Oil Questions

[2Bad4Ya]

We are about to fire up the engine and I have some questions on engine oils.

Engine is a 327 with a hyd. retro roller rocker cam.

1. Best break in oil?

2. Since it's a roller cam do I need to worry about zddp for break in and normal use?

3. If we run the engine for 30-45 mins from 2k-3k rpm will that suffice as break in time and seat the rings?

4. After break in, go synthetic or dino based oil?

5. Best weight for a 400ish HP sbc where climate ranges from 20's to high 90's?

[Vegas69]

I'd still go with a high zinc oil with a roller camshaft. Valvoline VR1 racing oil will suffice. You don't need to break in a roller camshaft so I would start it and bring it up to temp at high idle, set the timing, top off the cooland, make sure the oil pressure looks good, no leaks. Then get it out on the road and vary your speed and load on the motor. I wouldn't baby it either. I'm not talking about full bore all day long but don't baby it around either. Just give the engine some different loads to seat those rings. Dump the oil after the initial shake down run. I'd probably start with 10w30 and you will have to order it for VR1 from jegs or elsewhere. Depending on bearing clearance you could go to lighter or heavier oil . Winter time you should switch to a lighter oil.