mistyreiny1
Junior Member
I have a 1931 ford model aa but i no idea what octane the gas should be and i cant find what level the model t is supposed to be. if i knew what the model t was i could guess. And i know about the lead substitute in it.
1931 Fuel octane levels
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jrapose
Senior Member
Good question, my car likes the lowest garbage I can find .....never premimum...
I once tried keroscene and it would run on it...would not start using it but once is was running and warmed up it ran, but smoked .... I wanted to de-carbon it and kerosene sure did it...
I have several roadsters....one with a C motor (yes I know they never built a C" and one that is diesel powered.
Joel
I once tried keroscene and it would run on it...would not start using it but once is was running and warmed up it ran, but smoked .... I wanted to de-carbon it and kerosene sure did it...
I have several roadsters....one with a C motor (yes I know they never built a C" and one that is diesel powered.
Joel
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jrapose
Senior Member
The black car in the picture actually is diesel powered.. (Opel diesel) 65hp and sounds almost stock....lots of fun when you are in the gas station and someone runs over to tell you that you will ruin your engine using diesel.....
I always say "Model A's will run on anything" never admit that it is a diesel.
I get over 40mpg and the power curve is close enough to the Model A stock motor that it performs well..
It also has front disk brakes I made...
This is my "driver" that I use almost every day.
Joel
I always say "Model A's will run on anything" never admit that it is a diesel.
I get over 40mpg and the power curve is close enough to the Model A stock motor that it performs well..
It also has front disk brakes I made...
This is my "driver" that I use almost every day.
Joel
Skrain
Senior Member
mistyreiny1
Junior Member
Bart78, lead was introduced in the 30's then removed not because it was toxic, but damaging to all parts
TerryH
Well-known member
There are many states that only allow ethanol gas to be sold for general use, California being one of them. I have been using it for at least 6 years, and although I am not a big fan of it, I have had absolutely no issues with it as far as my Model A is concerned....my car runs just fine, but probably does not get as good as gas mileage as with non-ethanol gas.
Patrick L.
Well-known member
During the T and A years the octane rating was about 40 for cars/equipment and 75 for aviation. Thru the 30s it kept creeping higher with addition of lead and better refining.
Skrain
Senior Member
The biggest problems with corn gas is the fact that it will break down the cork float on the fuel gauge over time, and slowly dissolve, or at least soften some of the seals on the gauge as well, causing some leakage.
Also, it seems to be a bit more susceptible to vapor lock, since the ethanol lowers the flash point of the fuel.
Also, it seems to be a bit more susceptible to vapor lock, since the ethanol lowers the flash point of the fuel.
Bob from Northport
Well-known member
On Dec. 9, 1921 a chemist named Charles Kettering and a group of men discovered that adding lead to fuel stopped the engine knocks that were causing lots of problems in engines. In 1922, oil companies started adding lead for engine knocking and octane levels. By 1925 a number of oil company employees had died from lead poising. It was a serious problem till 1974, when the EPA mandated the removal of lead.
I'm not sure about Octane level rating then. Regular has been 87 for years. Our Model A's seem to run best on 89. No premium.
Bob
I'm not sure about Octane level rating then. Regular has been 87 for years. Our Model A's seem to run best on 89. No premium.
Bob
KGBnut
Well-known member
Just remember, higher octane is needed to avoid pre-ignition in high-compression engines. Octane is essentially a measure of difficulty to ignite...the higher the octane rating the harder it is to make it go bang.
Model As (and by their nature nearly all flatheads) have low compression ratios.
In fact, one of the biggest reasons for the switch to overhead valves was the ability to get higher compression ratios, but this necessitated the higher octane fuels.
Model As (and by their nature nearly all flatheads) have low compression ratios.
In fact, one of the biggest reasons for the switch to overhead valves was the ability to get higher compression ratios, but this necessitated the higher octane fuels.
Aerocraft
Well-known member
In the late fifties, when my Coupe and I were stationed at Otis AFB, I would occasionally add a bucket of JP-4 (jet fuel) to the gas tank rather than dumping the fuel after cleaning the belly on my F-101. It started hard when cold, smelled funny, but ran OK.
Gar Williams
Gar Williams
BlueSunoco
Well-known member
I have a gasoline globe around somewhere that had a rating of '68' Octane if I recall. Globe was from about 1934.
