more stupid questions from new charger owner/member to forum

[Stegs]

ok guys, not to beat a dead horse, but when I do my oil change, im going to use a napa gold filter (wix) and Valvoline vr-1 oil. My question with this is the weight I find it in around here is 20w50. I talked to a guy here about it, he says its fine as long as you give your car a few minutes to warm up. is this true? is it ok to run 20w50 in the car?

2. my next question is about fuel. On older cars I hear people talking about a lead substitute. For a 440, do you need to do this? from what I read some guys that just go out a cruise (with a few "spirited" moments, running 93 is totally fine

is it ok to run 93 without the lead additive? I ask b/c I actually run 90 octane gas that is ethanol free. Its pure 100% gas. The car seems to run fine, no knocking or pinging of any kind.

So should I run 93 with ethanol? or is the ethanol 90 octane better? do I run a additive in the fuel or doesn't it matter for cruising with the occasional hot rod moment?


sorry guys if there are dumb questions.....just don't want to hurt my baby 

[nvrbdn]

the lead additive to the gas is used for the original engines with the soft valve seats. if the engine was rebuilt in the days of unleaded fuel with the hardened seats, the unleaded gas is fine. the  higher the octane, the better the performance. if your running good on 90, then save a few pennies on gas. now, if higher octane is 20 cents more a gallon and you put 15 gallons in your car, your only talking 3 bucks difference on a fill up. i would go for the octane.

   dang, i remember the days where 3 bucks would cruise me around all night. ok, showing my age.

  now for the oil. we used to use 30w oil in these engines. year around.  it also depends on where you live, how many miles are on the engine, when do you drive your car. a car only driven in the heat of the summer could use a heavier weight. a car driven in the cold wants a lighter weight. my engine is new so i run 10w30 brad penn. in my cougar with the original high miledge motor, i use the heavier weight. but you do want to let it warm up a bit before driving on cold mornings. (i let my cars, motorcycle,boats warm up a bit before driving anytime).

opefully the experts will correct me if i am wrong on any of these suggestions, but this is basically the ideas of things as i understand them.

[Stegs]

the lead additive to the gas is used for the original engines with the soft valve seats. if the engine was rebuilt in the days of unleaded fuel with the hardened seats, the unleaded gas is fine. the  higher the octane, the better the performance. if your running good on 90, then save a few pennies on gas. now, if higher octane is 20 cents more a gallon and you put 15 gallons in your car, your only talking 3 bucks difference on a fill up. i would go for the octane.

   dang, i remember the days where 3 bucks would cruise me around all night. ok, showing my age.

  now for the oil. we used to use 30w oil in these engines. year around.  it also depends on where you live, how many miles are on the engine, when do you drive your car. a car only driven in the heat of the summer could use a heavier weight. a car driven in the cold wants a lighter weight. my engine is new so i run 10w30 brad penn. in my cougar with the original high miledge motor, i use the heavier weight. but you do want to let it warm up a bit before driving on cold mornings. (i let my cars, motorcycle,boats warm up a bit before driving anytime).

opefully the experts will correct me if i am wrong on any of these suggestions, but this is basically the ideas of things as i understand them.

as far as I know the motor is bone stock (will call to make sure), so should I be buying the additive? also I would assume the ethanol free 90 octane is better than 93 octane with ethanol?

my motor has unknown miles, so I think a heavier oil would be good, but is 20w50 vr-1 too heavy? I do let it warm up for 5 min or more....

[firefighter3931]

Stegs,

The 20/50 VR-1 is fine....older engines have looser bearing clearances and the thicker oil helps maintain pressure once the engine reaches operating temp. 

If the engine runs fine on non-ethanol 90 octane i would run that 


Ron

[Stegs]

Stegs,

The 20/50 VR-1 is fine....older engines have looser bearing clearances and the thicker oil helps maintain pressure once the engine reaches operating temp. 

If the engine runs fine on non-ethanol 90 octane i would run that 


Ron

exactly what I wanted to know, I will try to find that 20w50, If I cant I will do 10w30 high mileage with zddp additive

as far as fuel, ill stick with the ethanol free 90 octane, unless someone says the 93 with ethanol will be better

thanks guys!

[NHCharger]

Advanced Auto carries the oil you are looking for. sometimes PEP Boys.

[Stegs]

I ended up going to napa for some new plugs (got me some ngk xr-5 plugs  )

I just went with Valvoline 10w30 high mileage with lucas zinc additive.

The guy behind the counter has a 71 chevelle, he said this is what he has been using with good results, so I went with that instead.....

Im was a little nervous about going full synthetic on a older motor, so HM 10w30 with lucas additive is what I decided on....well see how she runs after some new plugs and a fresh oil change

[nvrbdn]

we really need pictures.

  how can we possibly assess the situation without pictures?

its all a guessing game until we actually get to eye the car.    ok, i will quit for now,  just like pic's.

[firefighter3931]

Good deal Stegs  

The most important factor with oil is the zinc additive. You can run just about any brand oil you want as long there is enough EP additives. With the Lucas stuff you will be well covered.  

I'm not a fan of full synthetic either on our older high milage engines with older gaskets/seals. The synthetic stuff allways finds a way to leak out.  

Gap those XR5's at .035 and let us know how she's running  



Ron

[Stegs]

Good deal Stegs  

The most important factor with oil is the zinc additive. You can run just about any brand oil you want as long there is enough EP additives. With the Lucas stuff you will be well covered.  

I'm not a fan of full synthetic either on our older high milage engines with older gaskets/seals. The synthetic stuff allways finds a way to leak out.  

Gap those XR5's at .035 and let us know how she's running  



Ron

thanks guys, I plan on working on the plugs tonight after work, oil change probably this weekend

I will report back

And for my side of the story ....im trying to post pictures, but it says the size is too big, trying to figure out what I need to do.....I actually had a nice story written about me and the car with pics....then it said my session timed out and I had to redo it....well come to find out my pics are too big (size or file??)

im working on it, but im not a computer guy....I may need some help!

[Stegs]

anybody know how much lucas zinc additive to add with my oil change?

Valvoline high mileage 10w30 oil, napa gold filter

the bottle say to add the entire amount, but that's way to much zinc....do I ad 1/3 of bottle or even less?

[ODZKing]

If it is stock, it can't hurt to throw in the Lead Additive every other tank ful.  My 67 is also stock, I'm at 119,000 so far.
Ethanol isn't good, no matter how you look at it.  Either non ethanol as several pointed out or they sell additives for that as well.
Finally the oil you mentione is fine, I use a ZDDP additive in mine, I believe it is an STP product to reintroduce the zinc to the oil.