About the gas I use.

captndan

captndan

Well-known member
I run no ethanol gas in the 30 coupe. It's 91 octane because that's all you can get. The car loves that stuff. I buy the 91 octane from the Co-Op. They carry it for the old tractors around here that were also designed for 60 octane. Am I doing any harm to the 30 engine running this hot gas?
 
No harm at all.

I wish we had a local Co-Op because when I drove to northern MN this winter the So-Op was selling the good gas for the same price as the corn crap gas, $1.69 a gallon. Around home we've usually had to pay about a buck a gallon extra for the good gas.
 
No good gas here in New Jersey. I guess the state does not trust us to use it sparingly. Consider yourself lucky that you still have access to it.
 
Western Illinois--- Phillips 66 offers NO ETHANOL in big letters on their pumps for the Premium gasoline, 92 Octane at their stations. Costs I believe around 45 cents or so more than the cheapo 87 Octane. Not a bad deal.

I ran several tanks of the stuff thru my wife's 2016 Ford Escape and the gas mileage went up between 4-5 MPG over the corn gas garbage. Worth the extra few dollars good stuff. Our '69 Mach 1 M- code 351 4bbl. LOVES it runs like a champ on the stuff.
 
My first job out of college was with Sun Oil Company. Folks get confused about Octane and its properties.

1. Higher Octane does not equal better combustion in our Model A's.
Octane is increased to help retard combustion or pre-ignition (ping) in high compression engines. OUR CARS ARE NOT HIGH COMPRESSION. If Octane is too high, we need to adjust timing slightly to help combustions. Higher quality fuels do have more additives detergents etc.
2. Our cars were never designed to run on Lead (TEL) so a lead additive is a waste of money. Our cars actually were designed to run on the fuel of the day which was White Gas. Lead was not added until the 50's to address higher operating temps and rotating valves. Lead was a lubricant. While it will not hurt its benefits are small.
3. Now Alcohol fuel is just bad news all around. It is ok on a tour since your are burning the fuel quickly. If your car sits... well we all know about phase separation. Stabil in the fuel for alcohol fuels helps but remember a few months it has to go.
 
I agree with barkleydave.
The higher the octane number the harder it is to get the fuel to ignite. This is to prevent pre-ignition in high compression engines. The lower the octane the easier it is to ignite and burn.
We do not need to burn the high octane fuel in our A's.
I always look for the lowest octane fuel to use in mine. Doesn't really matter to me if it has ethanol in it or not as I drive mine enough that it doesn't have time to attract water into the fuel.
 
Ethonol absorbs water more than pure gasoline.. Water and metal fuel tanks don't mix, not to mention cast iron carburetors.
 
i started our lawnmower for the first time since it sat all winter with ethonal in it, put some additional gas in that was in the can that sat just as long. About 10 primes later and one pull it came to life. same story every year...now said that 2 cycle stuff does run smoother on non ethonal but for our standard 4 stroke stuff it doesnt seem to affect it much.

i see many more problems in small engines from years of straight gas then they use ethonal stuff and it starts to break down the varnish left from the old gas clogging everything...
 
You actually get the most engine power by using the lowest octane without pinging and pre-ignition. Some people feel they are getting more power with high octane but its just a placebo effect.
 
Jeff/Illinois said:
Our '69 Mach 1 M- code 351 4bbl. LOVES it runs like a champ on the stuff.
Click to expand...

From Hemmings:

"Standard-issue in the Mach 1 was the two-barrel 351 Windsor, code H in the VIN, which offered 250 gross horsepower on regular gas. The H-code 351 was also the only '69 Mach 1 powertrain that came with a single exhaust. All other engine choices demanded premium fuel and utilized dual exhaust with quad chrome tips. Next step up was the four-barrel 351 Windsor, code M. Its 10.7:1 compression and extra pair of barrels helped achieve a 290 advertised horsepower rating. (This was a one-year only engine, as it was replaced by the 351 Cleveland for 1970.) The four-barrel, 10.5:1 compression, S-code 320-hp 390 came next."

10.7:1 you'll need all the octane you can get!
 
I stand corrected, I've been informed that one Sunoco filling station in Chatsworth NJ sells ethanol free gas in NJ. Quite a ride from me but maybe others may be near by.
 
Your gasoline is far superior than the stuff that was in use when your Model A was new. Take advantage of the 91 Octane by advancing the timing at least one pin hole more.
 
http://pure-gas.org/ this site will give alky free gas station around the country. I suggest you call before riding a long distance to get gas to make sure they still sell it. List is also good to see if there is any in neighboring states close by. Also good for trip planning.. I am blessed with two stations within 5 miles that sell it. BTW it sells for .50 more a gallon.
 
Just filled up at a Casey's in New Humboldt (New Hampton don't recall the town exactly) south of the Minnesota border a ways on US 63 Tuesday. At the pump you have a choice of crap gas at $1.99 OR pure gasoline NO ALCOHOL clearly marked, at $2.19.

For 20 cents that's a no-brainer;) Our Casey's in town is pure gas the 87 Octane, that's what the fuel delivery guy told me.
 
Jeff/Illinois said:
Just filled up at a Casey's in New Humboldt (New Hampton don't recall the town exactly) south of the Minnesota border a ways on US 63 Tuesday. At the pump you have a choice of crap gas at $1.99 OR pure gasoline NO ALCOHOL clearly marked, at $2.19.

For 20 cents that's a no-brainer;) Our Casey's in town is pure gas the 87 Octane, that's what the fuel delivery guy told me.
Click to expand...

Wasting your money if you're buying "non-alcohol" within the borders of Illinois. Illinois regulated ethanol free gas out of existence a couple of years ago. All gasoline sold in the state is required to have a minimum of 10% and may contain up to 15% ethanol. You can't even buy non-alcohol unleaded (mogas) at the airports anymore.
 
leo said:
I stand corrected, I've been informed that one Sunoco filling station in Chatsworth NJ sells ethanol free gas in NJ. Quite a ride from me but maybe others may be near by.
Click to expand...

Afew years ago I was in the area (chatsworth) and stopped in, they had a 55 gal drum of racing fuel----at over 5$ a gallon

I left the regular NJ gas in my lawnmower all winter---in the spring it started up easy---and it was "fixed"---when I first got it it would only run with part choke on, now it runs without it
 
captndan said:
I run no ethanol gas in the 30 coupe. It's 91 octane because that's all you can get. The car loves that stuff. I buy the 91 octane from the Co-Op. They carry it for the old tractors around here that were also designed for 60 octane. Am I doing any harm to the 30 engine running this hot gas?
Click to expand...

Thanks for mentioning this, there is a Co-Op 5 minutes from where I live, and low-and-behold they have their medium octane fuel with no ethanol!
 
We have three large refineries within 5 miles of our house. All three put out 91 octane that is ethanol free.

I am just amazed at the difference it makes to our Model A and MGB: smooth idle; no hesitation on full throttle; etc. The Chevrolet does not notice the difference!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top