Marvel Classic Motor Oil

I'm a firm believer in MMO in the gas tank, use it in all of our old Fords. I never used it until I stuck a valve in the Flathead, and MMO brought it back plus the engine ran a lot smoother. Today's gasolines are very dry, they don't lubricate like gasoline did years ago.

Good stuff. Also Kendall GT-1 20W50. It has ZDDP if that is your concern, otherwise you can buy a bottle of ZDDP from any old car parts supplier and dump it in with your favorite motor oil at oil change time.

Two older guys that had a real old Skelly service station next door to me as I was growing up, and these guys were mechanics from the 1920's thru 1970 when they retired, at this same service station that had old pumps out front, SWORE by Pyroil gas and oil additives. They used it in all of their customer's cars I think the yellow can (they were about the size of a tomato juice can) was for motor oil and the green can was for the gas tank.

I haven't seen that stuff for at least 50 years I think it came out of Wisconsin.
 
The stuff is a mix of plain mineral oil and a solvent. If you smell a whiff of it, you can detect the solvent odor. This stuff's claim to fame is simply how it reacts with hard carbon deposits. It takes it a little while but it will soften hard carbon to the point that it will not longer hold a bind between a valve stem and a guide. This is what it was made for and it is still used to this day on engines that had problems with sticking valves for one reason or another.

It was popular in general aviation for all the owners that had the small Continental engines of the 4-cylinder air cooled variety from the A65 through the O-200 series as well as several others. They loved to stick valves and the MMO was the cat's meow to get them to stop and it still is.
 
It is my understanding that any motor oil that has a "50" in it's viscosity (e.g. 20W50 mentioned above) has adequate zinc in it. When I was racing my dirt car with the hemi, I used Mobil 1 15W50 that had 1200-1300 ppm zinc, just like the bad old days.

I will admit I haven't checked lately.
 
i'm a believer. had two stuck valves that made a big clatter. soaked in MMO, burned it off, as i drove away in a cloud of smoke the clatter went away. been doing 4 oz per 10 gallons ever since , 8 years?, no recurrence. and yes, it smells good.
 
Rotorwrench is the prize winner for today!
With just a wee bit of chemistry background, I am always skeptical of any snake oil type products. However there are a few that are good and have been proven over many decades. One of which is MMO. Think back to the real old days when motor oil was poorly refined (lots of long chain molecules) and cold running conditions ( moisture in the oil) and you got sludge in the bottom and carbon buildup in the top. Fuel from even worse with lots of Sulphur.
MMO is made up of light oil, mineral sprits and versions of dichlorobenzene which is the main solvent which is known for softening carbon deposits and releasing them from metal surfaces. A form of boron is included as a detergent ( think ole timey Borax). The oil of wintergreen (the smell you get from MMO ) is Methyl salicylate and among many uses has properties of a penetrating oil and releasing corrosion on metallic surfaces. Put it all together with a colorful dye and you get a very useful product . A more modern product for today's fuel injection engines and especially DFI engines is the carbon cleaning solvent from Lubrizol which is the material marketed as Techron , a very good product.
MMO is still a good product for many applications. It does work and does no harm.
 
Add me to the list of believers. It freed up valves in three of my engines. (Two Ford flathead V-8s and a Case tractor).
 
Re: Marvel Mystery Oil and Marvel Classic Motor Oil

drolston said:
It is probably a really good product for old flatheads, with increased zinc for our flat tappet cams, and detergents to prevent sludge build up. But at $9.00 per quart, plus shipping, it is a little expensive. My solution is to use one quart of Valvoline TR1 racing oil for the zinc, and four quarts of any other good oil for the detergent and other additives.

Almost all modern oils still have some zinc, more than enough for a flathead (unless you have a top dollar race engine with extremely high valve spring pressure). Some of the very newest, like GF-6 or 7, may not be, but most oil ratings require backward compatibility. We don't want these newest oils anyway, because they have a viscosity rating in the range of 0W-16.
Any oil sold at Wal-Mart or anywhere else will work just fine in any street flathead, even one with a mild performance camshaft. I've noticed lately that non-detergent oils are labeled "not for use in engines" and are often labeled as "compressor oil".
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tubman said:
It is my understanding that any motor oil that has a "50" in it's viscosity (e.g. 20W50 mentioned above) has adequate zinc in it. When I was racing my dirt car with the hemi, I used Mobil 1 15W50 that had 1200-1300 ppm zinc, just like the bad old days.

I will admit I haven't checked lately.
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Never knew that:)
 
Got so motivated by this thread, I just got back from garage after putting 4oz. of MMO in the '47 tank!!!:)
 
I use Marvel Mystery Oil in my shop air tool line oilers. Keeps the air tools lubed and does not eat out the flex lines.
I had an old uncle that used to put one drop on his scrambled eggs. Said he liked the smell and it kept him regular..
I wouldnt use it in any automotive application.
 
RKS>>>Got so motivated by this thread, I just got back from garage after putting 4oz. of MMO in the '47 tank!!!>>>


Wow. 4 ozs! That's a whole 0.2% if the tank was full. You musta been really motivated. 8^) Jack E/NJ
 
I pour it out of a gallon jug into an unmarked container I carry in my trunk. When I’m filling up at the gas station people ask “What’s that your pouring in your tank?”....I tell ‘em it’s my grand ma’s arthritis tonic.....”want a swallow?”..... nobodys taken me up on it yet.....but yes, I ad some every fill up.......Mark
 
Based on what I saw written by a noted YBlock engine builder, any oil with a "30" or more in it has enough zinc. He uses Valvoline 10-30 conventional in most of the engines he builds. No supplement other than for break in..



tubman said:
It is my understanding that any motor oil that has a "50" in it's viscosity (e.g. 20W50 mentioned above) has adequate zinc in it. When I was racing my dirt car with the hemi, I used Mobil 1 15W50 that had 1200-1300 ppm zinc, just like the bad old days.

I will admit I haven't checked lately.
Click to expand...
 
Count me as a non-believer. I built my engine about 25 years ago and have many miles on it. Like 60,000 or so. Never has see a drop of MMO and I use 10W- 30 oil.
 
I recently placed a 210 cu in cummins 6 cyl turbo diesel into my '47 tonner. When it was on the run stand I filled the 1 qt fuel tank with various 'fuels' just for fun. It ran great on diesel, loved peanut oil, but it ran and started best and idled super smooth with no smoke at all on 100% MMO. Yes, I run a few ounces in my flathead's gas tanks. (And the tonner's)
 
Jack E/NJ said:
RKS>>>Got so motivated by this thread, I just got back from garage after putting 4oz. of MMO in the '47 tank!!!>>>


Wow. 4 ozs! That's a whole 0.2% if the tank was full. You musta been really motivated. 8^) Jack E/NJ
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Yup, Jack, the directions on the gallon jug say 4oz. for each 10 gallons of gas. That's about what I have in my tank now. Don't want to get to "radical" or "motivated" with these things like Pete's old uncle above who put it on his scrambled eggs!!:D
 
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