1960 what could this tic be

[60eldo]

  Seems when my car sits for 48 hrs or more , I start it and Im getting a loud ticking. I dont know from where in the engine. After about 20 minutes its gets hot and the ticing goes away completly. Any ideas?

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

It has to do with heat cycling, so could be anything.   Lifters, Rocker Arms and even exhaust leaks.

Bruce.

[60eldo]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,,would some kind of additive help?

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

I like Marvel Mystery Oil....sometimes it works and sometimes it's just a Band-aid...

Mike

[35-709]

Agree with the MMO.  Then take the car out and give it a good run.

[Jay Friedman]

It's most likely one or more valve lifters leaking down oil when the motor is not run for a while.  This causes the push rod to tap against the rocker arm and/or the rocker arm to tap against the valve stem.  The lifters then pump up after 20 minutes of running. 

My '49 does the same thing if it's not run for 2 weeks or more.  After only 48 hours is a bit short for this to occur. Try some of the remedies suggested.  What weight engine oil do you use?

[Jon S]

Do you have ZDDP added to your oil?  If not, add some. The new oils cut zinc and phosphorus way down.

[walt chomosh #23510]

Jon,
  I tried to "fix" a motor "noise" numerous times when the "noise" was actually an exhaust leak between the manifold and head. (very common) The noise goes away after warmup. Look closely at the manifolds and let us know what you find...walt...tulsa,ok

[60eldo]

 Im using 20 W 50,with ZDDP.

[James Landi]

Walt--- the picture of your '54 and Trailer is pure magic!   Having owned several 50's Cadillacs, when, where, and how you drive it makes a lot of difference in how it runs.  Long highway runs at a relatively steady rpm does wonders for cleaning up those eight cylinders that can foul with carbon and oil deposits.  Make certain that your vacuum advance is working.  Sure your engine will run without a functioning advance, but the engine responsiveness is affected negatively... and make certain that vacuum lines and wipers are not leaking --- that will cause the engine to run lean. 

[CadillacFanBob]

I tried to "fix" a motor "noise" numerous times when the "noise" was actually an exhaust leak between the manifold and head. (very common) The noise goes away after warmup. Look closely at the manifolds and let us know what you find...walt...tulsa,ok

I would use a second person to help with this diagnosis of exhaust manifold to cylinder head leakage, when engine cold already have hood raised up and 1 person under hood area, have 1 person start up car and then the second person check around exhaust manifold area where it attaches to cylinder head for exhaust leak noise and may feel exhaust pushing out on the area of the leak, BE CARE FULL TO NOT GET BURNT doing this, if you look closely sometimes you may see discoloration on cylinder head or exhaust manifold of exhaust on either part.

Keep us posted on what you find,

Bob

EDIT: The leak is at its worst when the engine is cold, and when the engine heats, up expands the metal and stops leaking quickly.

[jwwseville60]

All of the above plus Marvels in the oil and gas tank.
Leaded gasoline was much oilier in the old days....kind of like diesel.
A little help with all this clean-burn ethanol gas is appreciated by an old Caddy.

[Alan Harris CLC#1513]

Years ago, I owned a 1970 Cadillac. I used to run 10W30 oil in cooler weather and 10W40 when it was warmer. This was a low mileage well-kept car. If I still had the 10W40 in it when the weather got cold, I would get a lifter tap for the first 15 or 20 minutes after starting. The car would quiet down when it warmed up. If I had 10W30 in it, I never had the noise no matter how cold it got. You say you run 20W50. That may be too heavy. Try a thinner oil before you do anything else. You may be surprised.