Corvair Forum

Good morning, 65 Corvair Monza 110hp engine automatic. What type of oil to use for an oil change? Type of filter? Thanks!

Oil for cars from the 60´s should be oil from that era, i.e. don´t use synthetic oils but petroleum based oils with zinc and phosphorus additives. That is especially important for air cooled engines like the Corvair where the cylinder heads run rather hot. For filters, Clark´s have reasonably priced filters with good quality.

Many of us follow Richard's recommendations since he is a lubricant expert and drives Corvairs.

http://www.widman.biz/Corvair/English/Links/Oil.html

Here's what I use-

Yup, CI-4 and CJ-4 10-30 "diesel" oil has the required Zinc additive levels and the correct viscosity. There are no "60s" oils available today. The common motor oil on the shelf today is spec SN, which does not have the zinc needed for flat-tappet engines.

Don't get worried about all the "zinc", ZDDP, hype.

Today's automotive oils DO HAVE ZDDP in them, just at a reduced level.

ZDDP levels were increased in the early 60's when automotive manufactures increased oil change intervals (to reduce consumer maintenance costs) and warranty claims on failed camshafts increased significantly. The engineers found increasing ZDDP allowed for extended intervals between oil changes without abnormal camshaft failure (while minor, there has always been an issue with flat tappet camshaft failure).

Rotella has been reformulated since it was the "go to" oil with higher levels of ZDDP. The clean diesel regulations brought about the change years ago. Still it's a good motor oil as other "compounds, per Shell" were added to reduce engine wear.

Ask around, I did. I found NOBODY who experienced a flat tappet camshaft failure in a Corvair in my area that was using name brand 10W30 motor oil with reduced ZDP AND changed the oil regularly. If you are worried just change the oil every 2,000 miles like they did in the 50's when there was little (if any) ZDDP in oil.

DO NOT ADD ZDDP additives to regular motor oil. It's not that simple and excess ZDDP is corrosive!!

Let the arguments begin - LOL.

Thank you everyone. I'm glad I asked. Can I use an off the shelf filter or should I stock up with some Clarks filters? Thanks again.

NAPA 1038 / WIX 51038 - WIX is the OE vendor for AC Delco labeled filters and it's also available as NAPA 1038. This is likely the best available filter unless you get an adapter to fit Donaldson. Avoid Fram.

Fram on left - much less filter material, cardboard end caps. NAPA/WIX Gold on right

Lucas makes a "hot rod" oil with high levels of zddp, that's what I'm using

http://lucasoil.ca/products/hot-rod-high-performance

The WIX filters typically have a good reputation. The WIX carburetor fuel filters are much finer (better) than the ones Clark's sells.

There are a lot of other specialty/racing oils out there that also have the proper additives for flat tappet camshafts. Brad Penn is one of them and is very popular with a lot of the air cooled VW guys. There is also Joe Gibbs and Valvoline Racing.
I use the Brad Penn in my Corvairs. My other cars have roller valve trains and do not need the additives.

You can use any good quality "modern oil" for your car, I use Pennzoil in all my classics including the air cooled ones. I used NAPA filters, made in America and on the shelf new. Remember to change oil every 3000 miles or 6 months. The "cheapest" and most beneficial thing you will ever do for your car is to give it regular oil changes and feed it with premium fuel.

There are as many answers to this question as there are Corvair owners. It seems to be one of those topics people are passionate about. Here is my 2 cents: I have used Amsoil synthetic 5W-30 in my Corvairs for decades. In fact, all my vehicles have Amsoil in them. Amsoil has scientific testing that confirms the quality of their lubricating products (charts/graphs on the website). I currently have a Clark's oil filter (revised model) on my Monza right now, but generally use Wix filters. Your mileage may vary - a gently driven 110 doesn't have the same stresses as a modified turbo engine.

Jim

Typically a synthetic oil will tolerate more heat, but the downside is they tend to leak out of "older" engine designs, especially the Corvair engine with all it's seals. If you are going racing, then a synthetic has an advantage, but for normal driving it gets just as contaminated, "dirty", as standard and less expensive motor oils.

As myself and others have stated - change your Corvair oil more frequently (every 2,000 miles or twice a year for occasional driving) and a quality modern motor oil will do the job.

As far as Amsoil goes --- read Richard1's oil reviews - that all I'm going to say.

Not sure what you're inferring 66vairguy. Here's what Rchard1 says about Amsoil:

Amsoil: http://eolcs.api.org/DisplayLicenseInfo ... nseNo=0995 It surprises me that the API
web site shows Amsoil has only registered 15W-40 viscosities in the CI-4 category. There are
several apparently good Amsoil products on their site, and may be using proprietary chemistry
that would be expensive to run through API tests for their relatively small volume. Any of these
three could be fairly high on my list..

• AMO Synthetic Premium Protection Motor Oil 10W-40 is not listed in the API site,
but the Amsoil site shows it is CI-4/SL, with excellent NOAK and HTHS (4.3 cP). Note
below that in low temperatures it has a lower viscosity than several 5W-40 synthetic oils.
• ACD Synthetic 10W-30/SAE 30 Heavy Duty Diesel Oil: This oil is not listed on the
API site, but shows very good numbers. It appears to be a pure synthetic, although I
cannot see whether it is group III or a group IV/group V combination.
• HDD Series 3000 Synthetic 5W-30 Heavy-Duty Diesel Oil: An excellent choice,
especially in colder climates

Sounds good to me.

Jim

Oh - and the "synthetic oils leak out of older engines" is a myth. An incorrect one.