I would like to thank everyone for adding their experience and personal preference for dealing with the current oil issue. I had originally thought of using my favorite brand of oil and adding ZDDPlus. I had actually done a lot of research on this product as well. But I am an old retired Army Officer and I am a believer in the old KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). That is why I set out to see who offered a complete oil that you could just pour in your engine, enjoy your ride, and not worry if you got the proper ratio or if anything bad was going to happen. I had also thought of the problem if you needed to add oil, would this mess up the ratio of ZDDP. Again, keeping it simple with an oil that if you needed to add a 1/4 or 1/2 qt to top off the oil prior to a long trip, you wouldn't have to worry.
I like the idea that Amsoil (1440 PPM Zinc), Champion (1627 PPM Zinc), Classic Car Motor Oil (1600 PPM Zinc), and Lucas (2100 PPM Zinc) are companies that their main theme is oil and it is what they do, it is not a side line product, like Comp Cams and Edelbrock. I do not like the fact that Lucas has 2100 PPM Zinc which seems a little high. Of all of the oils I have looked at, which includes Comp Cams and Edelbrock, I am most impressed with the companies Champion, Amsoil, and Classic. Again, oil is what they do.
Classic Car Motor Oil is actually made by DA Lubricant CO. in Indianapolis and has been in business since 1919. They designed and made the Classic Car Motor Oil for the Classic Car Club of America back in 2007 to meet the requirements of older engines where the newer oils were falling short. The oil is specifically designed for the limited use that classic cars see as well as the requirements of flat tappet cams. The oil also meets the standards set forth in the military's requirements for rust and corrosion control in MIL-PRF-21260E. Can you tell I am impressed with their website? You should actually go there and read their articles they have posted about today's oil, very informative.
http://www.classiccarmotoroil.com/articles.html
The big difference between Amsoil, Champion, and Classic (other than the price) is Amsoil is straight synthetic, Champion is a synthetic blend, and Classic is conventional oil. I really don't know if the synthetic part of the oil makes that much of a difference to make it worth twice as much.
I hope all of this information is useful for others like myself that don't want to have to worry about adding stuff to their oil to make it compatible for their flat tappet cam engines. Yes it is a pain to have to order more expensive oil and have it delivered, but I am planning on ordering a few cases so I have it on hand.
Others have mentioned how much more it is for these oils so here is a comparison. I used the prices at O'Reilly Auto and broke down each product as the price /quart to keep it simple, including shipping and any required taxes for my area. I also tried to compare the same weight of oil for each comparison.
Classic Car Motor Oil, delivered and tax, $6.20/qt.
Amsoil Z Rod, delivered and tax, $11.33/qt.
Champion Classic and Muscle Blend, delivered and tax, $11.33/qt. I also found out that O'Reilly can special order Champion Oil products, $7.99/qt + tax = $8.63.
From O'Reilly Auto:
Vavoline VR-1 $5.99 + tax = $6.47
Mobile 1 $8.99 + tax = $9.71
Lucas Hot Rod (5 qt jug) $7.99 + tax = $8.63; by the qt $9.49 + tax = $10.25
Royal Purple $9.79 + tax = $10.58
Edelbrock $8.99 + tax = $9.72
Now let's look at adding ZDDPlus to our favorite motor oil. The cost for ZDDPlus is around $10 a bottle, add in shipping and you can get it for about $12/bottle. Now the instructions from the ZDDPlus website says it treats a typical 5 qt oil tank. But my car uses 6 quarts which means I would need to add 1 1/5 bottles to a 6 quart pan so I would have to buy additional bottles. If you break it down per quart it comes to a cost of $2.40/qt. Now let's look at some over the counter oils sold at O'Reilly.
Quaker State $5.49 + tax = $5.93 + ZDDPlus = $8.33
Castrol $5.59 + tax = $6.04 + ZDDPlus = $8.44
Pennzoil $6.59 + tax = $7.12 + ZDDPlus = $9.52
Mobile $5.59 + tax = $6.04 + ZDDPlus = $8.44
Other popular oils.
Joe Gibbs Hot Rod Oil, price plus shipping, $11.93/qt
Brad Penn Racing Oil, price plus shipping $7.00/qt. This price is at Amazon and has free shipping if you order at least $25 worth of the product. At other sites it was a lot more.
So I really don't see where it is that much more expensive, actually the Classic Muscle Car Oil is a lot less when you compare them. The only one that comes close is the Vavoline VR-1 but it has a lot less Zinc in it and some are actually adding ZDDP to it to get its numbers higher. So why use it if you have to add ZDDP to it and make it even more expensive? The same holds true to the modern diesel oils since they have had their Zinc levels cut as well. The most expensive oil is the Amsoil Z Rod oil unless you are lucky enough to have a dealer in your town, I do not.
Sorry this got so long, but I hope it is helpful for others like me that are looking for a simple solution to the current oil situation.
Dale