model A engine oil / lubrication

old ugly

old ugly

Well-known member
OK here we go again, but this seams to be an ongoing topic anyway.
what are your thoughts on engine oils? to be used with no additives involved. what do you use and why?

-20/50conventional ?
-10/30 conventional ?
-5/30 conventional ?
- or ????????
what about a synthetic oil?
what viscosity of synthetic if it was to be used?
(not talking about the thought that it will all leak out, just lubrication.)

if you preachase a specific brand what is it and WHY?
(personally i am not a brand follower)(at least not yet).

i think most model A owners are gonna be changing the engine oil quite often, lets say every 500miles. on an engine that is relatively clean inside. (and the dipper try will never get cleaned out). and bearing tolerances within spec.

thanks
OU
 
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that's funny! because i think the same, any new motor oil we dump in is going to be better than 1930s
 
old ugly said:
that's funny! because i think the same, any new motor oil we dump in is going to be better than 1930s
Click to expand...

This. While I haven't yet changed oil (prev. owner said he had less than 50mi on the oil and it looks fresh). I don't think that any modern oil is going to be a problem. I picked up a jug of inexpensive oil from O'Reilly's...and no worries.
 
Enough oil is better than not enough oil.
Fresh oil is better than old oil.
A oil filter makes any oil last longer.
After that, take your pick.

I use Mobil-1 10W-30 because I can get it on sale.
 
20W50 mineral oil comes up on sale here fairly regularly so I used that for years. Lately, I have sometimes used 15W40 with success. I built an engine especially for out outback trips in 2013. I Pressure fed middle main bearing, oil and air filters, new crank and rods, insert bearings, high compression head etc. On these trips, I monitor speed, temp and oil pressure. For days and weeks on end, they read 50 mph/170°F and 26 psi (I made a pressure relief valve aiming at 25 psi so my story is that the gauge in the car is out by 1 pound!!!). After a while, I'd see the same speed and temperature but the pressure would gradually drop - 25psi,24 and when it reached 23, I would change the oil figuring the lubrication long molecular chains in the oil were beginning to be shredded. Like clockwork, that happened at 3,200 miles with the cheapest oil available. Whether more expensive oil would have lasted longer, I don't know. After 70-80 thousand hard miles (50,000 of those miles have been with our 1 ton camper behind), that engine is still going and I'm still using the same oil in it.
I figure that proves the value of a filter and how much superior modern oils are to what was available in the day.
 
For a serious answer to what weight of oil to use, at what temperatures do you plan on driving your A ? The first number is for the lowest temperature you will be operating and the second number is for the highest temperature that you will be driving . For me I will not be driving if the outside temperature is 20*F or lower and probably not going to start it up either ! The highest temperature that I would drive in on purpose 100*F ! So a 15w40 would be right in the middle for my use, a 20w50 could be used , a 10w30 could used to about 80*-90* outside temperature .
 
Another traditionally used oil is used oil .
I have used it.
a customer with a Porsche had his oil changed every year,he lived 30 miles away and rarely put 100 miles on it per year— enough to change both the T and the A
Talking with customers that had model A in college they told me about the friendly gas stations that gave them used oil on their trips to see girlfriends-2 oil stops in 100 miles— even those tired A would go 60 if the destination was the girlfriend’s.
 
As per Kurt, the owner of a Volvo specialist shop in Boston said one Harvard professor insisted on quarterly oil changes using only synthetic oil, even though he drove very few miles. The shop owner explained several times it was unnecessary, but as they say, you can always tell a Harvard man, you just can’t tell him much. The shop owner ended up putting the expensive barely-used oil in his own cars.
 
Nothing magic about Model A engine oil.

I use the cheapest non synthetic 10-30 or 10-40 from O'Riley's, both in my Babbett engines and also my Burtz engine. I do put a little ZDDP additive in my Burtz, which probably isn't necessary, because I am running higher valve spring pressures.

I run 10-30 unless I am going on a long tour in the summer when I use 10-40.

In the Babbett engines, I will change oil every 1000 miles or so. The Bertz will go a lot longer because it has a filter.

Keep it simple.

My opinion,

Chris W.
 
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when i work at the gas station while in high school. we had to fill up i quart containers with bulk oil every day. i have no idea what grade or brand it was, 1972. sold tons of it, it was a lot cheaper. i guess it was good enough for 1960s cars.

i use 10-30 conventional (any brand that is on sale) and ad some stp. i change the oil when is gets dirty on the stick.
 
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