Oil recommendations for old car

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chromedome

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What oil would you gents recommend for a 1951 P!ymouth.
It has 53k miles. Motor never opened up.
I live on the NH/ME border. Car will only be run Mid- April thru end of Oct.

Many thanks
 
I run 5w-50 in my 54 Plymouth, original motor. The dual weight allows for winter turn overs as well.
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Last edited:
Originally Posted by chromedome
What oil would you gents recommend for a 1951 P!ymouth.
It has 53k miles. Motor never opened up.
I live on the NH/ME border. Car will only be run Mid- April thru end of Oct.

Many thanks
Oil filter ever used? Has it been run on non-detergent oil it's whole life? If extensive use of ND oil has occurred, I think I would stick with ND oil-otherwise you may start dislodging a lot of stuff inside...
 
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Originally Posted by chromedome
What oil would you gents recommend for a 1951 P!ymouth.
It has 53k miles. Motor never opened up.
I live on the NH/ME border. Car will only be run Mid- April thru end of Oct.

Many thanks
Oil filter ever used? Has it been run on non-detergent oil it's whole life? If extensive use of ND oil has occurred, I think I would stick with ND oil-otherwise you may start dislodging a lot of stuff inside...

Today's nd oils are also missing antiwear addatives. I would not use them in an engine today.

I also would not use a synthetic in it with its rope rear main seal. If anyone has ever had the misfortune of replacing one of those....
 
To answer Chris' question.....Yes, oil filter has been in use.
As far history of what has been used, i can only go one owner back and ask.
And he only put about 500 miles on it in 3 years.

So far, there has been many different recommendations on this forum but no clear consensus.
I will continue to watch further replies.

Thanks to all contributing.
 
Never use SOPUS (Shell, Penn, Quaker) its been proven that the wax forms at the bottom of the oil pan. Even here some users posted pictures of PPU bottles plugged with wax.

Just so that you can make a better informed decision.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Originally Posted by chromedome
What oil would you gents recommend for a 1951 P!ymouth.
It has 53k miles. Motor never opened up.
I live on the NH/ME border. Car will only be run Mid- April thru end of Oct.

Many thanks
Oil filter ever used? Has it been run on non-detergent oil it's whole life? If extensive use of ND oil has occurred, I think I would stick with ND oil-otherwise you may start dislodging a lot of stuff inside...

Today's nd oils are also missing antiwear addatives. I would not use them in an engine today.

I also would not use a synthetic in it with its rope rear main seal. If anyone has ever had the misfortune of replacing one of those....


I don't know about that engine...but when I regasketed my 76 350 Olds I replaced the factory rope seal with a ford 292 seal (as per recommendations on oldspower.com). Obviously he doesn't want to replace it unless he has to but if he does maybe there is an alternative like there was in my case. The 455 Olds will take a 460 Ford seal also. I've had no leaks from my Olds engine in 12 years 100k miles with nothing but various synthetic oils (mostly on sale).

I really don't know much about 50s engines but not sure why it would be beneficial to run a 30 weight oil unless it had almost no cold starts or warm up time (like a generator running for hours on end). I would never run it in my Olds when there are better options. That said, my car gets a lot of miles where this Plymouth probably will not so oil choice maybe doesn't matter much in this case.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by PPWarrior
Never use SOPUS (Shell, Penn, Quaker) its been proven that the wax forms at the bottom of the oil pan. Even here some users posted pictures of PPU bottles plugged with wax.

Just so that you can make a better informed decision.


I really hope your kidding!! such a misinformed pile of information..
 
Is there still an owner's manual? If not my thought is that since it is only for summer, a decent 15w-40 would fit the bill. IIRC most vehicles of that vintage used 40 grades, and there is the fuel dilution from the carburetor to consider.
 
Originally Posted by hemitom
Originally Posted by PPWarrior
Never use SOPUS (Shell, Penn, Quaker) its been proven that the wax forms at the bottom of the oil pan. Even here some users posted pictures of PPU bottles plugged with wax.

Just so that you can make a better informed decision.


I really hope your kidding!! such a misinformed pile of information..

x2
 
I would recommend a 10W40 motorcycle MA1 or MA2. good solid lifer protection and Good anti corrosion because bikes tend to sit alot.

Rod
 
I run a 50 weight because these engine tolerances are sloppy.

The 50 weight gives me decent oil pressure on hot summer days when idling in traffic.

The 5 weight is beneficial when turning over the engine in the winters, or a drive occasionally.

I have also heard of the Rotella being used as well.

Unfortunately you not find a consensus when dealing with older cars.

Oh yeah, I also add a quart of Valvoline 40 weight racing oil...has heavy zinc
 
This thread is tainted by sludge in my opinion
After the person who stated pennzoil causes sludge I'm thinking here we go again and its 2019.
. And that's all I can think about now...lol. beautiful car by the way. Love it.
 
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