Shell Helix 3 20W50 API SJ/CF

[SR5]

OP, I would follow Joe's advice and use a 20W50.

Have you looked at the Casttol GTX 20W50 ? Over here it is API SL, which should have a better add pack.

Here is a letter from Castrol North America, and they state the same thing. Their GTX 20W50 is SL and contains more zinc than typical oils from the muscle car era.

http://www.ahcso.com/pdf/response_to_zddp_article_from_castrol.pdf

 

[Joe90_guy]

I can buy a 45p pot of yoghurt from Aldi and the labeling tells me everything I'd ever need to know about it; fats, sugar, salt, proteins, fibre, calories, etc. Yet if you buy virtually any can of engine oil for say, twenty quid, the labeling tells you absolutely sweet FA about what's inside!

Group I or II? Phosphorus? Sulphur? TBN? Sorry sir. Even though we know these things, we're not going to tell you because frankly you're too stupid to understand them so please just go away and stop bothering us! Who do these people think they are? Customers???

I think the general idea is we should 'just trust them' which all looks a bit silly given that Volkswagen took much the same line in selling clean diesel cars.

So in answer to the question 'Am I safe...?', the answer is I can't definitive say but my personal opinion is yes (probably!).

PS - Nice motor! Brings back memories of Bodie & Doyle.

 

[Shannow]

Being born in '67, the V-6 Capri was on Oz roads in my early years (Torana XU-1 trounced them).

We got the Essex V-6, while other markets got the Cologne V-6...Take it that your is the Cologne ?

 

[FCD]

Shannow , all 3.0 Capris had the Essex V6 , mine has it too but it's the later version you never got in OZ which has 10 Hp more.
Tank you joe i've owned JUST 4 of them , i made the mistake of selling them which i won't do again specially since Capri prices are skyrocketing!

Anyway thank you all for your replies

 

[Shannow]

Sweet

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: Joe90_guy

- Nice motor! Brings back memories of Bodie & Doyle.


That's exactly what I was thinking. The Professionals and CI5.

 

[FCD]

this is my favorite photo of mine by far, you can't see me but you can see my nephew taking pictures

 

[fdcg27]

I'd run the Valvoline.
Whatever preference you might have for higher metallic add levels, a one-off run of this oil certainly isn't going to do any harm.
When you consider the Grp I swill we ran engines on back in the day, an API SJ oil can't be all that bad.
To the OP, that looks like a very nice Capri.
There were two generations of this car offered in the US and they were sold through the Lincoln-Mercury dealer channel.
The first gen sold pretty well while the more costly second gen didn't do as well here.
Over the life of the model in this country, they were offered with the Kent 1.6, German 2.0 and Cologne V-6 engines.
Nice little machines of a type no longer offered.
A sporty and attractive RWD car at a reasonable cost.

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted By: Joe90_guy
Utterly brilliant oil! Glad to see someone's still buying it...


came across Valvoline Turbo 20w-50 today. is it also brilliant?

 

[Joe90_guy]

No it is not brilliant in the sense that I had nothing to do with it. Furthermore this stuff costs £35 a can!!! Extortionate for a oil that's dirt cheap to make.

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted By: Joe90_guy
No it is not brilliant in the sense that I had nothing to do with it. Furthermore this stuff costs £35 a can!!! Extortionate for a oil that's dirt cheap to make.


found it for 3 euro per litre on the shelves....

 

[dailydriver]

I had the U.S. version of this car (sold through Lincoln-Mercury dealers), bought new in '76, a 'Black Cat' in black with gold accents/wheels, 4 speed manual and the 2.8 liter, 2 bbl. Weber carbed, 'Cologne' V-6.
I installed a Kamei air dam on the front, Ansa exhaust, and Minilite replica wheels wrapped in Goodyear 'Wingfoot' rubber.

I have TOTALLY forgotten both which brand(s) and viscosity oils I used in this thing, it was so long ago.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I have a Hotwheels Mercury Capri

I think it's purple. Got it in the 70s when I was a kid,and still have it!! I need to dig out my old collection someday. It's all late 60s-early 70s Hotwheels Redlines,Matchbox,and Tomica "Pocket Cars". I think there's a few oddball off-brand ones too,just can't remember what they are.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: SR5

So what do I do with my 5L of Valvoline SJ 20W50 now that I've upgraded my mower from a old 4 stroke to a new 2 stroke?


Originally Posted By: fdcg27
I'd run the Valvoline.
Whatever preference you might have for higher metallic add levels, a one-off run of this oil certainly isn't going to do any harm.
When you consider the Grp I swill we ran engines on back in the day, an API SJ oil can't be all that bad.



