VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Overhauled engine new oil ?

Gentlemen - Sorry if this is trivial knowledge, but upon rebuiling our 216 engine for a 1939 Master Deluxe, I am asking how many quarts for this motor to put in ? I do not have an owner manual.
Also is there anything to this adding zinc supplement with the break-in oil ? And do you have any reccommendations of quality brand of oil, viscosity, etc ?
Our car still has its original engine that we are completely overhauling, would like your advice and opinions.
Thanks kindly !!



MJD

5 Quarts

Check out this website for more info on zinc additive. There is lots of good info under the Tech Talk links.
http://www.zddppluscentral.com/

Any brand of current 10-30 will be fine. Forget the zinc, it would be of little help anyway. Strictly my opinion. And it is what I used on my 41 rebuild and everything is fine. I used Wal-Mart brand but I checked the government circle on the back first.
Charlie

BTW: Did you install hardened seats for the exhaust valves? The consensus is that they're not really needed. I did merely for peace of mind. Money thrown away for nothing though
, I guess.

Per the machinist's recomendation who rebuilt mine (1930) some 3+ years and more than 10,000 miles ago, I just used a brand name 10W30 detergent oil. Been using it ever since with no problems.

Dan

Go to your local GM dealer and get a bottle of EOS. Gene has mentioned it many times. Its been recommended by GM for years when you have a fresh engine.

Mark,
I prefer to rely on information from the major oil companies or auto manufacturers versus people selling an additive product. It is common to use non-scientific, incidental or anecdotal data to promote a product. It is far different to base recommendations on extensive (and expensive) scientifically based tests and test track experience.

The recommendation of a drag racer means absolutely nothing to me. I will never drive my vehicles with freshly rebuilt engines at maximum output, minimal cooling a several seconds at a time. And never fully believe anyone that directly benefits form the endorsement.

I would start it out with 5W-30 for the first fill. This will circulate faster when cold. If the camshaft was not replaced no additives are necessary.
With a "dry" sump it will take 5 1/2 Qts.
Best not to idle the engine for any length of time. Keep it at a fast idle and step it up inbetween.
Chevrolet used a #10 oil for break-in in 1939 and advised the #10 for the first change at 500 miles. That was the "lightest" oil available in 1939.
There was no ZDDP in oil in 1939 or 1949.
All good oils have it today but not enough for camshaft break-in. Chevrolet sold a camshaft break-in oil as far back as 1957.
A 6 cylinder engine cam gets plenty of oil splashed on the camshaft because its in the open along side of the crankshaft. The V-8 has the cam hidden above the crank and very little is exposed to oil splash and a good additive could be more necessary for that type of engine.

Chip,

I considered adding a caveat to my post that the tech information is supplied by a vendor intrerested in selling his product, or that I don't advocate for or against the use of his product, but decided not to.

I thought their tech info was pretty much straight ahead, without the usual over-the-top snake oil hype. I was particularly interested in what they had to say about breaking in a new engine, since there seem to be numerous schools of thought on what the correct procedure is. However, while reading the article, I was mindful that it was primarily directed at modern high-performance engines, while my engine is an antique 216 splash oiler. And, as I read through it, I was thinking, "I don't think I'd do that to my engine."

I don't think I could bring myself to run my freshly rebuilt 216 at full power either. However, Doug Bell, I believe the first president of the VCCA, and a long-time employee of GM in the Chevrolet service department, in his book, "Cast Iron Wonder", wrote in the chapter on 1935 models, that when a customer brought in a relatively new car and complained of high oil consumption, the procedure was to have the customer leave the car, then disconnect the speedometer, drive the car for 100 to 150 miles with the accelerator on the floor all the way, then re-connect the speedometer, replace the gasoline consumed, and return the car to the customer. He said he never remembered having a dissatisfied customer after the "procedure".

Anyway, I think there was some sound basic information in the articles, and hopefully, if MJD visited the website and read the articles, he realized that the information presented might not all be applicable to his engine. I really would hate to be responsible for directing a Chevrolet enthusiast to information that might cause him to do something harmful to his engine.

Gentlemen - thanks for the various answers, I appreciate all. I hope to drive the car at a moderate speed, breaking the engine in without a lot of idleing, and probably should drive it occassionally and not let it sit for long periods of time.
I think using common sense is important with any car, truck, and I wanted all of your input for reminders of what I should do with a new re-built engine.
I ran across a 1933 Chevy car hood I saved many years ago, trying to let someone know on that year forum of possibly getting it to a need somewhere. I am trying to free up the hinges and stuff for a possible use, It has the 3 little slanted doors on each side, but 1 is missing on each side, all complete otherwise....if you know someone for this '33 hood. Found it in a junkyard dump where our farmland was years ago .......I just thought somebody might wish to have one somewhere !
Thanks for your answers to my '39 motor oil questions.


mjd