That was hot stuff in it's day. So 87 Octane today would be more than enough for a Model A Ford.
That was hot stuff in it's day. So 87 Octane today would be more than enough for a Model A Ford.
Skrain
Senior Member
Here you go, guys. I know it's a long article, but it will explain a lot of things. 
Spark ignition engines are designed to burn gasoline in a controlled process called deflagration. In some cases, however, the unburned mixture can autoignite (detonate from pressure and heat alone, rather than ignite from the spark plug at exactly the right time), which causes rapid pressure rise which can damage the engine. This phenomenon is often referred to as engine knocking or end-gas knock. One way to reduce knock in spark ignition engines is to increase the gasoline's resistance to autoignition, which is expressed by its octane rating.
Octane rating is measured relative to a mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (an isomer of octane) and n-heptane. There are different conventions for expressing octane ratings, so a fuel may have several different octane ratings based on the measure used. Research octane number (RON) for commercially-available gasoline varies by country. In Finland, Sweden, and Norway, 95 RON is the standard for regular unleaded gasoline and 98 RON is also available as a more expensive option. In the UK, ordinary regular unleaded gasoline is 91 RON (not commonly available), premium unleaded gasoline is always 95 RON, and super unleaded is usually 97-98 RON. However, both Shell and BP produce fuel at 102 RON for cars with high-performance engines, and the supermarket chain Tesco began in 2006 to sell super unleaded gasoline rated at 99 RON. In the US, octane ratings in unleaded fuels can vary between 86 and 87 AKI (91-92 RON) for regular, through 89-90 AKI (94-95 RON) for mid-grade (European premium), up to 90-94 AKI (95-99 RON) for premium (European super).
The octane rating became important as the military sought higher output for aircraft engines in the late 1930s and the 1940s. A higher octane rating allows a higher compression ratio or supercharger boost, and thus higher temperatures and pressures, which translate to higher power output. Some scientists even predicted that a nation with a good supply of high octane gasoline would have the advantage in air power. In 1943, the Rolls Royce Merlin aero engine produced 1,320 horsepower (984 kW) using 100 RON fuel from a modest 27 liter displacement. Towards the end of the second world war, experiments were conducted using 150 RON fuel (100/150 avgas), obtained by adding 2,5% aniline to 100 octane avgas.[3]
Spark ignition engines are designed to burn gasoline in a controlled process called deflagration. In some cases, however, the unburned mixture can autoignite (detonate from pressure and heat alone, rather than ignite from the spark plug at exactly the right time), which causes rapid pressure rise which can damage the engine. This phenomenon is often referred to as engine knocking or end-gas knock. One way to reduce knock in spark ignition engines is to increase the gasoline's resistance to autoignition, which is expressed by its octane rating.
Octane rating is measured relative to a mixture of 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (an isomer of octane) and n-heptane. There are different conventions for expressing octane ratings, so a fuel may have several different octane ratings based on the measure used. Research octane number (RON) for commercially-available gasoline varies by country. In Finland, Sweden, and Norway, 95 RON is the standard for regular unleaded gasoline and 98 RON is also available as a more expensive option. In the UK, ordinary regular unleaded gasoline is 91 RON (not commonly available), premium unleaded gasoline is always 95 RON, and super unleaded is usually 97-98 RON. However, both Shell and BP produce fuel at 102 RON for cars with high-performance engines, and the supermarket chain Tesco began in 2006 to sell super unleaded gasoline rated at 99 RON. In the US, octane ratings in unleaded fuels can vary between 86 and 87 AKI (91-92 RON) for regular, through 89-90 AKI (94-95 RON) for mid-grade (European premium), up to 90-94 AKI (95-99 RON) for premium (European super).
The octane rating became important as the military sought higher output for aircraft engines in the late 1930s and the 1940s. A higher octane rating allows a higher compression ratio or supercharger boost, and thus higher temperatures and pressures, which translate to higher power output. Some scientists even predicted that a nation with a good supply of high octane gasoline would have the advantage in air power. In 1943, the Rolls Royce Merlin aero engine produced 1,320 horsepower (984 kW) using 100 RON fuel from a modest 27 liter displacement. Towards the end of the second world war, experiments were conducted using 150 RON fuel (100/150 avgas), obtained by adding 2,5% aniline to 100 octane avgas.[3]