Lucus oil

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Hi, I'm new to the forum & I should start by admitting that I know pretty much nothing about automobiles. This week I helped my 18 year old daughter buy her first car, a 1978 Camaro. I wish she had a dad to help her with all the car issues she's bound to need help with, but he walked out of her life when she was 2 yrs. old. The seller of the Camaro told us the only oil we must ever put in the car is Lucus, period. He told us it needs an oil change now (along with a lot of other things). I've discovered that Lucus is about $13.00 per quart & I can't even buy it locally (we're in a small, isolated town in the Rocky Mts). Before we drive 62 miles to buy this stuff, we ought to look into this. Anyone have advise they would be willing to share with us?
 
The guy is full of [censored]. You don't need to use Lucas. Lucas is a mediocre oil at best.

You can use any conventional oil you wish in that car and spend no more than $4qt for what you need. For a 78 Camaro, I'd look for Shell Rotella 5w40.

$13qt is outrageous.

Welcome to the forum.
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Welcome to the BITOG forum! Shell 5W40 (as buster has mentioned), Delo 5W40 or Valvoline Maxlife 10W40 would all be solid oil choices for your daughter's 78. Good luck!
 
My daughter just told me I should have mentioned the car has an Edelbrock intake manifold. She wonders if that makes any difference. Like I told ya, we know nothing about cars so we're going to ask some questions that will most likely seem really dumb.
 
Yep bull [censored] !,you don't need to use that, i would tho use a HDEO like 5w40 as said above. has little more ZDDP added to help with the flat tappes that car has..
 
I would go to Walmart, and grab Rotella 5w40. I think it would be a good choice for a 78 Camaro.
 
Originally Posted By: Aspen7
My daughter just told me I should have mentioned the car has an Edelbrock intake manifold. She wonders if that makes any difference. Like I told ya, we know nothing about cars so we're going to ask some questions that will most likely seem really dumb.

NO....

was that the right choice car for her first?
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Originally Posted By: buster
I would go to Walmart, and grab Rotella 5w40. I think it would be a good choice for a 78 Camaro.

And a WIX or NAPA gold 1036 filter.
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she knows a little something: Edelbrock intake manifold!!
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If nothing else,its a start in the right direction.
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ask her if it has a Holly 4bbl carb,if she answers,shes as good as gold!!
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Was it the right choice? Oh boy, I hope & pray it was! One thig is for sure, when it's my son's turn to have his first car, it won't be like this one!
My daughter's been dreaming of owning a 76 to 78 Camaro since she was 14 & she's had a crush on this particular car since she first started seeing it around town quite awhile back. When she saw the For Sale sign in it's windshield earlier this week I thought she was going to need CPR, then when we bought it yesterday, I swear you'd think she'd just been proposed to by a gorgeous movie star. She's been so excited that she's too nauseated to eat
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I hate to tell you this, but that car is just going to be trouble. what else has been changed? anything underhood disconnected? maybe some pictures of the engine would help.
 
Originally Posted By: mpvue
I hate to tell you this, but that car is just going to be trouble. what else has been changed? anything underhood disconnected? maybe some pictures of the engine would help.


She's taking some pics of the engine now. We'll post them as soon as she has them on the computer. I wish I could have some of you guys hop in a transporter & beam into our carport to take a look at it.
 
Originally Posted By: toyotaguy
oh the first car. those were the good old days.


My first car didn't come along until I was 24. Until then I got around on a bicycle that was so old it didn't have gears. When I did finally buy a car it was a very worn out '73 dodge dart for $500. I was totally thrilled to have it though!
 
If the car was taken care of and properly put together(,rebuilt?engine)it'll be just fine,they were great cars,had '79 305.
 
Originally Posted By: daman
If the car was taken care of and properly put together(,rebuilt?engine)it'll be just fine,they were great cars,had '79 305.

that's the problem, the OP says it needs things, besides the oil change. I'm afraid it sounds like it was someone else's headache.
 
Those cars can still be quite reliable. Theyre pretty simple. I think itd be a cool car for an 18 year old.

The Lucas oil, is a full synthetic, with some pretty good specs. I considered using it, BUT I hesitated because when I called Lucas, the guy couldnt tell me much about it.

They werent really able to answer my questions as to why it wasnt up to the current oil specs, the only thing he did mention was that it contained their oil stabilizer.......I hestitated right there. I havent had any bad experiences with their stabilizer, and I have used it before. But I dont think a synthetic should be based around it. Lucas seems to be really friendly any time you call, and they do have some good products.

I think that the suggestion for rotella would be a good choice though for the car, and wouldnt sweat not being able to find the Lucas oil.
 
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: daman
If the car was taken care of and properly put together(,rebuilt?engine)it'll be just fine,they were great cars,had '79 305.

that's the problem, the OP says it needs things, besides the oil change. I'm afraid it sounds like it was someone else's headache.

Yea hopefull not too many hands where in the cookie jar..
 
Originally Posted By: daman
Originally Posted By: mpvue
Originally Posted By: daman
If the car was taken care of and properly put together(,rebuilt?engine)it'll be just fine,they were great cars,had '79 305.

that's the problem, the OP says it needs things, besides the oil change. I'm afraid it sounds like it was someone else's headache.

Yea hopefull not too many hands where in the cookie jar..


+ 1 ^^^^^
 
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