Brad Penn oil

[crazycrak]

I found Brad Penn HPO at my local service station. I was thinking about buying some for my 86 305 when I put my new flat tappet cam in. But why does it say its not for use with catalytic converters. Is there any other high zinc and phosphorous oil that is converter safe?

 

[old1]

I doubt it as that ((converter life) is the reason the feds mandated the reduction of zddp

 

[Astro14]

But in an '86 305, I wouldn't worry about the converter any more...you've got a hydraulic lifter cam (flat-tappet) and a set of regular, stamped rocker arms...both of which benefit from the ZDDP... Those engines spec'd something along the lines of an SF or SG...and high ZDDP oil will meet that spec... What cam is going in it? You can update the rockers with a roller rocker (less friction, and a 1.60:1 lift ratio instead of the stock 1.52:1 for a touch more lift at the same duration...) at the same time...just make sure that the cam is sized for vehicle weight, rear end ratio and the 305 displacement... I ran the M1 10W30 of the time in my '86 T/A that had a 305...it worked great...had to pull the manifold at about 60K for a gasket leak and the lifter valley looked brand new...no varnish even...and there was no ring wear in the bore (no ridge at the top of the ring travel...). I don't remember the part numbers, but the SBC will fit an oversize filter easily...how big depends on your manifolds/headers, but even in the T/A, I used the "truck" filter, which was 50% larger...

 

[crazycrak]

I was thinking about this: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1101/ and replacing the timing chain, rocker arms and push rods with stock replacements. Just something simple till I can build a 350ci. It going in 86 K10 4wd with a 700R4 trans which is part of the reason Im not going to big with the cam so I can run the stock convertor stall. The Brad Penn oil I was thinking about is there 10w30 HPO or Just run Rotella T6 5W40

 

[chubbs1]

Brad Penn is a great lube and would be well suited for an engine like that.

 

[Astro14]

A 252 cam is about right for that truck with a 305, but the best advice is to call the company...they usually have a chart/guide for duration vs. weight, gear ratio and CI...I wouldn't go much bigger in that 305... Stock stuff will last a long, long time in this engine with only clean oil...I've seen over 200K on engines using the SF oil of the time...changed every 3K of course...using the wisdom of the time...my kid brother even changed his every 2500 miles I think....

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: crazycrak

Is there any other high zinc and phosphorous oil that is converter safe?

As Astro pointed out, those engines were speced for SF or SG, which were higher ZDDP oils, and as you point out, there were cats at the time. With the Chevys, I'm mixed on the ZDDP issue. With the millions of miles I put on Chev small blocks, they ate cams, regardless of ZDDP content. My experience with respect to cats at the time is irrelevant. We ran LPG, which was a totally different animal, and the cats were removed the first time any exhaust work was done to the vehicle. Aside from that, there's nothing wrong with choosing safe over sorry. If you can get the Brad Penn at a sensible price, why not? Another option is Rotella in 10w-30 or one of the XD-3 or Delvac options. If you want synthetic, there are plenty of choices, including TDT, Delvac 1, RP, GC, and on and on for higher ZDDP oils. I'm going to mention additives, even though I've spoken against them regularly. Right now, the F-150 in my signature has Comp Cams zinc additive and SM/GF-4 QSGB. I'm doing that because it was a reasonably priced alternative (under $10 for the QSGB and around $12 for the additive - cheaper than running, say, a sump of RP or GC). Ideally, I'm just going to run a 5w-30 conventional HDEO, which will have enough ZDDP, a sensible viscosity, and a competitive price.

 

[Silver_civic]

I should mention one thing too, is that also, Brad Penn makes a passenger car motor oil as I have about 4 cases of SM 5w20 oil stashed, when I got it for like $24 a case last fall up north at a hardware store in PA.