Engine oils for Pre-war and Classic Cars

Pre-war and classic engines require a very different oil formulation to modern machines. There is no doubt that modern “synthetic” oils are extremely efficient in current engines which are designed to use them, however our older engines were not so constructed and may suffer excessive wear in certain circumstances. Furthermore we do not have to worry about the effect on catalytic converters which can restrict the quantity of certain additives in modern oils.

It is generally accepted that the specific requirements for early engines include shock resistance for the generally bigger clearances and efficient anti wear characteristics to protect the highly loaded components such as flat tappets. Stable viscosity, low ash, anti-foaming and shear stability are also important.

The modern trend is towards Multigrade oils which are designed to retain viscosity at higher temperatures without being too heavy for cold starting. This is fine but the early engines were not designed for this and multigrades require the use of polymers (viscosity index improvers) which can lead to other problems.

Most old engines were designed to run on a straight 40 grade oil so a top grade base oil with an appropriate additive pack is what is required. With this in mind we commissioned the blending of a top quality straight 40 oil with a specialised additive pack designed specifically for early engines with no compromise. The result is an oil equally suitable for road use or extremely stressed racing engines. It contains the most effective anti-wear agents and provides superior shock resistance, high temperature protection, shear stability, film strength, anti-foaming, reduced friction and protection from thermal breakdown.

Tests carried out on our dynamometer indicate that our blended 40 grade is superior to a quality 20W50 oil designed for classic engines, particularly with regard to high temperature pressure.

We believe that our straight 40 oil is the best oil that you can buy for pre-war and classic engines.

Further details are available from John Macdonald.

n.b.

As with any quality oil blend it is unwise to pour in aftermarket additives. These can upset the balance of the existing blend and do more harm than good.