Jason from Texas

[LRTech]

Hey all. I'm new to the muscle car scene, as a family member of mine just purchased a 70' Cuda 383 4 speed.

I've been into cars my whole life and make a living working on Land Rovers, but the classic stuff, I have NO experience with whatsoever and don't pretend to.

I know this may not be the right thread, but I had a few quick questions. Ive been searching around the interwebs and couldn't find much on these two questions.

1)I know older engines like this sometimes needed additives, this 383 engine appears mostly, if not completely stock. Paperwork states it was rebuilt in '09 to 'factory spec'. What would be a 'safe' bet for engine oil/additives for this engine?

2) The clutch seems to engage farely high, approx. 2" from the top of travel. Is this a normal adjustment for the clutch?

Thanks again in advance, any advice is appreciated.

 

[DetMatt1]

Welcome to the site from the Motor City!
You need zinc in the engine oil but you don't need any additives if you use some of the good stuff, I use Brad Penn motor oil. Some oils that are blended for use in diesels are good too. I'm sure others will chime in with more suggestions.
Now todays crap fuel on the other hand requires some additives or it will absolutely destroy these engines. The ethanol absorbs moisture and will rot the fuel system from the inside out including rubber and do it in short order. Most if not all parts store are selling additives to combat the ethanol problem and I began using 2 cycle engine oil with TC-W3 as my additive of choice. 1 ounce per every 5 gallons of gas.

 

[moparleo]

Welcome aboard. I'll try to answer at least partly your question on automotive additives.
Up until 1972 gasoline used lead as a anti knock additive and also was used to help lubricate the valve guides and act as a buffer on the exhaust seats in the cylinder heads. With the removal of lead additive in gasoline after 1972 the manufacturers helped solve the damage problem to the exhaust valve seats (exhaust valves pounding the valve seats causing the valves to sink into the heads) by either induction hardening the valve seats or ultimately using separate, replaceable hardened valve seats and bronze valve guides. The other thing that has changed with time is the availability of Zinc in the oil. Modern internal combustion engines are built to very tight tolerances with improved materials used in the bearings, piston rings and seals. This allows the use much thinner viscosity oils that result in lower friction, lower temperatures, less blow by increasing the length of time between oil changes because of less contaminates in the oil.
The clutch should engage from about 2 inches from the floor not the top of the travel.

 

[js29]

welcome from central new york! mat and leo are wright on there advice. I use 15-40 diesel engine oil, napa sells it, also amsoil Zrod has zinc in it to.

 

[burntorange70]

Welcome to the site.

 

[LRTech]

Thanks for the info about the additives!

Seems like good technical info is a bit hard to come by for old Mopars, any help is appreciated!!