Oil be alright...

[CorvairCon65]

My 65 110 Monza is running low on oil and needs topping up. It's the first time I need to do it and I'm new to these. I've got some mineral oil that I use on my air cooled DAFs, will this be ok in my Vair?

[bbodie52]

Your Corvair needs high-quality engine oil — NOT MINERAL OIL! If you don't know what oil is currently in your engine, or how many miles or days have accumulated on that oil, you should perform an oil and filter change to establish a baseline timetable for regular oil changes, and to establish the type of oil you have in the engine so that you are not mixing different oil characteristics.

A good synthetic is my personal preference. The oil shown on the Clark's Corvair Parts page is a good choice, but alternate brands (synthetic or not) in a 10W-30 or 10W-40 would be fine. I'm sure others will voice their preferences here. Turbocharged engines in particular can benefit from synthetic oil, because of the high heat encountered in the turbocharger.

There is a cover under the alternator/generator that permits access to the oil cooler fins. This cover should be removed periodically to clean any dirt or debris from this area that may block airflow through the oil cooler.

http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... N&page=122


http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/catalog ... w_page=27B


The websites listed in the following link may be useful to you...

Common and Useful Corvair Websites

Corvair Forum viewtopic.php?f=225&t=6007

I would like to encourage you to expand on your initial post and tell us more about yourself, your Corvair, and your goals for your Corvair. If you can describe your personal assessment of your mechanical skills and abilities, that would help a lot. Members of the Corvair Forum love to be helpful in assisting other Corvair owners with technical support and advice, but it helps a lot if we have some understanding of your technical background and mechanical abilities, Corvair-related knowledge, etc. Helping us to know more about you and your Corvair will help us to write comments to you that are tailored to your needs and experience. Pictures are great too, because pictures of your Corvair will help us to visualize where you are with your Corvair and its condition at the present time. Knowing your location is also useful, because knowing where you live can sometimes suggest possibilities to resolve some issues or problems.

[CorvairCon65]

Thanks Brad.

That's a shame as I have shed loads of that oil and it's not cheap (over £20 for a 5 litre tin). I will look for a semi synth 10W40 then. I always shied away from those on my DAFs as the engines were not built to such fine tolerances as modern engines and would just promote leaks. Then engines age (my odometer shows 26k but I dare say if it read into the hundreds of thousand miles there would be a 1 digit in front of that 26k) and the tolerances become even looser. And you

My friend is an independent Land Rover mechanic and I'm waiting on some free time on his four poster so I could check the Vair out more thoroughly and make a shopping list for parts and service items. I was hoping to just do a top up for now but you're right, a proper oil and filter change would be wise. To be fair I've barely driven her since she was delivered and UK weathers can be quite harsh (we do use a fair amount of road salt here) so she won't be doing much more mileage.

I meant to (and will) introduce myself, just been busy trying to read the whole forum before piling in. And I'm glad that I did! Having discovered one of my fuse box terminals had rusted out I thought I was going to have to buy that part of the loom until I read Bob Whitt's thread and discovered that the fuse holders can be purchased separately (phew!!). There's so much good info to learn here so thanks to everyone who contributes! This is invaluable for those of us who have not grown up with these cars in our lives.

As for my abilities, I'll give most things a try if I have a Haynes manual or similar. My welding looks like pigeon poo so I leave bodywork to those who can and electrics is a dark art of sourcery which I never mastered. But I'm ok with 'fitting' jobs.

Thanks,

Pete.

[64powerglide]

I would try it if I had oodles of it, sounds O.K. to me.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine ... l-20w50-5l" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bbodie52]

I'm sorry, but I was reacting to the term "mineral oil" without checking the manufacturer's web site. I was thinking of some non-automotive product, but when I searched the Web I found the manufacturer's website, and it sounds like this product would be OK in the Corvair — although i have never heard of this product. Synthetic oil does better in a very high temperature environment that is sometimes found in a turbocharger bearing area, as it avoids oil coking problems that can form deposits on turbocharger bearings. But for most Corvair owners this is obviously not an issue. Some of the other additives mentioned in the Clark's Corvair Parts catalog page may be lacking in this Halfords product, but I really don't know. For the average Corvair the premium Halfords product may be just fine.

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine ... l-20w50-5l

Halfords Classic Oil 20W50 Product Description

The Halfords Classic Oil 20W50 is a 5 litre bottle, which is specially developed to protect and preserve old engines and classic cars from the 60's, 70's and 80's where an oil of this quality and viscosity is recommended by the manufacturer.

It is a conventional, multi-grade engine oil with a high viscosity, which helps to reduce oil loss and leakage and can be used all year round.

Specification of Halfords Classic Oil 20W50

API SE CC
Protects and preserves old engines
High viscosity helps to reduce oil loss & leakage
Multi-grade Oil for use in Summer and Winter
Oil adapts to outside temperature
NB. Recommended oil change every 2000 to 3000 miles
Additional Information

Please refer to your vehicle handbook to confirm the suitability of this oil for your vehicle

At approximately $6.00 per quart (£4.00 per liter) it sounds like overkill in some ways. Perhaps someone on the Corvair Forum has experience with this product.

