1776 Engine - Which oil & running temp

[Graham L]

OK, so I'm running straight 30 in the 1641 in Hank but should I be using a more modern multigrade in the 1776 in Patrick?

Also its got an oil temperature gauge fitted to the 1776 and I wondered what kind of temp it should be reading when cruising down the motorway, the gauge has a red line at 150 but I just wondered where I should be expecting it to sit, any ideas?

 

[Tofufi]

I'd run multigrade in both.

VW have been recommending using multigrades in all aircooled VWs since the 1970s... I use a mineral 20/50, but 10/40 if you are confident your engine is fairly unworn. I've never been brave enough to try 10/40 in mine despite it being only 3000 miles old.

As for temp, anything over 120 degrees c is too much for long periods of time. You might find it gets this hot on a steep hill fully loaded, but it ought to go down pretty quickly afterwards. 100-110 degrees c is much more comfortable.
Don't forget your gauge and sender may not be 100% accurate. On my bugs slightly fast motor, I use the temp gauge just as an indicator as to whether it is running hotter than normal. As long as the gauge reads the same as it always does, I'd not worry too much about the actual numbers it reads (my bug gauge reads about 70 on a motorway run, but it is lying!). If you want to, you can test its calibration with hot water / kettle test.