Hi all,
new to this forum, hoping to get some feedback on my oil choices. I have a '62 Studebaker which has 24K original miles on it (yes, you read that right.) The engine has never been open except for valve adjustments and it *is* fairly sludgy inside. The car was driven on dealer tags by a dealer until '68 when the wiring harness caught fire and it was parked until I bought it and started working on it a little over a year ago. I've been using Shell Rotella T 15W40 and Wix filters. My reasoning goes like this: it's about the right viscosity, has lots of anti-wear additives, is very detergent, and most importantly it's cheap, as the engine leaks like a sieve. I will be pulling the engine this winter to redo all the seals but until then I enjoy driving it too much to worry about it. If I can get it sealed up I may switch to synthetic after a couple thousand miles (to let the moving parts get reacquainted.) Am I on the right track? Anything *better* to use? BTW if it matters this is an early '62 289 with a partial flow filter, not the later '62 engine with the full flow filter provisions in the block.
Also I'm running Redline MT-90 in the trans (B-W T10) and Redline Heavy Shockproof in the rear end (Dana 44 limited slip) based on the recommendation of a guy who drag races Studebakers.
Any suggestions as to what I could do to take better care of this drivetrain would be greatly appreciated. I've made my decisions based on educated guesses and after a quick read of a few topics it looks like there's some guys here that take this stuff very seriously and might have some real numbers to back up their opinions.
Looking forward to any comments,
nate
new to this forum, hoping to get some feedback on my oil choices. I have a '62 Studebaker which has 24K original miles on it (yes, you read that right.) The engine has never been open except for valve adjustments and it *is* fairly sludgy inside. The car was driven on dealer tags by a dealer until '68 when the wiring harness caught fire and it was parked until I bought it and started working on it a little over a year ago. I've been using Shell Rotella T 15W40 and Wix filters. My reasoning goes like this: it's about the right viscosity, has lots of anti-wear additives, is very detergent, and most importantly it's cheap, as the engine leaks like a sieve. I will be pulling the engine this winter to redo all the seals but until then I enjoy driving it too much to worry about it. If I can get it sealed up I may switch to synthetic after a couple thousand miles (to let the moving parts get reacquainted.) Am I on the right track? Anything *better* to use? BTW if it matters this is an early '62 289 with a partial flow filter, not the later '62 engine with the full flow filter provisions in the block.
Also I'm running Redline MT-90 in the trans (B-W T10) and Redline Heavy Shockproof in the rear end (Dana 44 limited slip) based on the recommendation of a guy who drag races Studebakers.
Any suggestions as to what I could do to take better care of this drivetrain would be greatly appreciated. I've made my decisions based on educated guesses and after a quick read of a few topics it looks like there's some guys here that take this stuff very seriously and might have some real numbers to back up their opinions.
Looking forward to any comments,
nate