on sale.)

 

[Trvlr500]

If that were mine I'd use Amsoil. I don't know what your spring pressures are but I'd want enough ZDDP for an engine like that. The VR-1 is a good choice as well if you want dino.

You can change it every three months with the VR1 or every year with the Amsoil. Me? I wouldn't take any chances with a car like that. I'd go with the Amsoil or another extremely high quality boutique oil with plenty of ZDDP.

The newer diesel oils don't have enough ZDDP for that engine especially if you have higher pressure springs on it. I'm not familiar with the Pennzoil 30 wt the builder recommended but he can't possibly mean any of the newer multi-grades. They have less than 800ppm of ZDDP. He must be talking about a straight weight 30 they make.

 

[SteveSRT8]

It had better have stronger springs!

In my big investment motor (502 supercharged stroker) I run Amsoil Dominator.

Nice selection of weights and excellent numbers.

 

[Astro14]

That's a heck of a motor!

I am with you on the oil choice for that - with the high lift cam, blower and strain on the rotating parts, I would run the absolute best you can possibly get...

 

[charbaby]

Originally Posted By: Vernt19
I recently rebuilt my baby which has a few mods to the original 454/365 hp hydrualic lift motor backed by a Turbo 400. I added a stage III cam, dome pistons, roller rockers and electronic ignition/stock cenversion. Carb (Rochester)and all other components stock with AC.
The builder esimated a 9:1 compression with approx. 400 hp. and reccomended using Pennzoil 30W oil only.
This is a show quality muscle car which is a full drivetrain and suspension rebuild (all but a frame off)with 1500 miles on it. Built for fun and show, I live in Colorado. Which oil???


PUCTURES PLEASE!

I remember them so well

 

[addyguy]

Yeah, would love to see pics of this car.....

 

[rslifkin]

Astro - Where do you see a blower? It looks like an NA build to me.

 

[mechtech2]

9.0 to 1 is low compression with a hot cam.
Your cranking compression is likely less than stock .

If it dos not run on anybody's 10-30 with those roller rockers, something is wrong with the build.
Depending on oil temperature/heat, you may need to go up to an X-40.

 

[Lost1]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
9.0 to 1 is low compression with a hot cam.
Your cranking compression is likely less than stock .

If it dos not run on anybody's 10-30 with those roller rockers, something is wrong with the build.
Depending on oil temperature/heat, you may need to go up to an X-40.

+1
This isn't a highly stressed engine. The SS454 is a tank of a motor, and less than 1 hp per cu in is easy street for it. Roller rockers don't need astronomical levels of ZDDP; any off the shelf PCMO would be sufficient, but if it was mine I'd baby it with 20W-50 VR1.

Where's the pics?!

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
9.0 to 1 is low compression with a hot cam.
Your cranking compression is likely less than stock .

If it dos not run on anybody's 10-30 with those roller rockers, something is wrong with the build.
Depending on oil temperature/heat, you may need to go up to an X-40.


No doubt but sounds like you are forgetting the flat tappet cam, roller rockers have very little effect on the cam lobe/lifter relationship...

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
9.0 to 1 is low compression with a hot cam.
Your cranking compression is likely less than stock .

If it dos not run on anybody's 10-30 with those roller rockers, something is wrong with the build.
Depending on oil temperature/heat, you may need to go up to an X-40.


Yeah, you are probably right if this is the traditional "hot cam" old school bumpstick with heaps of overlap and lazy lobes.

The last two cam swaps I was involved in (both Ford Windsor engines but the same principles apply.... One was my own 302) had custom cams with quick ramps and negative overlap. I don't know if they'd be "hot" cams, but definitely gross deviations from stock with over .550 lift and ~230-240 @ 0.050 duration specs. Not sure how that compares to a "stage 3" however.

 

[Astro14]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Astro - Where do you see a blower? It looks like an NA build to me.


Was replying to SRT8, who said: "It had better have stronger springs!

In my big investment motor (502 supercharged stroker) I run Amsoil Dominator.

Nice selection of weights and excellent numbers."

Blower = Supercharger...and for that kind of HP/stress in a 502, you're going to need a really stout oil.

For the NA Rat motor with a hydraulic cam, the big issue is the cam lobes and a quality anti-wear additive, like ZDDP and for that, an HDEO is perfect...

Make sense? or am I way off on this...