For your first question 3200 ppm are what is in racing oils and extreme use marine oils. If you are paying extra for it, you probably should use a different product.

As for modern SN/GF-5 oils versus old stuff I only can site that the oil sold specifically for my lawnmower is an SJ rated oil at 1100 ppm versus SN/GF-5 which something like 300. My lawnmower does not have a cylinder liner so I am not going dismiss what Briggs and Stratton is selling as a hoax.

One thing about zinc is it can act as a sacrificial barrier to corrosion, and I suspect modern clean burning engines don't need as much as dirty old carburetors.

I don't live near an engineering library anymore, but if I get curious maybe I will go down to the Flint library and order a petroleum engineering handbook to look at what they say. But they have to fix these broken down roads first. Until then I will stay here in small town.

Oh, and one more thing, it's all over the news they started tearing down the Packard plant today. It's labelled as an "embarrassment", but to whom?

If an ammeter is pegged with the key off or at idle (with no lights or accessories
on) there is a huge fire risk because something is short circuiting. You don't want to leave the battery connected overnight.

As well, given it pegs positive, is the battery hooked up correctly as positive ground?

If you hook the battery up backwards the flash may happen because the regulator needs to be polarized.

I'm sorry, on that unit I believe it is internal. Look for a passage above the throttle plate. It acts essentially as an idle jet and meters fuel into the engine that would otherwise collect below the throttle causing the motor to gradually go super rich at idle.

So if your car starts out okay and then loads up at idle, maybe that is your problem.

That lawnmower oil I mention is rated SJ which is the higher zinc content. After SJ zinc was being reduced, so there is an example of a manufacturer wanting the zinc.

Thus, given how expensive those motors are leaning toward original specifications is meritorious.

As mentioned, Risolone sells a zinc additive for oils rated higher than SJ. At present those diesel oils have higher zinc, but the lighter grades sometimes are hard to find in stock.

I like the lead acid battery too. I use them in my car. However, the great thing about those Optimas is you don't have to be Hercules or have a battery clasp to install them.

If you ever changed the battery in a Cadillac Sixty Special you know what I mean. Those Caddy's were ahead of their time because the battery is a MF.

That's about all you can adjust on that unit. If the car is running rich at idle there is blow off tube that is supposed to prevent that. If it is clogged the idle will be rich.

The next area is the float. When those needles and seats become worn they are a problem. The needle doesn't seat and gas flows all over the place. As well, sometimes the float doesn't seat because it hits the cover. And if the seams crack, the float fills with gasoline and doesn't.

Next is fuel delivery. That carburetor is designed for the vacuum tank. If that isn't being used a needle and seat designed for non-gravity feed needs to be installed.

Is Classic Carburetors in Arizona still around? The only other source I knew isn't alive anymore.

You don't need a puller to change for a flat because that car has the hoop and tire assembly that is bolted around the spokes. On heavy trucks they are called widow makers because if you unbolt the wheel the lock plates may stick and fly off like a bullet.

The wheel is on a tapered axle so you do need a puller that screws onto the hub.

If the car was running you could back off the axle nut, install the cotter pin, and drive around the block to knock it free.

If you still have the instructions for your battery it will advise to connect the battery to another fully charged battery and let sit. If the voltage comes back up charge normally. I used this method to salvage Optima batteries that were dead. I also would leave the two connected and charge as a package.

Optimas don't like fast rates of charging which is why the 6 volt generator systems do pretty well with them. The instructions state that standard battery chargers are not preferred.

We had to use Optimas in dyno cars to reduce explosion risk when redlining motors for hours and hours. The high charging rates killed a lot of them.

Modern cars do the same thing. 10w-30 is not to imply that oil viscosity is constant. It means the viscosity when cold is equivalent to a 10 weight oil and when hot a 30 weight oil. The 10 weight oil cold has a higher viscosity than a 30 weight oil hot.

The rule of thumb is minimum 10 psi per 1000 rpm oil pressure. With the standard ratio the motor is turning around 2,500 rpm at 60 mph.

One other item is that 10w-30 will run cooler with less tendency for foaming than a heavier oil. Modern cars typically run in the 60-65 psi range using crescent type pumps, but I would put an oil closer to spec and see where that number ends up. The hydraulic lifters are calibrated for lighter oils as well.