I did find a website that contains some debate on the Halfords product. It does appear to be a controversial product. If you want to read some comments, here is the link...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/sho ... p?t=265946

[CorvairCon65]

Sorry Brad, I should have switched on my English/American translating tool before posting. By mineral oil here we mean non-synthetic.

My DAFs like it so I'm inclined to give it a whirl...

I'm starting to get to know my Corvair better now and I will announce my plans when I know what they are...for now I'm just enjoying driving her.

[Francesco]

Not sure what you can get where you are, but I run non-synthetic Rotella T diesel oil. Been running it on my new engine after break in, and I think its just fine! Did a bunch of research before picking, and the best part is its cheap and plentiful! New engine, so I did add some ZDDP additive, but I don't think you'd need it once broken in.

[NMVair]

in my first corvair i ran 20-50 castrol (mineral oil-non-synthetic) and that weight worked for me and that car (64 Monza)-110). But that was 25 years ago....i run Rotella like many Blokes on here.

[Corventure Dave]

Use the best oil you can find or wish. I have used AmsOil in the past. It's darn good oil.. However:

This is an example of one of my engines after 128,000 miles. I rebuild and go through this engine at about that interval, just because of mileage and seal wear. It's my daily driver Greenbrier.
The oil I have been using for 35+ years is straight weight 30, non synthetic. You call it mineral oil, we call it Dino oil.
The secret is to change it at 2400 - 2500 mile intervals. Air cooled engines burn oil due to running temperatures. Changing more often reduces the black burn.
This engine is not a performance engine. Not a turbo. It's also is not exposed to heavy engine loads. But pictures tell quite a story.
Also, the crankshaft has over 300,000 miles that I personally put on it. It's standard - standard. Never been turned and within factory wear tolerances. Another reason to change your oil often.

As I said, use the best oil you want to. This works for me.

Corventure Dave

[CorvairCon65]

Thanks guys.

I know a couple of DAF owners who run theirs on diesel oil too and swear by it. The tolerances on the DAF aircooled engines mean that the factory spec will never be up to date. I know exactly what you mean Dave as I have lost one DAF engine through heat seize. That was after an oil change and filter clean (no spin on oil filters on those engines!) but the engine was old, hadn't been used thoroughly for years and I believe it had sludged up somewhere.

My vair will get an oil and filter change but in the spring time when work commences. Winter has been mild here thus far but it's only a matter of time before it gets gnarly and the gritters come out. Remember, the UK comes to a complete standstill once we get a couple of inches of snow; our infrustructure just cannot handle it, lol.

[Richard1]

That oil should never get close to a Corvair. That spec is the reason people learned about the need for ZDDP and higher additive levels.

If you haven't seen it, download this paper to know why.
http://www.widman.biz/uploads/Corvair_oil.pdf


Here are the basics for choosing

[CorvairCon65]

Fair one. My engine has covered +/- 126K, does that make it slightly worn or well worn? It doesn't belch smoke etc but naturally I don't know much of its history...

[Richard1]

I'd say that due to poor oils used in the past and other maintenance things that normally do not occur, it has probably been rebuilt somewhere along the way. I have cars with 180,000 to 380,000 miles without rebuilding. But the oldest of those is 88.

My Corvair had been "rebuilt" twice before I got it.

[NMVair]

Mr. Finch had a car with 500k on it with no rebuild and for the life of me i can't remember what he ran. I want to say it was a strait 30. the thing he did say was that the cars are older now, so......
That actually can be taken two ways. I mean oils are much better than even twenty years ago. But his point was that Corvairs are older as a whole and therefore more prone to experience problems due to their age. I want to say valve seats are an example of this.
My experience has been that watching oil levels and regular oil changes probably trump all efforts to find the right blend. But obviously i don't have the knowledge of chemical affects on engine parts that is shared here on the forum.
I have always said that I am a Castrol man.
I got away with using 20-50 Castrol GTX in my first Corvair, 20 years ago when i lived in Tucson. We used to drive that Monza 110 everywhere and traversed Texas Canyon with three big dudes in the car on our 300 mile summer trips to Elephant Butte Lake. The temp light always came on near the top of the Texas Canyon.
But that only provided an opportunity for us to pull over and have a beer among the beautiful rocks of the canyon as we transferred from the Sonoran Desert to the higher elevation of the Chihuahuan Desert.
I think that aqua car had like 60K miles on it when i got it. When I think of it now-man were we young and dumb. I mean-these days- with all the stuff I've read on here and that now rolls around in my brain it kind of creates a paranoia that I expect will go away with more knowledge and experience. On the other hand I am a disciple of one of the best transmission men in history-my father. I am sure of it. And his only advice at the time was, "Keep it full of oil."
Confidence is another factor. I know how good Castrol is. Its great enough. Royal Purple, Mobile 1 and Amsoil may be better oils but I feel really good about running Castrol synthetic in my vehicles. Except the Corvair, of course, I am Convinced the Synthetic Rotella is most appropriate for my 140.
That said i have to say I am a bit skeptical of running any zinc additives with oils of my choice.
On my 91 Harley I rum Castrol Synthetic (GTX in the primary)-the bike has a cam and stainless valves, short pistons-keeps going with 190K on it.
But I KEEP IT FULL OF OIL!