MOLY Put To the Test

A highlight of the final event of the 1977 Endurance Series at the Nelson InterNational Raceway circuit, was a unique demonstration of molybdenum disulfide's durable protective qualities.

The car used in the demonstration was a 1967 Pontiac Beaumont 67beamontwith over 209,000 miles on the odometer. The heads and oil pan had never been removed and the car still had its original valves and timing chain. The owner of the car had been using moly in the engine from the time he purchased the car, although he had not added moly at each oil change.

To start the NIR demonstration, the Pontiac was driven around the track for several laps to warm up the engine. Then, the car was brought into the pits, and before several somewhat skeptical drivers, marshals and race officials, the plug was removed, while the engine was running, and all the oil was allowed to drain out of the engine and oil pan.

Then, the torture test started. Between 9:40 a.m. and 11:45 a.m., the car was driven a total of 80 miles around the 1.1 mile track, by a number of drivers, including representatives of Wheelspin News and Autosport Canada, the country's two national motosport publications.

Later in the day, the '67 Pontiac was put out on the track again, and logged another 15 miles. By this time, the hydraulic valve lifters had started to act up, although the car was still running well. When the racing was finished, the car went back on the track for some more miles. As it approached the 100 mile mark, even the more skeptical in the large crowd that had assembled had become firm believers in moly.

Finally, after 105 miles, the engine expired. Mechanics who checked the car found that the valve lifters had collapsed and the exhaust valves were closed. But even under these tortuous conditions, and after 105 miles of hard driving without oil, the pistons had not seized in the cylinders!