What is the best mineral oil for a new circa 1964 427 engine with a solid lifter cam.
I am currently using Valvoline conventional 10W-30 mineral motor oil with two 4 oz. bottles of ZDDPlus in a Shelby aluminum oil pan. The instructions for the ZDDPlus are one 4 oz. bottle per 4 or 5 quart oil change and do not save any excess.
My oil is looking creamy rather than clear on the dip stick.
I have changed the oil several times over the last two years. I have 20 miles of driveway driving since the engine was newly rebuilt.
I am thinking of changing to Brad Penn 71396 high performance 30 weight with anti-wear additives. Are there others that I should be considering.
I use the same oil and additive in my 289 hipo. By creamy, do you mean your oil is milky or creamy in color? If so, that is usually an indication of water in your oil, which would not be good.
"Creamy"? Well the ZDDP you will clearly see floating on top of the oil in a "grey/silver slick" when you drain the oil in the pan.
What I suspect what you are describing as "creamy" though is moisture in the oil.
That is what is supposed to be "boiled out" of the oil during opperation and fed back into the intake system and wind up dripping from your exhaust tips.
You have to have a properly functioning PCV and system. You have to get the engine oil hot enough to boil the moisture out. That STARTS, only starts as the oil temp approaches 185F. It really needs to get hotter then that though.
Boiling point of water remember is 212F.
I'd recommend that you use a 180 thermostat and when you run the car, run it for at least 20 minutes. If you don't you will just contribute to sludge build up and you won't allow the oil to wash the rust off the internal parts of the engine.
Oh, and use a detergent oil, not a racing oil with little or no detergency to it. It's necessary on virtually any street use vehicle and on cars like mine that see little mileage, mandatory.
I have always used valvoline VR1 never had any problems and the zddp is already in it, I have used in my 427,boss 302 and both the 68 shelbys with no issues
I've been running Valvoline VR1, but admittedly as a "racing oil ", have wondered if it contains any detergent. Anyone know? Or if there are any detergent oils available with higher zinc content?
I love when this topic comes up because there really is no best answer for all engines. Remember when these engines were new the most likely available oil was probably Pennsoil 30 wt. It kept most car engines running for the better part of 100k miles. During that time frame auto manufacturers recommended for new or rebuilt engines to use detergent motor oil so the rings (mostly) would bite or seat better and more quickly. After the break in period had been reached to change it out to conventional oil. This typically netted 100k of happy motoring. Remember from the teens to the late 60s 30 wt was king, around this time frame engine parts and pieces starting changing. Pistons were forgings instead of castings, camshafts became billet ... hydraulic, solid, rollers etc. Rings were moly, double molly, stainless valves, tighter tolerances etc. Engines were changing internally, but for the most part all street driven Big Blocks or Small blocks ran great on standard 30 or 40 wt if you didnt live in the tundra. ;D. So for me a good answer for my street driven cars, where they are not subjected to high rpms or excessive heat or cold, what ever is on sale has worked for me for over 45 years with out one motor oil related engine failure. If you take it to the track all bets are off.
35 years on Mobil1 15-50 - (page 3 with ZDDP numbers) https://www.mobil.com/lubricants/-/media/Project/WEP/shared/US/Products/Files/mobil-1-oil-product-specs-guide.pdf?la=en&hash=E90BBCD720E33CC2D008B961B7EC97C2C1C5491F
If your oil is creamy like in the attached picture, it's likely antifreeze in your oil. If that's the case and it were me, I would drop the pan and check the bearings before doing anything else.
The VR1 does seem to have sufficient detergents in it. IIRC, years ago, it was low on detergents but the latest specs I saw, show it with enough.
I went with the Lucas Hot Rod oil on this years change. It has zinc, the detergents, and is 10W30 or 10W40.
+1. VR-1 racing oil has a detergent package totally good for street use, it also has the right amount of zinc, ~1400ppm. A recent analysis shows they are now using titanium and increased molybdenum as anti-wear agents as well.
If you can buy Motul Oil in the USA take the Classic Series very good oil for solid lifter engines. If you are not afraid of synthetic take the V300 le mans oil from Motul. I use that stuff in all my engines and they really look great when I service them regulary.