There is no magic in oil. A friend put a (high end) race motor on the dyno and broke it in, then made a bunch of pulls getting the tune right . They drained the oil again, dumped in the $13 a quart Royal Purple XPR and picked up almost 6 HP (this is at the 900HP range so represented only a very minor increase,, but) They thought WOW,, 'OIL' that is really magic!!! Made a few more pulls finalizing the tune. Then drained the R.P. XPR and put in another racing synthetic,,, Guess what,, no magic,, Same HP as with the RP,, Just as the motor loosened up, and the rings sealed a tad better,, they made a few more HP.

your 84 has a flat tappet cam and very light spring pressures. But still suffers the same problem in todays oils not supporting this type of cam / lifter. You can use Brad Penn hotrod / breakin oil,, or put ZDDP supplements in at every oil change and just hope for the best.

More important than what brand of oil you use,, use a GOOD filter (reads: not FRAM) and change the oil 2 times a year (driven or not,, oil accumilates moisture) or 3000 miles. Make SURE the engine WARMS UP. I've never understood the mentality that thinks they turn the key, and the motor is ready to roar. Let the engine warm up before you go sticking your foot into the throttle. Besides, short trips that don't allow the engine and oil to come up to temp does not 'cook off' all of the contaminates / moisture vapor that accumilates in the crankcase.

So in short... Change the oil regularly, make sure the oil gets up to temp when yo drive the car,, keep a good additive in the oil to try and protect the cam/lifters,,, and roll the dice with whatever brand blows your skirt up.

 

Try the search and you will come up with lots of good information.
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=163778&highlight=oil
http://www.elcaminocentral.com/showthread.php?t=162801&highlight=oil

 

Thanks, Marv D. A sensible, logical approach to engine lubrication. :texas:

 

great advice! I have an 84 too but mines a v6:nanawrench: it's my daily driver!
[img=http://imagizer.imageshack.com/img673/2716/ZwqqC1.jpg]

I use that purple stuff lol along with Lucas oil leak stopper/ stabilizer when I changed the oil less than a month ago. I don't want a racing car? just something that can get me from a to b in style

I do get a puff of white smoke when I start the car up, already researched the symptoms here and found out it's the valve stem seals, I'm new to that but can't wait to try and replace them.

I'll continue to look for the best additives for my car so she'll stop smoking at startup? till then do you recommend a good brand?

BTW sorry for sneaking myself on here
thank you dude.

 

.... I'll continue to look for the best additives for my car so she'll stop smoking at startup? till then do you recommend a good brand?

.

Here's the only 'additive' I know of that should stop the puff of blue smoke at start-up....

Many of the 'high mileage' oils have a solvent additive that swells/softens seals and 'supposedly' helps,, but the issue is probably loose guides and old hard seals.

If you want to get you the reading glasses,, a cup of coffee and do a LONG read,, here is a very interesting article on oils and additives. (and a bunch of other things) It's worth the read.

 

Marv
repost the link, that's the valve seal pic.. :texas:

 

Ok no bad jokes please. It's called (Restore) get it at wallmart or any auto parts store. I put it in a 89 s10 with 190,000 miles. The valve seals were bad,(large puff of smoke at start up) So for a few $ I gave it a try. Around the second oil change the puff of smoke went away. One can every 3000mi oil change and dello 400 15-40 diesel oil wix filter. Oh its a 4.3 v6 now has 260,000 miles. Don't get me wrong the motor is getting tired but no smoke at start up.

http://www.americantechnology.co.uk...ricantechno/images/400ml-ametech-restore-oil-engine-restorer-lubricant-22-p.jpg

Don

 

What ever happened to 'Motor Honey'? My '56 Mercury Montclair could go through a quart of straight 30 weight in a hundred miles while looking like a mosquito fogging machine. With 'Motor Honey' she would go 300 miles and much less smoke.

 

STP Blue Bottle has thicker viscosity,ZDDP and will help with oil consumption. Guess they got rid of the old STP "honey".

 

I run rotella 10w-30 and 15w-40 in my c10 work truck with a 305 that is approaching 300 thousand miles. No complaints and by this point it's unlikely you'll be flattening any cam lobes, never really see that issue on well worn stock engines.