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Thread: fuel for my straight 8

  1. #11
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    Mar 2018
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    I see you are in Arizona. With low humidity and warm temps, phase separation of the ethanol is probably rare where you live.
    Dave

  2. #12
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    fuel for my straight 8

    yes I am in Arizona. we do have winter and summer fuels here it is noticeable in the fuel economy between the two. Summer fuel gives the best millage. I was at first concerned about the valve seats but the folks that I purchased the car from said that the engine was fairly recently overhauled so I am sure that the head was set up for unleaded fuel. the ethanol in the fuel was also a concern but that seams to not be a problem. thanks again for your help and useful information.

    P.S. I plan to overhaul the carburetor in the near future, where can I find the best carb. kit? Bobs Automobilia or Kanter?

  3. #13
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    When leaded fuel first went away, I was buying lead substitute for my old cars (also have a '68 Pontiac), but as the years went on, articles in old car magazines and the Pontiac club magazine said the valves and seats were holding up OK unless you are using them as race cars, so I quit using the lead substitute. Fortunately, here in Minnesota, I can still get ethanol-free premium. It costs an extra 50 to 75 cents a gallon, but I use it in the old cars and my old boats, and all small engines (snowblower, lawn mower, etc.). It's cheap insurance against ethanol-related problems. The Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) lobbied the state govt. to have ethanol-free premium available for our rods and old cars; and that is why it's available here, but you have to go out of your way in most areas to find stations that have it. MSRA is a big thing here, hosting a "Back to the 50s " weekend every June at the state fair grounds where they get around 12,000 cars, rods, originals, work in progress, etc from all over the country; the only rule is 1964 or older. MSRA has a committee that lobbies the legislature for what we want, and lets them know the economic impact our hobby has here. Along with the ethanol-free premium, MSRA has gotten laws that allow blue dots in tail-lights, original license plates, and no front license plate needed for our old hobby cars. I'm envious of you in Arizona where you can run your cars all year. It snowed again today here.
    Dave
    http://msra.com/

    https://msrabacktothe50s.com/

  4. #14
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    Fuel for my straight 8

    The only way for me to get leaded fuel is to buy avgas 100 LL it is about $5.50 per gal. I used it at the start but it is to expensive. Also it is to hot to drive this old car in the summer time no A/C.

  5. #15
    prices for AvGas can vary widely. always use AirNav.com to check FBOs in your area for the cheapest price.

    right now, AirNav is showing Yuma purchase prices ranging from $4.22 to + $7, with Yuma International at $4.31 for self service. that should be very competitive with race fuel prices.

    http://airnav.com/fuel/local.html
    The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
    Vladimir Lenin

    Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
    H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)

  6. #16
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    Feb 2018
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    bothell, w
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    fuel

    I'm going to toss in my 2 cents worth here. Over the years I've noticed some "funny" stuff concerning "gasoline" that we obviously have to use in our cars if we're going to keep 'em on the road. The gas we got in the 60's was highly volatile. If you poured some in a pan for parts washing or some such, and left it out, it was gone the next day. Only thing left was the goo that was washed off the part. Volatile, to say the least. Try that with any pump gas, not only will it not wash anything, leave it out in a pan, it'll be there next week, or at least, most of it. The few volatile elements in it will be gone but the majority of it will still be there. If you have to let your car sit for 6-7 months like I have to here in the great pacific of NW, it rains here...Well, with a open fuel system like we got on our cars, the volatile elements go away after a few months and that's the goo that's left in the tank. I don't know just how much the same or not race gas or avgas is in comparison to the gas of the 60's, but, it's plenty volatile enough to jazz up the "goo". Dump in a coupla' gallons and you're off to the races. As for the phase separation thing, well, that's just some "extra" fun in the mix. And, the lack of lead. With 30 t0 40 lbs of seat pressure, at the best, in the str8, seats beating out ain't going to happen. But! There's something else here. I've spent some time in a chem lab and sometimes shadetree experments tell more than ya might think. Look at the "goo", it looks a lot like diesel, it's not, obviously, but...Well, it burns very much the same. Slow. Does'nt explode. Mmm, perhaps it needs more compression like diesel to compression ignite, or at least, closer. I've found that in a engine of anything lower than 8 to 1, this fuel needs a LOT of advance, like 55* to 60* total and if it's less, the power is off. I don't much like this. So, how does this apply to the str8? Compression and distributor issues aside, this fuel needs time to burn, small piston, long rod, long stroke, not much distance for the flame front to travel, slow piston speed, this is a great fuel for the str8. Not so much for a Ford 289, but... Alleycat

  7. #17
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    Good point - Gasoline formulation has changed a lot over the years. On the good side, the lower volatility that Bob observed should help to eliminate vapor lock which some old engines were notorious for it on hot days - the Flathead Ford V8's for example.
    Dave

  8. #18
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    Aug 2015
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    Skokie IL
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    This is a bit off topic but is fuel related. does anyone experience stumbling of their straight eight after parking, turning off, then restarting, and pulling away. Mine will stumble for the first few blocks then runs great. This happens on a hot day once I have driven and the engine has achieved operating temperature. Seems as though the gas that is left in the carb and or intake partially burns or cooks after shut down and then once restarted the engine is not getting a burnable fuel. It always goes away but I sure would like to solve it. Any suggestions? Or is this normal?

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    Skokie IL
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    I should be more specific. This never happens on initial cold start up. Only after a full warm-up at operating temp. 1951 hydraulic lifter 263 with Stromberg carb and a manual 3 speed. 40K mile engine.

  10. #20
    sounds like you're vapor locking. ie - the fuel in the line is getting too warm and boiling off before it gets to the carb resulting in interruptions to fuel flow.

    check all of your fuel line routing and make certain that it's well away from all exhaust components. use thick rubber hose in the top of the engine compartment.

    you might try putting a wooden or plastic spacer under the carb, that blocks most of the heat conduction into fuel bowl from the intake manifold..

    you might also try leaving the hood up or open if you're only going to park for a short time. that will help dump heat from the engine compartment.
    The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.
    Vladimir Lenin

    Government schooling is about "the perfect organization of the hive."
    H.H. Goddard, Human Efficiency (1920)

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