Was Your Dad or Granddad a Believer in Non-Detergent Motor Oil?

[john_pifer]

The current thread on 1990s motor oils got me thinking about times past.

My dad's father, who I called Papa, was a member of the Greatest Generation.

Born in 1919 in Haleyville, Alabama, he started his work life at a car dealership or body shop doing collision repair in the mid-1930s, got his private pilot's certificate, along with 6 friends who each threw in $200 together to buy a Taylorcraft from a doctor, was drafted into the Army during WWII, came back from Europe, joined the Guard, and then was sent to Korea where he was a tank commander for that conflict.

After Korea, he eventually worked his way up to Service Manager of a Chrysler/Dodge dealership, moved a couple of times, and finished out his career as a sales rep for the old Sun Electronics, which, if anyone remembers, sold those big electronic automotive diagnostic machines you used to see in dealership service departments.

Anyway, though his life, he also raced stock cars, and owned all manner of cars, trucks, airplanes, tractors, and other equipment.

Interestingly, I do remember us having at least a couple of conversations about motor oil (he passed in 1993, so this would have been before that), and I specifically remember him being a believer in using non-detergent oils.

I'm curious where the belief that non-detergent motor oils came from, whether there actually was any detriment to motor oils with detergent back then, due to the quality of the oils that were then available, and if anyone else's dad or granddad also shared this belief that non-detergent oils were better.

I mean, even in the 1980s, decent, even good, motor oils existed (I know Mobil 1 came out in the early 1970s, and Amsoil, maybe around the same time?), and I have to believe that using oils with detergent add packs (the 2 I know of off hand are Ca & Mg) would have led to better outcomes even then.

I've attached a few photos of Papa and Grandma, and a couple of the airplanes he owned. I believe Grandma was expecting my dad when this photo was taken, in 1940, as, I believe the story goes that they "fell in love at first sight", and eloped, after only having known each other for a week. And my dad was born in March 1941.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

My Dad (born 1920) was a great believer in 10W40. My uncle (about same age) had an old Ford 8N tractor that used nondetergent SAE 30 and never changed that view later.

 

[john_pifer]

My Dad (born 1920) was a great believer in 10W40. My uncle (about same age) had an old Ford 8N tractor that used nondetergent SAE 30 and never changed that view later.

Do you have any idea what the reasoning was behind the non-detergent oil recommendation for the tractor?

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

My Dad, born 1930, would only use SAE 20 or 20w-20 until it was no longer locally available. He begrudgingly switched to 10w-30 and not long after that suffered an engine failure. I remember his eyebrows arching upward when he heard the engine let go.

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Do you have any idea what the reasoning was behind the non-detergent oil recommendation for the tractor?

He bought it used, and the advice at the time was to continue nondetergent because it would crud up more if switching to detergent oils. Keep in mind he was a hobby farmer in the Ozarks and legends like this ran rampant. One reason why Walmart was so slow in getting rid of SA and nondetergent oils even today.

 

[ChrisMU]

My great grandfather (1907-1985) was a firm believer in non-detergent motor oil. It was my dad’s guess that he probably tried that newfangled detergent stuff, and it knocked loose too much gunk in a short time, plugging the oil pump pickup, etc. My dad recalled that great grandpa’s late 70’s Buick Skylark (231 V6) already had a ticking sound at 40K miles.

He was a very thrifty and hardworking man. He would buy up houses for $1 each before they were set for demolition, and strip every last useful piece. He would even straighten the old nails. He would build “new” houses with the scavenged materials. This was in addition to his full-time job at Miller Brewing and his other side hustle growing apples and raising small livestock. My aunt told me he became a teenage orphan responsible for his younger siblings after his mother died of Spanish Flu and father died of unrelated causes around the same time.

 

[wavinwayne]

The only thing I remember my Dad (1940-1992) saying about oil was that he believed Pennzoil made engines "gunk up".

 

[86cutlass307]

The only thing I remember my dad saying was to use it during new engine break-in so the cylinder walls didn't get the good additives wash away. Antiquated by today's standards but seemed to work up through the 60's.

