Which motor oil to use.

[Barb69]

Hi guys, Dusty needs an oil change. What are you using ?  I can not find the advise  Eduard  had share with me. I guess I need to know the filter too .  Thank you.

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[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick owners who want nothing but the best,

Hi guys, Dusty needs an oil change. What are you using ?  I can not find the advise  Eduard  had share with me.

Okay the thread I had pointed you to is this one:

http://65gs.com/board/index.php?topic=2931.0

If you read thought that thread you'll see that the majority of replies preferred Brad Penn:

http://www.penngrade.com/

A close second is Joe Gibbs:

http://www.drivenracingoil.com/

You will soon notice that this isn't sufficient advice because that's only a brand.  Both companies sell a wide variety of products.  Since Dusty's engine isn't new, the normal advice is to stick to conventional oils.  There is no benefit to synthetic oils.  Since Dusty has the Buick 300 cid V-8, I'm not sure what is the best weight of oil.  In Biquette we ran 10W-40 oil for decades.  However, the service manual recommends 10W-30!  Perhaps some of the other 65GS.com folks can comment on the best weight of oil for that engine.

I guess I need to know the filter too .  Thank you.

Can you believe it!  I can't find the oil filter specs in the Service Manual.  OPGI claims this is the correct oil filter for the 300 V-8:

https://www.opgi.com/skylark/BR02080/

That would make it an A/C Delco part number: PF24.  You could use that to cross reference your potential choices.  Oil filters are another topic of intense debate, but I don't know the pros and cons.  Perhaps we can get an education from other folks on 65GS.com

I hope that's enough to get you started!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Some of these special oils are hard to come by, but you can always find them at that den of temptation: Summit Racing!

[WkillGS]

The Brad Penn and Joe Gibbs oil are fine choices! You do pay a premium for them however.

For a stock engine you 'could' get by with a standard quality oil (Valvoline. Castrol, etc, etc) and add a bottle of additive such as zddp plus or zddp maxx.... about $9 a bottle.
Some say the zddp additives may not work well with modern oils, and that may be a valid point??

The primary problem is camshaft wear. Modern engines use roller lifters so there isn't much 'rubbing' contact between cam and lifter. The ZDDP additive helps prevent wear on older engines without roller lifters.... a valve lifter 'rubs' against the cam. A high performance engine has stronger valve springs (for high rpm use) so there is more 'rubbing' force between cam and lifter..... you need a good oil for that.
A 'stock' engine doesn't need as much extra protection, but it's still a good idea to add some extra protection such as a zddp additive to conventional oils.

The old zddp additive doesn't treat modern catalytic converters well, which is why it's been phased out.

My opinion.... for a higher performance engine, spend the extra $$ for the good oils.
For a stock engine, a name brand oil and the zddp additive should suffice.

Oil filters...
Lots of opinions on  those too!
Most hate Fram due to a cheap build and occasional failures.
Wix is considered to be a good one. Also avail from NAPA in their 'gold' series. Can't go wrong with those.

If you want to research your options, search 'bob is the oil guy' for the latest info.

[Barb69]

Thank you guys, Dusty's oil  pressure dropped when I was coming home .   He was low on oil and since I do not re call getting an oil change , he is getting one.

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[elagache]

Dear Walt, Barb, and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

The Brad Penn and Joe Gibbs oil are fine choices! You do pay a premium for them however.

Point well taken.

For a stock engine you 'could' get by with a standard quality oil (Valvoline. Castrol, etc, etc) and add a bottle of additive such as zddp plus or zddp maxx.... about $9 a bottle.
Some say the zddp additives may not work well with modern oils, and that may be a valid point??

The muscle and classic car market is large enough that mainstream oil manufacturers have started to formulate oils with ZDDP.  For example, here is an offering from Valvoline.

http://www.valvoline.com/our-products/motor-oil/vr1-racing-oil

I believe many of the mainstream oil manufacturers make oils with ZDDP.  They are likely to be more expensive than oils for modern cars, but there is a real concern that ZDDP additives won't work well with modern oils.  Also there is simply the extra hassle of using an additive.  I assume if you are a careful bargain hunter, you should be able to get a reasonable deal on some brand of oil with ZDDP in the mix.

Cheers, Edouard

[Randy Jones]

The best oil question seems to be never ending, no disrespect intended.

