Mobile 0w40 in 60's Muscle Car?

[THX1138]

I have a restored 1964 Pontiac GTO with a professionally built 389 ci engine. It is a basically stock, flat-tappet engine which was broken in by the builder. It now has about 1500 miles on the engine. I have been using Swepco 15w40 oil since I received a case of it as a gift from a friend who uses it in his vintage air-cooled Porsche.

I use Mobil 1 oils in all our other vehicles, including 0w40 in the Yamaha four stroke outboard motor. I was considering going with the same 0w40 Mobil 1 oil in the GTO, and maybe add a little ZDDP to be sure the zinc level is in the 1200 ppm "safe level".

Some of the local vintage car club guys are horrified that I would even consider this. The car runs a steady 60 psi oil pressure. Temperatures here are typically 30's in winter and up to 90's in summer.

I would appreciate anyone's thoughts on this. Should I just stay with an oil that appears to work fine in this engine? Why not use the 0w40?

 

[FusilliJerry82]

If you like Mobil products enough that you don't want to stray, look into Delvac 1 5w-40. Any HDEO will probably do.

 

[JohnBrowning]

You know I just do not know if it would be a good match. I would consider Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 first then 15W40 Delvac or 76 15W40 and I would consider Mobil 1 15W50.

Mobil 1 0W40 is a great oil but I would only recomend it in applications where you would want to run a 5W30 or 0W30. It is not a very solid 40Wt. inspite of being a great oil. I would use the 0W40 for modern engines butnot for somethign with a hot. Does it have single valve springs or double or tripple? If it is single valve spring and the cam profile is not that radical then Mobil 1 0W40 would work good but if this has been buuilt for serious performance with radical cam profiles and stronger then stock springs or double or tripple springs I would not consider 0W40 from anyone not even Amsoil!

 

[aquariuscsm]

In a muscle car,I`d use either Mobil 1 15W50 or Valvoline VR1 20W50.

 

[Nickdfresh]

If you really want to use Mobil 1, I'd use either the 10w30 or 10W-40 High Mileage flavors. Both are chocked full of zinc...

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/NAXXENPVLMOMobil_1_High_Mileage_Oil.asp

 

[mcrn]

Welcome and its Mobil 1 not Mobil 1.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
THX1138 - These engines used 10w30 mineral lubricants as their "base line" when new. Mobil 1 0W-40 will do the job very well but don't spoil an excellent formulation by adding any supplementary additives (such as ZDDP)

 

[THX1138]

Thanks for your replies. After reading some other threads and info on some muscle car sites, I think I will not go with the 0w40 Mobil. Will do some research and pick a locally available oil that will not require an additive, and is in the 10w40 or 15w40 range. The 15w40 runs great in the car now. It probably doesn't make a whole lot of difference anyway in a car that only sees a thousand miles a year of pretty easy miles. And it is a stock engine with a stock valve train with a moderate cam.

 

[ekpolk]

THX:

Welcome to the site. We hope you enjoy your participation here. That said, you will be dogged mercilessly and perpetually if you don't correctly spell "Mobil" ("Mobile" is one of two things; a toy you hang over your baby's crib, or a medium-sized city on the Alabama gulf coast...).

 

[AWESOMO4000]

My cousin and I had 440 powered Plymouth 'Cuda (me) and a 525hp 440 in a Dodge Challenger (his). From 1994-2005 they were both ran exclusively on regular old 10w30 Valvoline with Fram filters. Guess what? They ran awesome and never had any sort of oil related failure, issue, etc.

The only time anything ever went weird was when my cousin rebuilt his 440 and used Mobil 1 10w30. Leaked from every gasket. Put in 10w30 Valvoline, sealed right back up.

Not using that to put down Mobil 1, I've used it in all of my modern performance cars - 1996 Mustang Cobra, 2004 GTO, 2007 Mustang GT. For an old musclecar though, I'd just use what's worked flawlessly for over 40 years.

 

[THX1138]

Yes, the first word in my first post, and I screw it up with a major faux pas! I'm usually pretty good with spellin' but that one flew right by me. Thanks for the welcomes.

 

[KLowD9x]

Interesting user name.

However, great movie!

 

[Oldwolf]

You could ask Mobil what they recommend for your car. Let us know what they say because we area all interested in your application. Thanks!

 

[CompSyn]

Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary
Hi,
THX1138 - These engines used 10w30 mineral lubricants as their "base line" when new. Mobil 1 0W-40 will do the job very well but don't spoil an excellent formulation by adding any supplementary additives (such as ZDDP)


Couldn't agree with Mr. Hillary more.

My 1969 Plymouth service manual specs both 10w30 and 10W-40 for 383, 440 and 426 Hemi engines. In addition, the 383/440 engines spec 5W-20 and straight 10W for some conditions.

Don't know why some feel it's mandatory to go straight to 50-grade motor oils in muscle cars when many of them are babied street cars. Heck! I even know people who race with 10w30 with NO issues. Why go molasses when you don't need it?

Also, my views exactly on using aftermarket motor oil additives. Just find a good known formulation and don't "spoil" it with additives. If you're running a flat tappet camshaft, many agree that 1200ppm ZDDP is adequate to protect a performance grind camshaft. Many HDEOs have that amount and are easy enough to get.

I'd check out Amsoil 10w30/SAE 30 ACD.