VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc What Engine Oil Do You Use

I did a quick search for "oil" and got hundreds of responses but not what I was looking for.

What oil do you guys use in your old engines? I have a 194, 2 - 235s and a 265. What brand and grade do you use? Do you use any additives? I live in South Florida where it never gets cold.

Use any name brand 10/30 SAE oil. No additives at all. The oil today has everything in it you need.

I use 10/30 in all my old ones and no additives

Same as above..................

If you change oil often, Walmart brand 10-30 will do the job.

Thanks to all. I had someone tell me they use Valvoline VR1 because it has a high zinc content. Any opinions on that?

When I looked up the VR1 it said it's for high performance race engines. Do you race any of your cars? The 10-30 is fine for all except probably the 2012 Vette.

None of the engines you listed need more Zinc than the 10W-30 will have.

It's good oil. It won't hurt, but probably wont help you much either, and it costs more. There are 2 oils they refer to as VR1, one is synthetic and the other isn't.

Whatever you do, you probably shouldn't go any heavier than 10w30 in an old Chevy with low pressure oiling.

Thanks guys. Just wanted to get the opinion of those that work on these old cars all the time. I've always used 10W30 in everything but the Vette. Chevy recommends Mobile-1 5W20 in it which I've always used. I was more interested in the old ones which are all original. I was told oil back in the day had a high zinc content which modern oil don't have.

If "back in the day" refers to 10 years or so ago then the statement is correct. If before ca1950 then today's oils have 10s to 100s times more zinc.

Don't overthink this! Every auto-focused forum I participant in has an overabundance of "what oil to use" posts. The common thread is that none of responses are conclusive. They are only based on at best limited observations, not facts or data.

I am pleased to observe that in this forum there are 4 prevalent answers.

- Use 10w-30 oil in these older Chevy engines.
- Any oil you buy today today is magnitudes better than any oil available when these engines were built.
- Given the relatively few miles most of us drive these cars longevity is not an issue.
- Inadequate oiling systems and low oil levels cause way more problems than what brand and type of oil you use

When I worked for a living for an agricultural equipment company we had a VP of Engineering who stated it this way: We have a whole lot more problems with customers who do not put lubricants into their equipment compared to those who use the wrong lubricant .

As an additional note the primary difference between "racing" oils and "regular" oils is the detergent and additive packages. Racing oils tend to have much more in the way of anti-wear packages and less detergent than regular oils. You can spend a lot of time on the internet reading about this. The reality is that it is irrelevant to these engines and how we use them.

Rusty, that is the best explanation I've heard on this subject and it makes all the sense in the world. Thank you very much. I am not a mechanic and certainly not an engine builder. I rely on other people's best advice. I have eight old Chevys. Four 1930s and 1950s with original engines and four with modern Chevy small blocks. I use synthetic in the modern engines and non-synthetic in the original. I'm going to stock up on 10W30. Thanks again.