OCI and oil for new (to me) driving style

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
May 1, 2011
Messages
1,353
Location
PA
I've always done short city/rural type driving but am likely to be starting a job with a 90+ mile round-trip commute. 85% of that will be highway mileage.
Car is 1978 Ford Granada 250CID I6 carb engine, auto trans and no accessories with 40k miles. Doesn't smoke or leak. I'd be hitting the 3k interval every 10 weeks or so.
 
I agree, 5k OCI is reasonable for 30+ years old carburetor equipped car. For oil grade, I probably try 10W30/10W40 dino or cheap blend such as Motorcraft.
 
I've been using cheap 10w-30 or 10w-40 in it for years and change it every 3k or once a year. My shorter trips usually sooted up the oil, especially in winter. Last time I changed it, I could smell it(not gas) 2 houses away while it drained.
 
How did you find a 78 with only 40,000 miles on it? It must be in incredible shape! Certainly better than the Granada my uncle bought new and drove into the ground, at the end it was held together mostly by duct tape!!
smile.gif
He got well over 200k out of it though.
 
I bought it years ago from a junkyard. I'm 2nd owner. No one but Ford and myself have ever worked on this car. It still had original air filter, pcv, breather, belts, hoses, and ignition parts on it. Needless to say, it really needed a tuneup and pcv was inoperable probably for years. That's probably the smell I still get in the oil. I had a 77 Granada in High School.
smile.gif
If it dies, there's an 81 Granada at the same yard still.
Mine was junked for having a bad miss. Turned out to be tuneup issues and wobbly carb.
 
You're going to stat using a 33-year old vehicle for a 90+ mile commute every day??? Wow, you're brave - you must have faith in that vehicle!

As for oil, I'd definetly use a HDEO 10W-30 in it, and change it every 4-5k miles. If you got tired of the constant changes, I'd move up to Rotella T6 5W-40, and change it every 7-8k miles.
 
That's actually the newest car I've owned in 12 years. That and a 78 LTD. 5 more years to retire and I'm hoping to get it from this car, possibly one more car. It's efficient, has room for my stuff, and "I" can fix it. I've got all new rubber, brakes and brake system, belts, hoses, etc so theoretically, it's just as good as any used car with only 40k on it.
My backup is 1970 Chrysler Newport(46k) which I'd rather not kill. Both have made it from Scranton, PA to Atlanta, GA and back with no issues.(knock on woodgrain)
smile.gif
 
Wow, that's really cool!

Any chance you'd do a UOA on your car to see how it's doing? would love to see the results from an old engine like that......
 
Hmm. That could be interesting. Next car to be changed is 78 LTD, my mother's car. I think it's at 28k miles by now. Had 19k when we bought it in '99. That one's been getting 10W-40 Syntec for last 10 years.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Wow, that's really cool!

Any chance you'd do a UOA on your car to see how it's doing? would love to see the results from an old engine like that......

I've ordered a UOA kit from Blackstone. Current oil fill in Granada is Castrol 10w-40 that had 140 miles on it drained from one of my collector cars with one fresh qt. My 3 collector cars are very sparingly driven and I can't see wasting the oil. I drip filter it through a couple Brawny towels and save 4 qts for use.
 
Wow!
In that kind of use, I'd say 5K should be safe even with a carb.
Keep us posted on how this goes.
That does seem like a pretty heavy schedule for an old machine that has averaged around 1200 miles a year from new.
I can't remember when I last saw a Granada.
Does anyone remember the ads where Ford actually had the audacity to compare (favorably) the Granada to the W115, as well as the XJ6?
 
The Granada rides like a rock compared to my Chrysler or my mother's LTD. It also handles poorly above 60mph in traffic, but handles well at 70mph if alone on road in good weather. Only my 3 59 Fords and Edsels rode worse. When a truck is coming up behind me, it pushes the car off the road, sucks it in when passing, and then pushes it off again after passing. Just some observations.
smile.gif
I'll take a 250 or 200 over a 302(puke) any day. The roller version was much better.
Granada's odyssey started 2 weeks ago at 39.6k miles and is averaging 24-25 mpg combined mileage.
This car's previous job here was "spare car" duty and I used a 64 Newport for work.
I'll be using my reclaimed 10w-40 and 15w-40 in warmer months and 10w-30 in winters.
 
Last edited:
You do at least have the Newport as back-up, and barring any catastrophic failure, the Granada is a simple machine, so any problems should be pretty easy to figure out and fix.
My elderly neighbor had a '71 Newport, a 383, I think, and he drove it 240K+ on two oil changes a year.
I doubt that the trans was ever serviced, and the car was parked outside.
After all of that, it still looked pretty good, as well as not rusty, up into the early 'nineties.
He evetually sold it as a running machine.
 
My Newport is a 1970 4dr sedan with no rust and only 46k on original 383 2bbl and 727 trans. Currently, I use it for shopping, etc, and emergency work car. Using my Grandfather's 62 Buick for work is out of the question.
smile.gif

I've acquired some spare parts for the Granada to keep in the trunk for small roadside repairs that are possible on that car still: ignition module, fuel pump, fuel filter, voltage regulator, and some spare fuel hose. I also have a towing/roadservice plan and a cell phone.
It will be interesting to see if an old car can do today's mileage and I'm still up to the task at hand.
 
It sounds like you have a good plan for using the Granada and dealing with roadside repairs.
Please keep us posted as to how this goes.
If you'd rather not continue this thread or start another, please PM me.
I am really rooting for your success in using this old girl on a demanding schedule.
Best of luck to you!
 
This is an interesting and unique thread! Good luck to your Granada! My grandparents had one with a 302, it was a nice car, or so I thought when I was in the single digits age wise
wink.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top