Newbie question! Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1 HM?

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A newbie here, so be gentle... I ask the following as someone who is, in his early 30s, now sort-of getting involved with cars; the mechanics, electronics, et al. are becoming a bit more interesting to me than they once were. I've always deferred to (and paid) my gear-head brother for help as I've had other interests. Lately, I've come to realize sometimes the best help is self help, or help from outside sources, so here I am.

Anywho, enough about me... I have two Chevy Caprices I'm fixing up for relatives, running the same style standard small block 305, both with TBI, one an 89 Classic and the other the infamous 1991 Bathtub Model. Both have miles, the bathtub however runs much smoother and has maintenance records and all that, whereas the Classic was a teenager's car for awhile and suffered a few moments of over-exuberance and poor maintenance. Thanks to various rebates and sales over the course of the last couple of months, I've ended up with 2 5-qt jugs apiece of Pennzoil Platinum and Mobil 1 High Mileage oil (for under 2 bucks a quart after rebates - both are 10w-30, as it never gets below freezing nor above 90 around here).

TO THE POINT:
I'd like to keep the bathtub running the best (it occasionally has a start-up poof typical of an aging 305), and the engine seems the strongest in that car (the other car, at a minimum, will be getting valve stem seals and valve cover gaskets replaced before an oil change).
In the opinion of people who seem to know, would it be better to put in the High Mileage oil into the car I'd like to keep running longest, or go with the newer Platinum oil (non high mileage) which seems to have better specs overall? I am leaning toward running the HM in the bathtub, just to help the seals which don't seem to need much help.

Two variables:
1) I live in Oregon, home of 10% ethanol. As a sub-question, would one of these oils be "better" for use with such gasoline?
2) I do have a bottle of Schaeffer's Moly EP #132 at my disposal, if that would be of benefit to either car and/or oil.

Thank you in advance!
 
Having owned a couple of 305 small blocks from that era, with bad valve seals (& flat cam lobes on one of them), my vote is for the M1 HM. PP is an awesome oil, but I think you would burn more of it. Use the moly in whichever one has the noisier valvetrain.
 
Why don't you consider PP HM? Regular PP and M1 HM are completely different animals.
 
I was just about to ask this,but I'll ask here since one of the oils I was going to ask about started this thread:

Castrol Edge High Mileage vs Pennzoil Platinum High mileage......discuss.
 
Thanks! Oil leakage is a consideration. Though the valve stems and valve cover problem will be corrected before an oil change.
 
Though, with that particular car, as I said, I do worry that there may be "more" underneath (but I have an extra engine laying around if that is the case). I'll definitely be putting a bit of 132 into that car. The bathtub seems to actually not have lost so much as a drip since I've had it, though I think I'd prefer it stay that way so I'll be going with the Mobil 1 in there.

The next round of sales, I'll be looking for the PP HM if I can find it on the cheap. The reason I ended up with the regular Platinum in the first place was the price and the expectation that I was expecting to use it in another car. I actually have no reason not to just get "more" Mobil 1 High Mileage when the next rebate season comes up... I have a ton of Chevron Supreme I can use in the older vehicle to keep it happy while I see how things go after replacing the aforementioned parts.
I do know... that car MAY need a replacement gas tank or someone in town is selling MUD instead of gasoline... had it start acting up, the fuel filter looked bad so I changed it and flushed the line, and a few days later it is still acting up from time to time. That has nothing to do with the oil, though...

One of the reasons I asked this question in the first place was because I was not "necessarily" sure if the High Mileage pack would be worth what I considered to be a trade-off with a "newer" oil. But reading a bit more into it on this site, I can see it makes a difference, especially given the lack of useful additives that act to condition seals.
 
I would just put in Quaker State Defy syn blend and use the rebate calling it a day...

QS Defy 10W-30 is on sale for $12.44 at Walmart...
 
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
I would just put in Quaker State Defy syn blend and use the rebate calling it a day...

QS Defy 10W-30 is on sale for $12.44 at Walmart...

PP has a rebate running as well. $10 off 5 quarts.
 
Originally Posted By: gallydif
Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
I would just put in Quaker State Defy syn blend and use the rebate calling it a day...

QS Defy 10W-30 is on sale for $12.44 at Walmart...

PP has a rebate running as well. $10 off 5 quarts.


So does M1...but QSD is still cheaper and probably as good for this application...
 
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