Worn out 59 235 what oil??

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mynameisnotpete

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Aug 26, 2007
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Arlington Texas
I have a 1959 Chevy 235 straight 6 in my 53 Belair. I was told that the engine had a minor rebuild (rings, seals and such) 5000 miles ago but I can not be sure this is the truth. Other than a slight bit of blue smoke that I believe to be from worn out valve seals, (which I am replacing tomorrow) the old engine runs like a top and seems to be in great shape. What oil and or additives would be the best to run in this possibly tired old engine.

A friend told me to run a straight weight oil. 40w or higher. I have always used castrol gtx 10w30 in all my cars in the past. Would this make a difference?

I just want her to last as long as possibe without any major problems. This is my daily driver and I plan on thaking her as far as she will go. Thanks in advance
 
The 235 CI did away with the splash lube system on the rod bearings,but clearances were much greater than todays engines. This was before multi-viscosity oils were generally widely used. I would stick with a good straight weight oil as you have suggested. Start with 30 and see how many miles before you must add a quart. Remember that engines of this era typically used about 1 Qt. per 1000 mi, at least mine always did. If the engine is clean, stick with a detergent oil. The filter on this car (if it has one)is strictly a bypass type, so don,t loosen up a lot of gunk until you check. You should find out how clean it is when you get the valve cover off. FWIW
 
I have an 1958 283 V8 I change the oil once a year and put about 1,000 miles a year on the motor.
Have been using SuperTech in 20-50.
 
What does the maunfacturer recommend...have to protect warranty!
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No seriously I bet you can get away with Straight 30w all year long in Arlington Texas...one could also try 15w40...extra detergents and ZDDP...My buddy has a 1950 Chevrolet with a straight-six in similiar conditon to yours...He runs Quaker-State Conventional 10w-40 all year long in Nebraska...his is not a daily driver though...I think it is cool that you plan on using this Belair as everyday transportation...
 
Quote:

Remember that engines of this era typically used about 1 Qt. per 1000 mi, at least mine always did.

Click to expand...


I've learned since joining BITOG that 1qt per 1,000 miles is normal for a brand new engine, with modern oils...
 
Either SAE 30 or 40, or 15W40. In TX, I personally would use a straight weight.

Jeff
 
I would run a HDEO straight SAE 30 or an HDEO 10w30. They are pretty robust oils compared to the PCMO oils and usually on the "thick" side. They also have lots of dispersants that will help a bypass filtration-only engine deal with a higher level of contaminants. I also agree with the commments above on detergents, though it's unlikely at this stage that somebody ran a non-detergent oil. I killed a good running old Dodge by putting in a high detergent oil after it had sat a long while and likely had used non-detergent oil.
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate the advice. I figured a good sae 30 or 40 would be the way to go. I have no idea what the guy before my ran, other than he didn't much care about the condition of the engine. He was driving it every day and the dang thing was smoking and had low oil pressure. I'm going to replace the valve seals to stop what I believe is causing the smoking and try to protect the engine from anymore damage with a good oil. Thanks again for the information.
 
Most engines of the 1950's ran a 20W20 oil until they began to burn an excessive amount, and then one would change over to a 30 weight. No one used a non-detergent oil in 1950's cars. Hydraulic valve lifters were commonplace and required detergent oil. I believe multi-grades were coming in during the later years of the 50's. If it were my 1959 Chevy 6, I would use Mobil 1 High Mileage oil, in either the 10W30 or 10W40 weight.
 
I once had a 59 Chevy with the 235 I-6. Biggest wear area was the shaft mounted rocker arms. They are >supposed< to get oil from the block up around one of the head bolts if I remember correctly. The passageway usually gets plugged with varnish and the rocker arms begin to merrily chew their way through the shaft. There is an 1/8 npt plug on the side of the head you can remove and run a bypass oil line from the oil filter to better protect the rockers. Speaking of oil filters, this engine originally didn't have an oil filter at all. A bypass filter was added later which used a canister filter clamped onto the intake manifold. No full-flow filtration. Another wear area is the wrist pins. If it sounds like it's spark-knocking under load, you probably have wrist pin wear. With modern oils and filters, this is probably unheard of nowadays.
 
Just went to Pennrite oil site...put in info for 79 Supra 2.6(buddy's car)...well I couldn't find exact car so I put in Corona from these years(same exact engine) and they recommended HPR30...kinda cool! Looked at product data sheet visc100C was 23.2...I think that is pretty high for a 30w is that because it is kinematic??? also tbn was 5.3...slight low compared to most oils???? Nothing against this oil...just tell us more...Where can one buy this oil in America? Is this oil for trailer queens or daily drivers? Read recently not to waste money on so-called vintage oil...is this considered vintage oil...retro oil?
No harm intended...just questions????????/
 
Just went to and perused the Penrite site. They sure make some thick oils. That HPR30 mentioned above is a 20W60. They sell an HPR40, which is a 25W70, and an HPR50 which is a 40W70. They also list a 10W50 and a 5W60, plus a 20W50.
 
Well my buddy is intrigued now...He has been running QS 10w40 or 10w30 in 1950 Chevy straight six with no problems...wants to know what he should be running...I told him straight30w was I wrong!???...I did tell him if said engine runs okay with what he has been running then there should be no problems...problem is buddy rebuilt said motor and wants the best...started it yesterday with 10w30 QS conventional...
 
Just got off the phone with Penrite oil in California...wanted to buy some HPR40 for my buddy's 235...$12 bucks a litre...yikes...and that's without shipping...I couldn't do it...I need 8 quarts looks like it was gonna be over a hundred bucks...with shipping and taxes...guess regular ol Q 30w will have to suffice...
 
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