Marvel Mystery Oil

[double ugly]

Does anyone add this to their gas or oil? I have a couple of friends that have been in big time auto racing for years that swear by the stuff.
John

[MT nester]

All of my friends that are in bigtime auto racing swear a lot.
No OE automobile manufacturers recomend adding anything but gas and oil.
I have not seen any marvel mystery oil stickers on anything from sportsman stock to indy cars...

[xlr8or]

I suppose if you had an old beat down car with a sticky valve it might be worth giving it a shot in the oil but other than that I wouldn't add it.

[Excaliber]

I used it to coat the bore, pistons/rings when rebuilding my engine. Plenty of folks use the old standard, motor oil. Gessford uses Marvel Mystery Oil instead, so I followed their lead. Some 4,000 plus miles later, no problem.

Several folks commented about how crazy that was. I figured if Gessford Machine was THE "Machine Shop of the year" a few years back, they must have a clue. I've been using it as a cylinder/piston installation process ever since. Including small engines, two cycle and four cycle. Most recent application was a 1962 Austin Healey 3000 6 cylinder engine (runs good)!

I don't use it as an additive following a rebuild, I prefer just regular oil (with EOS or a Zinc additive for initial breakin due to camshaft considerations).

[Rick Yeager]

Yeah, I confess, I occasionally use it. Why? Because Dad did. Like he used to say, "If a little will do good, a lot will do better." And sometimes when I was helping him, he would become impatient with me and say, "Son, do something even if it is wrong."

He was an old farmer turned mechanic because of the loss of farm ground and had worked on everything from steam threshing machines to river barge engines. A dose of Marvel Myster Oil went in the gas tank with every oil change. It was just part and parcel with the procedure. I still smell it in the exhaust of my old '55 Chevey. The last engine he rebuilt in 1989 when he was 79 years old was the engine in my Cobra now.

As far as I am concerned if he liked Marvel Mystery Oil, it's gotta be good. Besides I just enjoy thinking of him every time I put a can of the stuff in.

Rick

[double ugly]

One friend Larry Burton was an Indy car chief mechanic for 25 years and built engines for Smokey Yunick, Mickey Thompson, Bill Simpson etc...He said he often used the stuff for upper and lower end lubrication by adding it to the fuel and oil. I don't think he used it on the Cosworths or Offys though.

[car4jim]

I use it to oil my pneumatic tools. An uncle who worked in the oil industry said it was good for the seals, etc.

[1985 CCX]

John,

I heard CAM2 works well too.

[Michael P. Wole]

I put a quart in the fuel tank of my F350 w/7.3 Powerstroke every 10-15,000 miles. Haven't had any injector problems and fuel filter is clean when changed. Gpong on 200,000 miles and running strong.

[Bob In Ct]

I'm always amazed at how much we Cobra guys love our "Snake" oil. Back in the 50s I had an uncle who added 1 quart of kerosene to every oil change. As best I can remember he never had any trouble. It's probably reasonable to assume that if MMO belonged in our oil, Mobil or Castrol or Pennzoil would have already put it there. As far as adding it to the gas I would be very cautious, a clogged injector or gummed up carburetor can ruin your whole month.

Just my $0.02

Bob

[427sharpe]

I use it regularly in the oil and gas. Works very well as a top cylinder lubricant in cars that don't get driven much and keeps the combustion chamber spotless, even with the crappy gas we have now. Also use it when building motors.

[car4jim]

I have a Sunbeam tiger that doesn't get driven very much. How much of this oil would you recommend using per 10 gals of fuel to help keep the combustion chamber spotless

[CobraEd]

I was always under the impression that this is a "top oil" to be mixed with the gas. It is supposed to lube the top oil rings and help seat the valves. Not sure what benefit there is to adding to the crankcase.

I always used it in the gas when I was a kid. Haven't used it for years. Not sure what it would do to the converters over time???


.

[Goober]

Back in the 40's / 50's, there was an option to install a Marvel Mystery Oiling system on cars. Basically, there was a large can under the hood that held the oil and a vacuum push type pump switch inside the car under the dash. Every once in a while you pushed the buttom and injected some oil into the engine. If you can find one of these kits, the old car restorers love them. Saw one on Ebay go for over $200.00 one time. If fact, go here and look
Marvel Dashboard Inverse Oiler


Mark

[speed220mph]

John: Marvel Mystery Oil is the aviator's best friend, at least those than live with engines that have those cylindrical sluminum things with rings on them moving up and down. Larry can confirm that, especially when it's storage time or loosening sticky valves. Add a pint to the oil, fire up the engine to circulate the stuff and shut it down. Does a great job for protecting against corrosion to prevent valves from hanging up in the guides. Z-max--AvBlend--does the same thing. Even more. It doesn't burn off like Marvel Mystery Oil. Even so, if there's a valve-sticking problem, pour in a can of Marvel Mystery Oil. But to prevent valve sticking plus coat the crank journals and cylinder walls, cry once and use Z-max or, in case of an airplane, Avblend.

Remember Mr X, aka Ralph P. He would soak Merlin (Packard) cranks in heated Avblend before assembling engines. Expensive, but consider how much that V12 cost!

Yes, Marvel Mystery oil is good in the gas, too. It truly is a marvel. But it's not in the same league with Avblend. Compare prices.

[Excaliber]

Neil, engine assembler at Gessfords, pointed out that coating the bore and pistons with engine oil (upon assembly) means the oil is simply wiped off with the first stroke of the piston. His opinion was that Marvel left behind a 'film coating' that wasn't easily wiped off. He also mentioned you could use several other products similiar to Marvel to achieve the same effect when engine building. A BIG plus for him was that it avoided the mess that comes with using engine oil.

[Bud Man]

I have used Marvel Oil for years to unstick stuck motors where rings have sat and begun to fuse to cylinder walls, and it has ALWAYS done the job. I use it regularly in my flathead antique motorcycles (added to gas) and it appears to give the valve guides a little more protection in these types of motors. Used to experience galled fuel petcocks (brass to brass) in my '48 Indian Chief, but a few ounces of Marvel in the tank made that problem disappear, too. All in all, I like the stuff.

Bud

[427 S/O]

It's older than dirt and has no magic, just a petrolem base product like the all the rest.
You want good, get and use MoS2....

[Excaliber]

As long as were in the KC sponsored FE talk forum, I wonder what Keith's engine assemblers use?

...nothing wrong with 'older than dirt', it's not like 'modern' engine oils are better than the old formulas that at least HAD some 'zinc' to protect the cam. I don't believe the oil companies put everything the oil needs in there. They put just enough stuff to make a mostly viable product that meets Fed and EPA standards and not ONE micro ounce more than is required of anything (like Zinc). And I'm not saying Marvel contains zinc either, what is in it? Well, thats why it's "Mystery Oil". Rumor has it Shelby used it in the 289 cars, not that that counts for much, he might have been paid to use it and would, regardless of it's effectivness.

[CobraEd]

This be it:

::Marvel Mystery Oil::

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