Back in the day, what was your dad's go to oil?

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Originally Posted By: Errtt
I remember dad always had a stash of Quaker State. Quart cans in cardboard boxes, stacks of it.
Use a regular can opener to punch a triangular hole into the top of the can and a smaller hole on the opposite side to let the air in. Knew others who used the metal spout to punched in the top of the cans, but dad was basic I guess.
After an oil/filter change and any other car/truck/boat maintenance/repair he would write the date, odometer and what was done on the sheet rock in the garage. The info was always there that way, as long as it didn't burn down.


Yup. That can opener trick is exactly how I remember dad doing it. Never had the fancy spout.
 
My dad also used a can opener and punched 2 holes on one side and a little one to vent.
It poured out quicker that way.
So that was my way too until bottles came along.
I never could get the Pleus spout thing to not leak so just a church key opener worked for me.
No 5qt jugs either.
I kind of miss doing it this way.
 
Shell X-100 30W. His '59 Rambler Ambassador ran great on it.
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I used a oil spout for a while but in the latter years of can existence, they were getting cheaper and cheaper. I had instances where the can would collapse or the spout support end would dig into the soft cardboard and cause a leak. I started to use a can opener from that point on until the screw tops came into play.
 
1950s and 1960s, the old man (even my grandfather) used to get motor oil at Sears, back when it came in cans. Supposedly it was sourced from AMOCO.
 
new 1956 Caddy 62 sedan.

Cared for it so much, he had the dealer change oil every week. Traded it in to the dealership and got about 85% of what he had in it, 2 years later.
 
ESSO Extra was the oil of the day in the late '60's. I remember when they gave out the "gift of the month" when you stopped in to get your gas pumped, windshield cleaned, oil checked, tire pressure checked, washer fluid checked... Etc. Etc. Days gone by...
 
Pretty sure that dad was a Valvoline guy, can definitely remember a can of ATF sitting in his garage in the same spot for many years. I also remember that he would leave open drain pans of oil laying around and I was always worried about stepping in one or knocking one over.
I did a google image search on old motor oil cans and some of the Richfield Circle C cans also look very familiar...
 
wow, this is one of the things i remember distinctly about my dad. he used quaker state in 10w-40 and i remember the old cans that you had to use the metal funnel that actually pierced the can and was used to pour from. i also remember he always changed his oil at 4k intervals and got 212,000 out of a 1986 chevrolet chevette that had a whopping 60hp. he drove the whole state of mississippi everyday going to all the public schools to see what textbooks they needed. i also remember him pulling a small 4x8'ish trailer behind it as he also delivered the textbooks to the schools. he always bought cheap cars due to the reasoning that he put a ton o miles on them per year.
 
Back in the day, my dad used Quaker State until the 400 in his 69 Pontiac Catalina wagon developed a lifter tick. The mechanic recommended Kendall. He switched to Kendall in everything until his 2002 Silverado 8.1L started burning 1 qt. of Kendall in 1000 miles. He switched to Amsoil 10W30 and has stuck with that ever since...
 
Dad always seemed to pick a oil and stick with it till the vehicle died or traded. On the old 77 GMC was Havoline.. with the Dodge Dakota/Plymouth Reliant Pennzoil 10w30.. the Festiva's was always GTX 20w50. 5 years or so told him to just use ST 10w30 since it was cheaper, amazed that he actually did so!
 
My dad never did any of the maintenance himself, but I know my grandfather on my mom's side always used to use Valvoline. I used to use it exclusively for a few years as well when I first started driving since that was what was recommended to me.
 
DX until the stations closed and couldn't get it anymore. Then he started using Skelly until the stations closed and couldn't get it anymore. Then used Union 76. In the 90s he went to Valvoline and stuck with that.
 
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