 

[chainblu]

Never had that conversation with my grandparents, unfortunately. Never really had it with my father but do know he was a firm believer in Quaker State. When I was in middle school shop class, in the Fall and Spring we would work on small engines. I brought our mower in to rebuild the engine (whether it needed it or not) and when it was finished, the instructor told me to bring in a quart of oil. I grabbed a can from my dad's QS stash (probably 10w30, but I really don't know) and took it to school.

One of my shop mates exclaimed - That's detergent oil!

That was the day I learned there was more than one kind of oil. And, apparently, my father used detergent oil. In the following 2 to 3 years, I learned a lot more about motor oil and everything else automotive. It was also the last time I used QS for over 30 years. (I use it today)

 

[john_pifer]

The only thing I remember my Dad (1940-1992) saying about oil was that he believed Pennzoil made engines "gunk up".

Man, that is still a persistent belief even today.

 

[wbwanzer]

My dad, born 1909, used Quaker State. I remember that. Don't know if detergent or not.

 

[NormanBuntz]

My father was born in 1927. In 1960 he bought a historic but neglected property on 37 acres in southeastern PA. One of his first purchases was an early 1940's Farmall Cub, a sickle bar attachment and a set of gang mowers from a local country club. I started driving it when I was 12, and we bought 2.5 gallon jugs of Penn Jersey 30w non-detergent oil for the tractor. When the starter died, he made a hand crank out of a speed wrench. The Cub lasted many more years.

 

[wemay]

My Pops, born in 1934 (RIP) never mentioned "Detergent vs Non-Detergent". I only know he ran 10W40 Valvoline....always.

 

[Zee09]

Most people just used what the book said to. Most of the world doesn't care much about oil except the price...

 

[Zee09]

My father was born in 1927. In 1960 he bought a historic but neglected property on 37 acres in southeastern PA. One of his first purchases was an early 1940's Farmall Cub, a sickle bar attachment and a set of gang mowers from a local country club. I started driving it when I was 12, and we bought 2.5 gallon jugs of Penn Jersey 30w non-detergent oil for the tractor. When the starter died, he made a hand crank out of a speed wrench. The Cub lasted many more years.

We had one of those too...thanks for the memories. We replaced with a 1959 Ford 801 Select-O-Speed

 

[02SE]

Both of my grandpas were born in 1904. All I know is that my dad's dad was a Chevrolet man, and my mom's dad was a Ford man. Both excellent men, but I have no idea what their automotive lubrication preferences were.

The only memory I have of my dad (1930-2023) and his choices in motor oil, is going with him when he took the cars to the KMart Automotive Center for oil changes. When I started doing oil changes for my parents in the 80's, I mostly used Valvoline. I think that was because the mechanics I apprenticed with, used it. By the 90's I was using Mobil 1.

Edited: Both Grandpas born in 1904, both Grandmas in 1906.

 

[ripcord]

My dad didn't use non detergent oils, but he liked to use straight 30 weight and continued using it in all of his cars until around 1990 when he bought Mom a car that said 10w-30 in the cap. I think he picked that up from his dad who was a Studebaker and later a Buick mechanic.

 

[eljefino]

Love the pictures and story, OP!

My bike shop mechanic recommended I not use detergent oil on my chain "because it will attract sand that will eat the chain up." Mix of truth and fiction there.

MIL buys non detergent 30 weight to fix valves on trumpets. She then gave most of the bottle to my idiot BIL for his 78 Cutlass. "It was a car nobody cared about."

My dad ran detergent Castrol 40 weight in his 1940 ford flathead "because they run hot." IMO a 15w40 would have been better but he did make that thing last 85 years so what do I know.

 

[Chris142]

My grandfather passed in the 1940's so I never knew him. My dad was born in 1925 and used Pz 10w40 in everything. He put nearly 300k on 2 air cooled beetles using that oil .

Never had a head rattle loose or rebuilt one. Never replaced a clutch in either .

He bought a new 1968 Valiant right before I was born. He stopped driving it around 2000 because it was fouling plugs with only 154k on the slant6.

 

[walterjay]

My dad was born in the 20's. I remember him using detergent multigrade oil. 10-30 IIRC.

My grandfather never owned a car.