Which Engine Would Last Longer?

[Chops]

Which engine would last longer -

2026 Maverick EB using oil from the 1970’s Maverick (Conventional 10W-30)
Or….
1970 Maverick V8 using same oil.

Answer….the 1970 engine

2026 Maverick EB using current Full Synthetic 5W-30
Or….
1970 Maverick V8 using current Full Synthetic 5W-30

Answer….???

Crappy old oils give old engines a bad rep?
There are 55year old Mavericks still out there running on modern oils. A modern EB would run like crap on the old oils.

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[RR - All the way]

I agree with your last sentence. However, any answer to your questions including the first question for which you gave an answer, would be pure conjecture based on, at best, "educated guesses"!!!!!

Interesting for discussion's sake I guess....

 

[Mavster Mechanic]

Better question:

Which would last longer in a fight:

Godzilla or King Kong.

 

[Chops]

If fe

Better question:

Which would last longer in a fight:

Godzilla or King Kong.

If fed bananas - King Kong for sure.
Toss up if fed whale meat.

 

[Meeka]

Better question:

Which would last longer in a fight:

Godzilla or King Kong.

Ooh, Ooh, I know,

 

[Quest]

The 2.0 puts out double the power, a lot more component stress
If you put a turbo on a 70 Maverick it would blow a head gasket in a week or blow a rod out the side of the block

 

[Chops]

The 2.0 puts out double the power, a lot more component stress
If you put a turbo on a 70 Maverick it would blow a head gasket in a week or blow a rod out the side of the block

Of course But the OEM 6 or 8 cylinder Maverick engine would last longer than an 202X Maverick EB if using 1970’s conventional oil.

BTW, the 1960’s era Chevrolet Corvairs had turbos. Air cooled 6 cylinder turbo engine using the crappy 1960’s conventional oil. My Pop had a Corvair. Wish he would have kept it until I got my license - but he traded it for a 70 Chevy Nova which I eventually got as a hand me down. Oh well, not complaining

 

[tiktokbrainrot]

Modern engine on modern oil would absolutely mog a 70s engine on modern oil. Modern sensor packages preventing long rich running sessions on cold startup, preventing lean running, warning if overheating occurs, more precise machining and modern materials, ece ece ece.

The chevy 350 went from a 100k mile engine to a 300k mile engine when it got fuel injection and exhaust sensors in the 90s. 70s tech just royally sucked. For every survivor, you dont see the 99.999999% that blew up well before 100k.

 

[Darryl]

Which engine would last longer -

2026 Maverick EB using oil from the 1970’s Maverick (Conventional 10W-30)
Or….
1970 Maverick V8 using same oil.

Answer….the 1970 engine

2026 Maverick EB using current Full Synthetic 5W-30
Or….
1970 Maverick V8 using current Full Synthetic 5W-30

Answer….???

Crappy old oils give old engines a bad rep?
There are 55year old Mavericks still out there running on modern oils. A modern EB would run like crap on the old oils.

I agree that older engines would survive a lot better on modern oils. But there were also many other changes . However, I would not recommend 5W-30 in a 1970s era engine simply because it is just too thin. Those older engines had larger clearances and would probably have a hard time maintaining oil pressure at normal operating temperature. I say a minimum of 10w30 would be more than sufficient.

 

[Chops]

I agree that older engines would survive a lot better on modern oils. But there were also many other changes . However, I would not recommend 5W-30 in a 1970s era engine simply because it is just too thin. Those older engines had larger clearances and would probably have a hard time maintaining oil pressure at normal operating temperature. I say a minimum of 10w30 would be more than sufficient.

Agree. 10w30 conventional oil was the Ford recommended oil back in the 70’s. 5w30 not invented yet.

Not sure what oil the current drivers of old Maverick cars are using - probably 10w30 like you advise. Probably don’t need full synthetic

 

[Darryl]

Agree. 10w30 conventional oil was the Ford recommended oil back in the 70’s. 5w30 not invented yet.

Not sure what oil the current drivers of old Maverick cars are using - probably 10w30 like you advise. Probably don’t need full synthetic

5W30 was invented. In fact I remember looking at my parents owner's manual in their 1974 LTD . It's specifically said that 5W-30 could be used when temperatures were below a certain degree. I think it was 10. But the rule was that it was not to be used if the temperature was going to get above 50° and you could not exceed a certain speed no matter what the ambient temperature was. So 5W30 at that time was a specialty or specifically used for extreme cold temperatures only at slower speeds only. I remember that 10W-30 was recommended only for temperatures below 90°. I think 5W-30 began to be the recommended oil about the time roller lifters became common. The first engine I can recall that Ford made that recommended 5W-30 from day one was the 4.6 L. And forward later stated that 5W20 was now the preferred oil in those engines. I remember when the pinto was having camshaft issues, they recommended that under no circumstances should all meeting lower than SE be used. And they said to use SF where available. I agree with you that all have come a mighty long way. Having said that, I remember reading that the newer oils don't have zinc because it reacts with certain emission controls. But zinc is not needed with roller lifters. I read that it is still recommended for a vehicle's that do not have roller lifters such as the engines in the Mavericks.

 

[Darryl]

Agree. 10w30 conventional oil was the Ford recommended oil back in the 70’s. 5w30 not invented yet.

Not sure what oil the current drivers of old Maverick cars are using - probably 10w30 like you advise. Probably don’t need full synthetic

Down here in Florida, 10w30 was the oil that most people used . But but some people did use 10W-30 and their big engines that didn't have to do a lot of work. But I know that the oil light with flash at idle if we used 10:30 in that 1974 LTD with the 400. Heck, it flashed at idle with 10:40 once the engine got about 80,000 miles on it . But it didn't die until it got 180,000 MI. That was most unusual back then

 

[matmondro]

Interesting topic of discussion for sure!

Just kind of thinking out loud (I'm not a motor oil chemist LOL) but I definitely don't think running modern oils in an old engine like that would be bad. I'd just up the weight or add some Lucas or Hyper-Lube with each fill. Still might not last quite as long as a modern engine, but it would extend the life of the old engine compared to what it potentially might have been when running old conventional oil.

Say for the newer EB running old conventional, I also don't think that's totally a problem either; it would just need much more frequent oil changes. I'd still probably run some Lucas with the old oil even in the newer EB. It will still probably last longer than the old engine. If anything, what would kill the new engine in this situation is lack of maintenance, extended intervals, or just electronics failures.

On a related note, we have a similar discussion from time to time in my C4 Corvette group, and the consensus there is that even a modern cheap conventional oil is still as good or better than a synthetic oil from decades ago. Oil tech and chemistry, additive packages, etc, have come a long way in a relatively short amount of time!

 

[Cancunbadlands]

1970 Maverick V8

 

[Tom 71 Maverick 24]

The differences in oil from the 70s and today are not that huge. There are other factors that lead to engine longevity including the design of the engine, tolerances of the parts, improvements in cooling, better materials to start with.

A better question would be which vehicle would endure more northern Ohio winters, with all the road salt and corrosives - the 1970 Maverick or the 202x Maverick. Because northern Ohio killed a LOT of cars from that era. Not that it's kind to newer cars but after seeing our fenders rusting out in 3 years, people started looking to Honda and Toyota for vehicles.

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