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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / type of oil and capacity for 39 flathead

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Posted By Discussion Topic: type of oil and capacity for 39 flathead     Racerx 07-17-2013 @ 11:55 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Jul 2013 what type of oil and how much does it take for a 1939 Ford V8 kubes40 07-17-2013 @ 12:28 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3414 Joined: Oct 2009 Type of oil depends upon a couple of things. 1) What condition is the engine in? Has it been rebuilt? 2) What type of use are you going to subject the engine to? How much oil? You'll hear a number of opinions on this. However, there is only one truth. The engineering release for the 39 Ford (85HP engine) oil pan quite clearly states 5 US quarts. Having a cylinder head mounted filter does not change that specification. Racerx 07-17-2013 @ 1:47 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Jul 2013 It is stock original engine with low miles. Been sitting for many years 20+. Put a new fuel system on the car and runs smooth no internal noises. Just going to drive it locally. Read some wear that modern oils lack Zinc and I have to add an additive but have been able to find it so far. Also heard that I should use non-detergent oil. Do you know what oil the trans and rear end uses? Thanks supereal 07-17-2013 @ 2:40 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Don't worry about the "lack" of zinc. Flathead Fords use low engine speeds, low valve spring pressure, and the stock cam is rarely, if ever, damaged, as it is well hardened. It is important in modern high revving engines, but has been reduced to lessen damage to catalytic converters. We use five quarts of oil. Put in four quarts and look at the dipstick. If it says "full", it is enough. The Fram type oil filters do hold almost a quart of oil, so five quarts isn't too much. Five quarts won't hurt if you prefer to use it. Use a good quality detergent oil. Non detergent oil is obsolete. The additive package keeps sludge in suspension so it can be drained out instead of being deposited in the engine. It will not dissolve already accumulated deposits. If you believe sludge is a problem, drop the oil pan and scr*pe it clean. Use a good brand of 80-90 weight gear oil in the transmission and rear end. I like to use straight 140 weight to lessen leakage, but I don't drive my cars in cold weather. Fill only to the bottom of the filler hole helps contain the usual leakage. Overfilling the rear axle can lead to leakage into the rear brakes. Today's oil and other lubes are light years ahead of the originals used when your car was new. Have fun! Racerx 07-19-2013 @ 9:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Jul 2013 OK, not to discredit your advise I did a little more research on this subject. Called H&H Flatheads and they recommended to use Valvoline VR1 Racing oil. It has a high Zinc content or regular motor oil with Rislone Engine Oil Supplement it has Zinc recommended for older engines not just Flatheads. So just to play it safe think I'm going to use the VR1. Thank you for your help. Stroker 07-19-2013 @ 11:03 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Racerx: I've had good luck with Valvoline Racing oil, but it is probably "overkill" for a stock motor. You don't state whether your 39 is modified, but if you are using a high-lift cam, and heavy springs, it should work fine. VR is very low detergent though, so that's probably why H&H suggests the Rislone. Racerx 07-19-2013 @ 11:09 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Jul 2013 It's completely stock Thanks, TomO 07-19-2013 @ 2:20 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7263 Joined: Oct 2009 Zinc was not added to motor oils in large quantities until after WWII. Read what a GM Engineer says and then decide. http://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/oil_myths.pdf I decided a long time ago not to use additives as you do not know which additives are in the oil that you are using and if you would cause more wear than normal by adding something to the oil. The oils of today are of much better quality than the oil available when your car was built, and do less damage to the internal parts than the oils available just 25 years ago. Tom 37pickupford 07-19-2013 @ 4:44 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 29 Joined: Jan 2011 In the 60's my Dad would ask me to change the oil in the family car, including my 49 Ford. We used straight 30wt oil and he always added a can of STP . All the cans were opened with a "church key" as he called it {beer can opener}. I had to hold the can of STP until it all finally drained out of the can. supereal 07-19-2013 @ 6:30 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I'm with Tom on additives. They mostly "add" to the seller's wallets. If you are obsessed with having high zinc content, use Rotella or other oil designated for diesel use. Due to very high bearing loading, zinc is required. The best thing you can do for old engines is frequent oil changes. I prefer Castrol 20W-50. When we tear down engines that used that oil, they are very clean, and show minimum wear.

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