On Thu, 17 Apr 1997 22:34:50 -0400 (EDT) Trmgafun@aol.com writes:
> ..... just wondering one thing. You mentioned that there was a time
when you used non detergent oil. Could you elaborate on this just a
little? Was there a time that non detergent was the oil to use? Or
maybe there was another reason you used it. (cheap?)
Yes, yes, and no.
I think when my MGA was built in the 50's straight weight non-detergent
oil was just about it. On the farm throughout the 60's I can only recall
seeing straight 30 weight being used in every engine around, or maybe 20
or even 10 weight if the outdoor temperatures were really low. In those
days I wasn't "aware" enough about motor oils to recall if some of the
straight weight oils may have accrued some detergent content.
I can recall the early multi-weight oils 20W-20 and 30W-30 being
available in the early 60's in service stations. For sure by the
mid-60's 10W-30 high detergent oil was all the rage, being used in many
new cars of the day, but 20W-20 and 30W-30 were still the most popular.
The first time I saw 10W-40 oil it was under the Valvoline label and was
specified for use in my then new 69 Austin America for the power unit
with the automatic gearbox running in the engine oil sump. For a while
the only place I knew I could buy 10W-40 oil was at the MG dealer, and
there it was $1.40/qt when 10W-30 was $0.36.qt in the gas stations. By
early 1970 I could buy the Valvoline 10W-40 by the case lot in a large
discount auto parts store for $1.10/qt.
Those were cheap days for everything in my life, and I couldn't figure
out why I had to use that expensive stuff. A few years later it all made
sense when I began to see how clean engines could be inside when run
regularly with detergent oil.
Man, I'm feeling old after this memo.
Barney Gaylord
Had a 1955 MGA in 1968,
also a '56 and a '57, but only one at a time.
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