Morris Minor Owners Club

Hiya all,any ideas on the best oil to use on a sidevalve engine.All the best,John.

I'd use a reasonable quality 20W50 oil personally. Otherwise Castrol GTX 15W40, but I'd prefer a slightly thicker oil such as 20W50.

Thanks again Cam.I was thinking more of a straight oil,but maybe it would be too thick.I will stick to a multigrade.All the best,John.

Well, a straight oil does not have to be too thick (depends on what you buy), but there's no real point when multigrades are available and it's not like you can tell the difference for the sake of originality once it's in.

Halfords sell their own brand Classic Motor Oil. Comes in a traditional tin and looks like Duckhams. Easier to pour into the filler than those silly shaped Castrol containers. Using some at the moment and haven't blown the engine yet.
No point in using mono grade oil as modern oils contain much better additives.
Michael Perry

The only caution I would urge if using a modern multigrade, is if you have any engine, particularly an early one that has never been rebuilt and has always been run using straight grades (unlikely I know), is the possible risk of the detergents disturbing years of built up 'sludge'.

Halfords sell their own brand Classic Motor Oil.

I looked at that stuff on Friday. No ratings therefore I decided it wasn't even worth thinking about (IMHO)

rayofleamington wrote:

Halfords sell their own brand Classic Motor Oil.

I looked at that stuff on Friday. No ratings therefore I decided it wasn't even worth thinking about (IMHO)

Aye, that's what I thought too

Not all Halfords stock it anyway

and its more expensive than duckhams which is rated!!

If its not rated, you might as well just use the ASDA 20w50 for £2.90 rather than paying Hellfrauds overprices for the same quality!

Don't leave it in for long though!

Thanks for all the advice.I"ll go for the duckhams I think,although it does seem to be difficult to find around here.All the best,John.