Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Redneck
I use 15W 40 in all my Flathead Fords. I use Rotella in my 50 Ford also. So I can use it in my T-Bird also? I want to install a Oil Pressure Gauge in the T-Bird also. I always read what you say. Thanks. Is your wife doing better now? Hope so. Ken Stewart
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Yes if the Rotella has the CJ-4 or SJ rating it should be fine in the '56 Bird, just like your other Fords or many other pre-emissions era vehicles.
An oil pressure gauge can be attached to any of the 4 oil galley plug fittings that's easy to get to. (photo 1)
If the kit comes with a plastic tube for oil to reach the under-dash gauge, swap it for a metal tube that won't melt or crack and spray oil everywhere.
15w-40 is fine too, hopefully cooler temps up there than over here, hi 90's and low 100's are common in the summer.
Got a call last week from the machine shop that still has the 312 out of my '57 T-Bird project. The can shaped baffle & screen at the lower end of the oil pickup tube had cracked loose and slipped down to the bottom of the pan, starving it for oil. They had to take .030 off the previously uncut main journals to get a good surface.
A previous owner had put on a remote / bypass style oil filter setup decades ago, which likely didn't help. (photo 2)
The car probably could have used a real oil pressure gauge, it might have alerted someone to the problem sooner.
Wife is about the same. She picked out the '57, hopefully it goes back together easily and she can get enough rides in it over the next couple years.