221 V8 Engine Oil Recommendation

Coneross-A

Coneross-A

Member
Hello All,

I'm new to the Early V8 world. I just bought a 1936 1/2 ton pickup with a 221 V8. I pick it up tomorrow, and one of the first things I am going to do is change the oil. Any recommendations for a good oil for these engines?

I've been on Ford Barn for a while in the Model A forum. [Now I own 12 antique cylinders :) ] I use Brad Penn - Penn Grade 1 40 weight in my Model A. It includes zinc and phosphorous additives. Any thoughts on this oil?

Also....how often should the oil be changed?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
There are just about as many preferences in oil are there are folks pouring oil in. Might do a search of past post/threads if you want to dig through all the bloody details.
 
JSeery said:
There are just about as many preferences in oil are there are folks pouring oil in. Might do a search of past post/threads if you want to dig through all the bloody details.
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lol.
 

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Welcome to V8's! Use the same oil; it'll be fine. Oil change frequency same as your Model A.
 
Ditto regarding forum opinions about brands and viscosities of oils .... we form our own opinions. Note that the temperature climate one lives in and your engine operating temperature may affect the decision about viscosity.

Ford '41-'48 lube charts of the day say every 1000 miles. Non-detergent oil was prevalent then and into the 1950-1960's and even then manufacturers (and oil companies) were still saying every 1000 miles with filters to be changed every 5000. Far cry from today when we generally use low-range viscosity synthetic and change oil/filter every 5000 or 7000.

I'm about 2.5 hrs drive south of Montreal Canada. With global warming/climate change normal temperature extremes here have risen to about 0 degrees up to 95. My '47 runs at about 170 degrees, has no filter and I change my Penn 10w-30 at 1000 at which time it comes out fairly clean.
 
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Sorry I've taken so long to get back to responding on this post. Some other pressing issues came up and I haven't had much spare time. I'd like to thank everyone for your responses. For now I am using Rotella 15-W40. It's a little thinner than the straight 40 I run in my A, but it will hopefully help clean up the engine a little before I put straight weight in.
 

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Welcome to Fordbarn. Very nice looking '36 PU. Oil preference here is a never ending discussion. You can read every previous post on the topic and still not have a conclusion. The Shell Rotella T 15-40w is what I use in my old and modern vehicles. I put a lot of miles on my vehicles, and all is well with these engines, so I will keep using this oil until someone can prove to me there is something better.
 
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I wouldn't use straight weight oil nor 40 wt. 10-30 or 10-40 are my choices for good flow and long engine life.
 
J Franklin said:
I wouldn't use straight weight oil nor 40 wt. 10-30 or 10-40 are my choices for good flow and long engine life.
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I fully agree. And just about any brand will do. Remember this is a flathead that is already broken in with low valve spring pressures. I don't know the exact numbers, but I'll bet any currently available automotive motor oil has more zinc than what was in the oil when these engines were new. I am now buying my motor oil at Dollar General for less than $3.00 per quart. The only thing is that it says "Do not use in any vehicle manufactured after 1985". That's good enough for me. I just wish they carried filters.
 
I agree with J Franklin, the multi viscosity oils in a 10-30 or 10-40 offer better flow especially on start-up when your engine is still cold.
Very nice '36 P.U.!! Good luck and have fun with it.
 
My engine is fresh and ready for an oil change. My pressure was reading low (like 0 at idle hot) on the stock dash gauge. I got recommendations to run 20-50 from some on here but that's never been a weight that I've seen at the parts store. I believe my M***'s sender is the culprit so I'm not to worried about it now. I don't drive it in the winter so it's 15-40 for me. I run Delo in my diesel and Aeroshell 100 in my plane...have never had an engine failure in anything because of oil type or brand. The lubricants we have now are way better than what was available back in the 30's. I'd suggest that you get a weight of oil suitable for your region and your driving habits and pick a brand that you're comfortable with. I once topped off with a couple quarts of chain saw bar oil (had no choice) and that engine is still happily running with over 200K miles on it.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll stick with the Rotella 15W40 for now. I've noticed that the oil turns black quickly. I have no history on this engine. Oil turning black possibly because previous owner didn't use detergent oil, or there may be a layer of crud on the bottom of the oil pan. I had that issue with my 29 A. Dropping the oil pan on the V8 engine appears to be a bit more involved than a Model A.

At any rate, it doesn't seem to burn oil, which is good.

As I've driven and tinkered with this truck, I've come across some additional "surprises". I'll be hitting you guys up for advice on those too once I get all my thoughts collected on each issue.

Thanks again for your help.

PS: I know the wiring in the pics looks bad...that has all been replaced.
 

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40 Deluxe said:
It's funny how we talk about the 'weight' of oil when the "W" stands for "Winter", not "Weight"!
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Very true! The "w" is often misused, not only in relationship to being confused with "weight" but also with which viscosity numbers it ends up connected with in some post.
 
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