I just changed the oil my skylark 300, the reason being is the stuff was black, old and overdue for a change.
I used 10-30 Citgo (Farm and Fleet local label) & WIX 51258 and the and I am happy with the choice.
The chemical test for this oil as it is listed on the inter-web (search; is farm & fleet oil any good) and has good numbers
I would never use a Fram filter.

Nothing exotic here, except I keep an eye on the dipstick and when the stuff starts to look poorly, I change it regardless of miles, slogans, what your neighbor tell or anything else. Clean oil is number one in my book, zinc should help the cam.

I don't live is a real hot area (northern Ill.) but engine heat is always on my mind as an oil killer.
Using 10-40 could be a choice for hotter areas or worn engine, but that is just my opinion
Additionally, fuel contamination and general engine condition would be cause to change my oil sooner than later.

I have never had a lubrication related failure or premature engine problem that I could relate to lubrication, except for air cooled applications.
 
Keep it clean, your engine anyway!!

thanks for your time guys.

[elagache]

Dear Randy and mid-60s Buick owners who are fussy about oil,

I just changed the oil my skylark 300, the reason being is the stuff was black, old and overdue for a change.
I used 10-30 Citgo (Farm and Fleet local label) & WIX 51258 and the and I am happy with the choice.

. . Uh, this is slightly vague! . .   The number of CITGO oils can be found on this page:

https://www.citgo.com/CITGOforYourBusiness/SDS/SDSIndex.jsp?pageName=CITGO%20Engine%20Oils&groupCode=EO&pageLocation=CITGO%20for%20Your%20Business

As you can see it is quite a list and 10W-30 occurs several times!

However, you might have purchased this particular oil since it appears on the Farm and Fleet website:

https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/229496-citgo-supergard-10w30-motor-oil.html

Clean oil is number one in my book, zinc should help the cam.

Okay, your intentions seem on track, but the particular motor oil you have chosen is for modern cars and I didn't see any oil from CITGO claims to be formulated for either classic or older muscle cars.  I didn't see any mention of zinc or ZDDP.  Am I missing something here?

There are lots of choices for oils which do have ZDDP.  Here is a list on a Corvette forum:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c3-tech-performance/2484100-list-of-flat-tappet-oils.html

There is still one more source that deserves mention since it was created in part because of a request by the The Indiana Region of the Classic Car Club of America - Classic Car Motor Oil:

http://www.classiccarmotoroil.com/

So if you want an oil formulated for engines with flat tappet cams, you still have a number of choices and you can shop for the best bargain.

Cheers, Edouard

[Barb69]

Thanks, I order a case from Classic  cars motor oil.   It was  a hard choice , I will continue with other sources  after the next 3 oil changes . I hope I have not damaged Dusty's  engine because I really do not recall getting his oil done when he awoke last year. I did  know much about cars then . I hope  the mechanic that  got him started  last year changed his oil. From now on I will keep data updated on his maintance.

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[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks, I order a case from Classic  cars motor oil.   It was  a hard choice , I will continue with other sources  after the next 3 oil changes .

Why did you find the choice so hard?  I'm not certain, but any of the motor oils on that Corvette list is probably fine for a engine like Dusty's.  You might want to spend extra money on an oil for a freshly rebuilt engine, but even this might not extend the life of the engine much.  Classic cars don't get a lot of mileage or harsh running conditions.  So the oil isn't stressed like what you'll find for a typical daily-driver that has to deal with things like daily traffic jams.

I hope I have not damaged Dusty's  engine because I really do not recall getting his oil done when he awoke last year.

How many miles do you think you have put on Dusty since last year?  It would have to be a lot of miles before you would have any reason to be concerned.

Cheers, Edouard

[Barb69]

At least 500 miles, but I do not think he got his oil changed after I awoke him, so he could have had 17 yrs old oil in him.

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[elagache]

Dear Barb and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

At least 500 miles, but I do not think he got his oil changed after I awoke him, so he could have had 17 yrs old oil in him.

Since your mechanic knew that Dusty hasn't been used in a while, he/she might have changed the oil as matter of course.  The easiest way to check on this is to pull up the dipstick and see what the color of the oil is.  If it looks very dirty or perhaps degraded, that would be a concern.  If you can, wipe the oil onto a paper towel and take a picture of it.  These days you can share - everything - on web, even the color of the oil in your car! 

Cheers, Edouard