Need people to weigh in on this. Read that the new oil of today is not good for this 57 223 ford motor due to zinc content in oil. Is there anything to that?
Been discussed a million times, couple thousand just on this board. Most current oils do not have the zinc like older oils did, thanks to the EPA. There are still a few that are OK, Brad Penn has some, and there are also additives you can buy to mix with today's oils that will include zinc. Do a search on "oil and zinc" and spend most of the day reading.....
How much ZDDT do you think was in oil that was formulated in 1957? Was it the witches brew of detergents, anti foam additives, detergents, viscosity stabilizers, surfactants, and zinc and phosphorus that is today's lubricants or was it more like, just oil????
SA is pure oil, can be bought @ Wal-Mart, "Accel" brand, says "Not for use in cars made after 1929". Supposedly oil today is 50% additives. Use pre SM oil. SF/SG should be good.
Diesel truck oils carry zinc. Zinc additive can be purchases as well. The zinc is beneficial to heads with tappets. Not so much required for other types of heads.
Read here: www.ZDDPlus.com ZDDP is sold by an Alliance Vendor - last vendor on the list - support the HAMB! Note: I must have typed this message a million times here I'm not associated with this vendor but use this product added to off the shelf oil and drive like a madman!
Say no to Diesel Oils, they hardly have any more zinc than normal oil these days and have a higher detergent content which actually makes them worse for your flat tappet engine. Having too high a detergent in a flat tappet engine is just as bad as not enough ZDDP but it's often overlooked. I run 4 quarts of regular Valvoline 30wt. in mine with one quart of "non-detergent" 30wt. to cut down the detergent and a bottle of Zinc additive which is available at any parts house these days. On the other hand, if you have a roller motor then it's not really an issue but I still run ZDDP additive in my dailys just for peace of mind. Fuck Catalytic converters, they are a lot cheaper than an engine rebuild.
Diesel oil of today has almost no zinc in it. It used to be the way to go, but with so little zinc in it, it's not the hot ticket it used to be.
zinc additives are available , both of these you can get at O'Reillys i've been using Edelbrock #1074 i have also tried Rislone # 4405
At the price of additives for each oil change, you'll save a lot of bucks buying oil that's already got zinc in it. I buy Brad Penn for $6.25 a qt., so it's cheaper than good oil and a $12-$14 bottle of additive.
Ouch... Would like to run the additive on my 305 GMC V6 (has solid lifters), but it comsumes a bit of oil, to the tune of a quart a week.
With the low valve spring load on your well broken in cam don't worry about high dollar oil or additives . Any decent oil even wal-mart private label will be fine. Now a new flat tappet cam with 100lbs seated spring pressure and 300 open that is a different story!!!
Valve train in a 223 is so lightly loaded you should have no problem using off the shelf oil especially if you use the oil formulated for old motors.
just for argument's sake: I can get a 5 quart container of oil at Walmart for $16. $14 for additive and that's thirty. 5 quarts of Brad Pen for $6.25 is $31.25/ I'm not arguing the latter isn't a good way to go-but it won't save you money on an oil change.
Well thank you all very much, reason asking as i have a lot of old records over the last 12-13 years and the guy had done a lot of rocker and head work, thought that may have been the reason. Like a lot of the suggestions.....
Zinc really isn't about rockers/heads, it's about non-roller cams/lifters. lack of lead may have an affect on valves & seats, but that's different subject.
Vr1 isn't street oil and doesn't have the correct additive packages to stand up to street use. It's meant for a 500 mile interval MAXIMUM. SO IT'S ONLY GOOD FOR ACTUAL RACING.
Lucas has something interesting that is not a break-in oil, same price though. http://www.summitracing.com/search/...ot-rod-and-classic-car-motor-oil?autoview=SKU
Plus the 223 is a bulletproof motor. I use pretty much any oil and regular gas in mine and drive it everywhere. High RPMs on the highway and all; never lets me down. Don't over-think it, just drive it