Thread: Oil Changing Schedule in A Street Rod

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I have a couple of classic cars, a 1934 Plymouth with a chevy BB and a Lincoln Continental. These cars get driven about 500 miles a Year. I live in a rural area of Southern md and these cars see very little stop and go and are taken out oun nice days and to Car shows. I use synthetic oil in both cars. How often do I need to change the oil and filter. With these new synthetics I've seen some very long oil change interval in newer cars. Is it realy necessary to change it every 3mths or 3000 miles?

A lot depends on how you drive the car. If its only short trips, then you should change the oil at least once a year because you are not getting the engine hot enough to get rid on the condensation build up. If you are driving the car at least an hour or longer most of the time you take it out you can probably go two years. I wouldn't go longer than that, even though mileage may only be 1000 miles or so.

My history with any performance car that I have owned or do own is to change the oil and filter when it "goes into winter hibernation' regardless of the miles I may have on the oil itself. For my current car, 5 quarts of Ford's Motorcraft Semi Synthetic oil and a Motorcraft FL300 filter is less then $20. This late in the year oil change will remove condensation, by products of combustion and any gasoline that may have gotten into the lube oil system. I also do it with the engine as hot as I can stand. Even if I used the full synthetic oil, it would still be only about $30. Using full synthetic oil while a great product still doesn't lessen the impurities in the crankcase.An oil change is cheap insurance.

Now - your question - and since you raised the subject of newer cars and the 3/3000. Most new cars are on a 5-6000 mile interval, but that is under normal conditions, i.e. mixed stop and go plus some open highway driving. If you are pulling a trailer, operating in dusty conditions, the interval is usually halved. Yes there are those that do strictly highway travel - and they can go for many more miles, but the mfrs play a CYA with owners. My truck an F350 w/7quarts and my wife's little Escape SUV at 5.5 quarts are on 5000 mile change intervals even though the owner's manual says 6000 - why - again, cheap insurance when you figure the replacement value of the F350 is over $50K and the Escape, over $28K. If I haul my 12,000#(loaded) fifth wheel camper on a long trip, I'll change the truck oil at 3000 miles or less. This is what I'm comfortable with - and have in many years never had an oil related failure nor even sludging.

x 2 what Dave said.