For something so simple, there is a lot to learn about oil! The Ferrari owners manual recommends what to use, but a lot of these grades are hard to find, and there are questions concerning the reasons for using certain grades. Here is what I've learned and plan on using in my car.

As you can see from the 250GT/E owner's manual, Ferrari had a Shell Oil endorsement, but besides the name brand of the oil, you can see the recommended weights.

Engine oil: (9-10 quarts)
A lot has happened to engine oil since the 60s, and multi grade oil has come a long way since then. Generally speaking, Most Ferraris are driven in the warmer months, so switching to a lighter engine oil in the winter is probably not needed. I plan on using a 20W-50, which many Ferrari owners use in their crankcases. A 20W-40 is fine as well, but a much harder grade to find. With the close tolerances of modern engines, the need for these heavier weight oils is not needed, so only a few grades are commonly available. Let's just hope Castrol continues to make the 20W-50!

Gearbox and Overdrive: (4.6 Liters)
There are a lot of rumors and talk about the overdrive combinations on the 250GTEs. If you have a 330 with five speed then you don't have to worry, but here's what I've heard, and what I think.

A road test article from years ago stated that the Ferrari gearbox, and English made Laycock De Normanville overdrive required different oils. This was impossible to provide because they shared their lubrication in the gear case. Supposedly, design changes were made later in the model run, and these problems of incompatibility were solved, but I have never been able to clarify this issue. Many English gearboxes use straight engine oil, and since the overdrive was English made, I can understand the recommendation, however, I know a lot of people who run regular 80-90 in their English transmissions without any problems.

Another concern is the seals in the transmission. 30 wt engine oil is thinner than gear oil, and may leak past the Ferrari seals. Spoiling a clutch disk is a pretty expensive proposition, so I would tend to go with what Ferrari recommends. It's a compromise, but unless I experience overdrive problems that can be directly associated with the weight of the gear oil, I'm going to use 80-90 gear oil.

Now, let's go one step forward on this issue. Early Ferrari transmissions uses a "Porsche" type synchronizer which is in the shape of a "C." Compared to a stronger "Borg Warner" or "cone" type synchro, they have their weaknesses, but are generally reliable, and have been installed in thousands of transmissions. The Porsche 911 used this same design from 1965 to 1986 in their passenger, and race cars, so the sychros weren't that weak! Porsche owners learn not to rush the gearbox, and execute nice "heel and toe" downshifts when at the track. The same holds true for a Ferrari. If you want to speed shift, buy a car with a Toploader or Muncie transmission!

One gear oil that is highly recommended to all 911 owners is made by a company called SWEPCO located in Texas. They seem to have the right formula in their gear oil that makes the synchronizers work better. Now for all you nay sayers, me being one of them, this can all be due to marketing, but SWEPCO is not in the retail business! In fact most of their sales is in large commercial orders. Someone years ago tried SWEPCO 201, noticed a difference, and word of mouth got around. When I owned a 911, I decided to give SWEPCO a try. No real difference was noticed on the street, but I could swear my downshifts got better on the racetrack. Since the Ferrari transmission uses the same synchronizers, it can only benefit me to use the 201 80-90wt gear oil by SWEPCO. Don't be alarmed when you first see it. It's a crazy blue-green color! Most Porsche shops and mail order houses stock it, and is probably your best source, unless you want to buy a case of 6 gallons directly from SWEPCO!

Rear Differential Oil: (1.8 liters)
Here's where the most controversy lies! The recommended oil Ferrari wants in their rear differential is 250 weight gear oil. If I could have seen the faces of the people I asked over the phone for this weight oil, I would have seen some strange looks! 250 weight has been described as having the consistency of Molasses. I was questioned so often, I went back to the owner's manual several times to see if I read it wrong! François, who's opinion I value, and has worked on Ferraris for years, agrees with this recommendation. He has used lighter gear oil in the rear differential on occasion when he couldn't get 250 weight, but feels that the diff seals won't leak with the 250 weight, especially out by the axle seals where you risk ruining your brake pads with leaking gear oil. He also feels the heavier oil keeps the noise of the gears down. Speaking with another Ferrari mechanic, another reason may be in the design of the bearings. Ferrari used ball bearing instead of roller bearings found in other transmissions, so a heavier weight oil will have no problem making it between the larger clearances in the bearings.

So 250 weight it is, but where to get it? My research with SWEPCO found they have a 250wt gear oil, but again, would only sell me 6 gallons worth. Considering the diff needs less than 2 quarts, I don't need that much. Even if François and I bought it together, we'd have enough for a lifetime, and no one wants to hold onto gear oil that long! Geof Ohland from Partsource suggested I call Penrite, an English supplier of "vintage" type oil. After hunting around for a US supplier, I found Classicautolubes.com located in Texas, and John had 250wt gear oil in 5 qt containers ready to ship to me!

Brake Fluid
Castrol LMA is my choice. Any DOT 3 or 4 should work. Silicone, Dot 5, is often used, and opinions vary. In order to use it, you've got to completely disassemble the brake system, clean it out with alcohol, and refill with Silicone. 

Grease
The modern blue wheel bearing grease seems fine, and is certainly better than anything that was made 30+ years ago. The old grease hardens with age and evaporation, leaving a waxy residue, which does nothing for lubrication. The stuff isn't supposed to dry out, and is better at repelling water. Let's hope their marketing guys are right!

Antifreeze
I'm going to use regular glycol based antifreeze mixed 50% antifreeze, and 50% DISTILLED water. I'm not going to use any "water wetter" products unless I have a problem with cooling. I considered using the "waterless coolant" stuff, but the viscosity seemed a little high that could put undue stress on the water pump.