grumpy10956

hi guys , work is progressing here, I am unsure whether to put 5 quarts or 6 quarts of oil in my 61 c1 , car has original oil pan , but short oil filter due to headers , any ideas ??

jerry gollnick

Fill until your dip stick says full. Run and check again top off if necessary.

desertpilgrim

Put in 4, start, run, shutoff, wait an hour and it'll be a 1/2 qt low.

grumpy10956

hi guys , well this is ex race car , not sure I have the correct dip stick as it has holes drilled in it , when i had the car on the road I added
6 quarts as it printed it the corvette v8 manuel by Cylmer, even when I went to headers and the smaler filter I still added 6 quarts of straight valoline 50 weight , just picking brains, many thanks, grumpy rob

Frankie the Fink

If you don't know if you have the right dipstick - or maybe not even the factory oil pan its a crap shoot. If you've been doing something and its working, I'd continue doing it.

I don't know what "straight 50 weight" means but if its still a flat tappet engine and you aren't adding oil with ZDDP in it; you are gonna mess up your motor...

MikeM

Maybe he needs 50 wt. because it's an oil burner?

Easy Rhino

First, why doesn't the OP trust the dipstick, is there a reason, e.g., the engine may not have been put together thoughtfully? If in doubt, drop the pan, and check the crank lower limit of travel (is it a stroker?), and measure the pan capacity. Measure down to the correct level you want the oil to be when full, and then transfer that measurement to the dipstick and tube. Not all cars take even quart numbers, particularly in they've been modified.

Many 50 weight oils (these are somewhat recommended for racing applications), do carry high since levels for this very reason.

Perhaps, but getting into the proper oil viscosity discussion is about as contentious and just about a technically based as some other subjects we know all too well. People with no technical knowledge about oil will go to blows about what they "know" is best. Remember engine kerosene flushes? Don't even go there!

As far as 50 weight goes, well, I'll leave that one alone - it's not worth the argument, but high viscosity oil flow during cold starts, and resulting engine protection during the most critical wear time, oh well. YMMV. If it's not an oil burner now, it may be one sooner than normal.

MikeM

That is what I said. Maybe it's an oil burner. Thick oil works pretty well for an old "bulker" to slow it down from using oil. Maybe someday he'll get around to fixing it.

grumpy10956

hi guys , sorry , my stroker is not a oil burner , Traco assembled thIs motor for me circa 1980 and its only has about 3000 miles. I run straight Valvoline 50 wt because it was free and I still have three 50 gallon Valvoline drums , I also use it in my 1998 Buick.
C1 v8 olil pans are distinctive tough to confuse with a 1960.s c2 pan or a passenger oil pans.
as for the dip stick this is old race car , origially rally- road racing in Canada it was a champion with it fuel injected engine , car was found in used car lot near a Air Force base in canada circa 1967 and driven back from Canada by a friend who drag / street raced the car , dip stick has been modified along with other parts . so my 1961 corvette has a long history and some parts may not be NCRS but whose is .
sorry just woke up, hope I answered every ones questions

Frankie the Fink

Once you say an engine is an "old racer" anything can have been done to it....as you say....it pays to confirm things. Not starting an oil viscosity thread, but not everybody with a modified engines knows they need ZDDP. And yes, many a motorist has nursed along a tired engine by running heavier oil -- not needed in this case apparently.

So - all I can say is in my, 61 I change both the oil AND filter every time. I prefill the oil filter with oil before installing it , I then fill the crankcase up until I've used 5-1/2 qts....run the motor briefly and after about 1/2 hour check the dipstick again and it always wants that last 1/2 quart for 6 total. Its a stock 270hp 283ci mill.

MikeM

Take your pick of these oil pans and then post it so someone has a clue which pan you really have. That'll tell the capacity of your crankcase.

The shorter filter is of little consequence.

https://www.google.com/search?q=1961..._8LQuVX6UCM%3A