Good point fdcg27. Given Joe90 believes probably all reasonable oils are Group 2 now days, and Shannow's link that shows the difference between a SL or a SG oil is just the does rate of the same add pack to the base oil, what you say makes a lot of sense.

If I want I could buy 5L of high zinc Valvoline VR1 10W40 semi-synthetic race oil and mix it with my 5L of Valvoline SJ 20W50 mineral, to make 10L of a medium zinc - light synblend that would be some sort of 15W45. That sounds like something fun to do.

For those who haven't followed Shannow's links, they are very interesting. HiTEC sell add packs to companies that blend oils, and they give the product and dose rate required to get the API specs of interest.

API SG = 4.9 %
API SJ = 5.45%
API SL = 6.8 %
All the same add pack (HiTEC 9325G) going into the same oil.

OP, sorry to hijack the thread with all this oil mixology stuff.
Joe90 and Shannow, I learnt a lot, thankyou.

OP, great looking car, enjoy your ride.

 

[FCD]

Thank you all for your replies , i think the Mercury Capri didn't sell well in the US because you bever got any of the cool performance versions in Europe we got Turbocharged 2.8 and 3.0 L Capris with over 200 Hp and in South Africa they even put a 250 Hp 302 in it.....

Anyway i also know a place where i can buy Valvoline VR1 20w50 mineral in a black 5 liter jug ( API : SL ) , would you reccomend this to me?

 

[Shannow]

Yeah, that works in my mind.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver

Anyway i also know a place where i can buy Valvoline VR1 20w50 mineral in a black 5 liter jug ( API : SL ) , would you reccomend this to me?


If it's API SL then it's "road legal" and sounds perfect for your application.

Some race oils are only for the track and should be changed very frequently due to low TBN etc. These oils are usually clearly marked "not for road use" or something like that.

The Valvoline VR1 that I can get here is road legal and API rated. It's a high zinc 10W40 semi-synthetic. Looking it up, it's a API SJ......go figure.

Your VR1 20W50 SL mineral oil sounds like just the thing you were looking for. Nice work finding it.

Valvoline make good stuff.

 

[Joe90_guy]

To SR5...

Think you will find that today's additive treats may be even lower that the quoted numbers suggest. The improvement in oxidative stability you get in moving from Group I to Group II base oil makes passing some the API tests far easier. As a consequence, you need less additive. IMO, this is both good and bad. Generally I am for anything that takes unnecessary cost out of oil. The downside is that no-one in the entire world knows how some of these new oils, devoid of any native sulphur and possibly containing even less additive that the originally specified API SF oils will perform on a 1975 Ford Capri.

To FordCapriDriver...

Yes, Valvoline VR1 20W50 would be a good oil for you but be prepared to open your wallet wide. The cheapest I could find it in the UK was off Amazon where they will sell you a 5 litre can for £35.29!!!! The margins on this product must be astronomical, higher that most top-tier full synthetics. Jetronic says he can find it for €3/L so ask him which country this is in.

 

[SR5]

Ouch !! That VR1 sounds good but expensive. I hope the OP can find a good deal on it.

I was looking at the Valvoline Europe web site. They have the VR1 Racing 20W50 mineral oil with extra ZDDP (zinc) and it's API SL, ACEA A3/B4, and street legal. That is a good oil.

Valvoline Europe also list a All Climate 20W50 oil that is API SL/CF, ACEA A3/B3 -10, MB 229.1. I assume it's also a mineral oil, but they don't exactly say. Anyway, this is probably a better oil than the Shell Helix 3 which is API SJ, and probably much cheaper than the VR1. Just another option for you FordCapriDriver.

Now, I hesitate to say this, but what do people think of mixing the two Valvoline products together? The VR1 20W50 with the All Climate 20W50 ?

I wouldn't normally suggest such a thing, but the OP may need a more affordable option than pure VR1. Or maybe he is a millionaire that happens to collect Ford Capri's while sipping a Martini.

 

[Jetronic]

Originally Posted By: SR5


Valvoline Europe also list a All Climate 20W50 oil that is API SL/CF, ACEA A3/B3 -10, MB 229.1. I assume it's also a mineral oil, but they don't exactly say. Anyway, this is probably a better oil than the Shell Helix 3 which is API SJ, and probably much cheaper than the VR1. Just another option for you FordCapriDriver.



That carries the same certs as the 3 euro valvoline oil I saw yesterday. I'd say it's the same oil most likely