What Engine Oil & Trans Fluid works best for 53 Hudson Hornet

Hoping you guys can put me in the right direction, I have gone through some posts and just want to make sure I am using the right fluids on todays market.

For the Motor Oil the manual says S.A.E. 30..... I live in the warmest part of Canada, rarely goes below 10deg fahrenheit so I am assume any 10w30 grade would work however I will not be driving it in the winter months.

For the Trans Fluid the manual says 2 pounds of S.A.E 90 E.P. gear oil..... this one has me baffled... any ideas on what I should use?

Thanks

Gord


Comments

  • Some swear by Rotella T4 15W-40. It has worked well for my '51 262. Some use a high zinc racing oil in 10W-30, but it is more expensive by at least double.

    Royal Purple Gearmax (or was that Max Gear?) 75W-140 works really well in my std. transmission and rear-end. It does not contain sulfur-based additives that will attack "yellow metals" such as bronze.
  • 50C8DAN
    50C8DAN Senior Contributor
    edited September 2019
    I am still using the orginal dif and trans oil that my '50 came with!  As for engine oil I use the Rotella T4 15-W40 and it works just fine in my H8.
  • I also use Rotella T4 15W 40 in my 39 six. 
  • thekenster
    thekenster Senior Contributor
    15w40 is too thick to use if you are as far north as Chicago. I have tried it and the temperature in the midwest gets too cold for this oil to allow engines to crank fast enough to start. If you live in Arizona 15w40 is probably perfect. I plan to change the 15w40 out and either use 10w30 or possibly 5w30 and add a bottle of zinc additive to the conventional oil. I'll probably use the least expensive oil I can find. I have a 53 hornet with a 308.
  • BigSky
    BigSky Senior Contributor
    Amazon has a lot of options for high zinc oils as well as the separate additives.  Here are a couple good oil options from Amazon:

    https://smile.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-10679-10W-30-Petroleum/dp/B009M64CAW