Oil Recommendation - 64 Chevy 283

This.

My 69 GTO, with a factory 73 455 short block, seems to like semi syn or conventional 10W40. Currently it has Castrol semi syn in it, but it's seen all manner of brands over the 20 plus years I've had it. If you have a working oil pressure gauge, I'd let it tell you what weight to run. I'd start with 10W40 and go from there based on the pressure I was seeing.
Fully warmed up the oil pressure seems high. At idle it is just around 30 in the center of the gauge. Even with a little throttle it gets closer to 45 and 60. Should the truck have a thinner oil? The gauge seems to work fine.
 
Fully warmed up the oil pressure seems high. At idle it is just around 30 in the center of the gauge. Even with a little throttle it gets closer to 45 and 60. Should the truck have a thinner oil? The gauge seems to work fine.
High is better than low-not sure how cold it gets where you are, but Rotella T5 10W30 has a good combination of a low pour point, fairly high HDEO additives, and shear/burn off resistance. The CJ-4 oil had a little more ZDDP than the CK-4, but it would be my choice for a cold weather operated classic truck.
 
Amazon delivered the oil today. I will be changing it this week! My plan is to use this fresh oil for a few weeks then change again. Let's see how oil pressure goes with 15w40. If it still is high then I will try a 10w30.

I will say after half a tank of gas with Redline Fuel System Cleaner the motor revs much better. Maybe getting that 87 octane out helped. I used 89, will try 91 next time to see if there is any change.

The filter is a spin on, not the stock canister (saw it but didn't take it off to check what is is). Different auto parts websites have different filter recommendations. Any input on oil filter would be appreciated.
 
Fully warmed up the oil pressure seems high. At idle it is just around 30 in the center of the gauge. Even with a little throttle it gets closer to 45 and 60. Should the truck have a thinner oil? The gauge seems to work fine.
That's a good sign that the engine bearing clearances are healthy. 30 at hot idle and 60 when accelerating is a good range for SBCs, ATMO.
 
Good to hear that 30 to 60 is normal.

I will go to the auto parts store and see what filter they recommend.
 
What are peoples thoughts on Shell Rotella T4, T5 or T6?

I like the T5 currently in the motor. Would there be any reason to try T6 or T4?

Now that it's getting cold I really want to try a 10w30 to see if there is a difference.
 
I prefer Mobil 1 0w40 FS cause I use it in my 76 olds 350, my 2005 Silverado, my 2 lawn tractors and push mower, and 2 snowblowers. I only buy one different oil, 5w30 for the wife's Hyundai.
 
Is the old tale full synthetic causes leaks in classic cars not true?
Definitely not true. Newest vehicle I've owned is my Silverado. And I used synthetic in one real oil burner back in my stupid days and it didn't make a difference in usage.
 
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