Hey guys, i have a 71 pinto 2.0 and a 71 buick Riviera gs, and i was wondering what the best oil for these old engines are? valvoline vr1, diesel oil, mobil one, etc? and what weight as i heard modern synthetic doesnt have the same weight as older weight so would 15w40, 15w50, 10w30, 10w40, etc?
Best oil for flat tappet engines
- Thread starter Pintomein
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Hi Pintomein,
I don’t know much about Ford Pintos, but a recent thread about ZDDP in SBC engines may be of interest to you
I don’t know much about Ford Pintos, but a recent thread about ZDDP in SBC engines may be of interest to you
What should I be using in a '83 SBC?
So the Grand Prix is finally registered, insured, and back on the road I swear the DMV works better in a pandemic than it does normally It's an '83 305 SBC, with a CCC Quadrajet, still has that stupid factory dual bed pellet converter Made in Canada I believe, there's a maple leaf stamped on...
www.bobistheoilguy.com
Both will be fine on Castrol 0w40, it has enough zinc to prevent tappet wear and higher viscosity these old timers need. 15w40 in the 2.0 will noticable bog it down, it only has 99 HP to begin with.
The Buick is one of my favorite cars of all time, I have owned many, rebuilt them and built them from scratch, I stopped owning them after the 73 model.
The small blocks, 430 and 455 has some oiling issues that really need to be addressed if you want to keep this car long term (of course you do, LOL).
These are notorious for low oil pressure that eventually wipes the bearings out and put a tremendous load on the cam. The cause is the front cover which acts as the oil pump housing, water pump mounting, etc.
Back in the day we used a gear mod, extension block and sleeve to get more oil pressure but today there is a much better alternative that will give good pressure even at idle. If this mod has not been done I strongly recommend doing it, the engine does not have to come out and can be done easily in one day even taking time for lunch, and coffee breaks. This is the best thing you can do for that engine.
I would also use a small amount of zinc additive to bring the zinc to about 1200-1400 ppm, these had smallish cam lobes with a higher ratio rocker arm on some engines (shaft mounted), lots of strain on the cam lobe.
PM me if I can help you with this engine or car.
Edit: this engine uses rope seals for the main and original front cover, the Castrol 0w40 does not cause them to leak or worsen an existing one.
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Valvoline VR-1 10W-30 would be good also. The 20W-50 version has a good following in the Harley-Davidson community because of the higher zinc additive.
With a stock valvetrain, I would run a good 10w30. 1000 PPM ZDDP is a good target. A flat tappet engine with higher than stock valve springs should have 1000 to 1200 PPM ZDDP. There are oils for this or you can play chemist with an additive. Racing type oils do not have the proper additive for street driven engines.
The C2 and C3 Corvette enthusiasts have debated and researched this extensively. I suggest you take a look:
The C2 and C3 Corvette enthusiasts have debated and researched this extensively. I suggest you take a look:
List of Flat-Tappet Oils - CorvetteForum - Chevrolet Corvette Forum Discussion
C3 Tech/Performance - List of Flat-Tappet Oils - Many thanks to everyone that posted oil information across the Forum and on this thread! Let me net this question out for the over-analytical: If you don't need higher-ZDDP oil in your engine, but choose to use it, there is zero negative impact...
www.corvetteforum.com
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I remember all these "classic car" oils you could buy, that stated "high zddp" and made for cars with "flat tappet cams" on the label. I'm sure they're hard to find now and probably very expensive.
Driven GP-1 15w-40 was designed with your engines in mind.
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This stuff used to be really cheap. Haven't seen it in awhile though:
Pennzoil GT 25W50 Race VOA.
Just received my Pennzoil GT 25W50 Dino VOA from Blackstone. WOW!!what a Strong oil Package. I just installed a Big Bore Kit with high lift cams in my Harley, This will be the oil! Moly = 106 Boron = 202 Silicon = 28 Sodium = 2 Calcium = 2772 Magnesium = 8 Phos = 2452 Zinc = 2816 Flash...
www.bobistheoilguy.com
I don't know how I've gotten this far (258K miles) on regular API/ILSAC oils for my flat tappet Ford for the last 18 years?
The 300-6 was not particularly hard on oil unlike this 455 which suffers tremendous oiling issues, high zinc in these engines is not only a necessity but also a band aid but it keeps them going.
Get 30 psi and idle and its a different story but it will never see that with a stock pump and cover.
I cant remember off the top of my head if it was a 430 or 455 I saw 122 springs in, not real high but high enough to cause cam wear. This engine has nothing in common with any other GM big blocks.
As the engine wears the rod bearing begin to go away further dropping oil pressure destroying the cam even further, the idiot light taking a few seconds longer to go go out is a sure sign. When a mechanical gauge is hooked up to a cold engine you can see the needle hanging on zero for a few seconds, it is very close to rod/main knock if it isnt already when this is seen.
Get 30 psi and idle and its a different story but it will never see that with a stock pump and cover.
I cant remember off the top of my head if it was a 430 or 455 I saw 122 springs in, not real high but high enough to cause cam wear. This engine has nothing in common with any other GM big blocks.
As the engine wears the rod bearing begin to go away further dropping oil pressure destroying the cam even further, the idiot light taking a few seconds longer to go go out is a sure sign. When a mechanical gauge is hooked up to a cold engine you can see the needle hanging on zero for a few seconds, it is very close to rod/main knock if it isnt already when this is seen.
I'd throw a good diesel oil like Valvoline Premium Blue 15W-40. Slightly higher visc for the older higher clearance engines, very good zinc levels, good boron levels, and like most all other convention oils it is cheap compared to gas oils. I run diesel oil in all my older gas engines that originally had higher zinc levels versus pay for the Valvoline VR-1 oil. Next option would be Valvoline VR-1 20W-50. Just my opinion...
Twenty odd years ago I ran Mobil 1 5w50 in my modified 2 litre Pinto with double the rwhp and previous to that was Castrol GTX 25w50.
I found most of the wear was on the tips of the stock valves and ended up running stellite tipped Rimflow "flat backed" valves when I rebuilt it. The risk of the valve tip wear is that the rocker "ears" can push the retainer down unlocking the collets and dropping a valve.
I found most of the wear was on the tips of the stock valves and ended up running stellite tipped Rimflow "flat backed" valves when I rebuilt it. The risk of the valve tip wear is that the rocker "ears" can push the retainer down unlocking the collets and dropping a valve.
Valvoline VR-1 has a perfectly adequate detergent package for 3,000 - 5,000 mi or annual drains.
Pro - V does not.
Pro - V does not.