SteveClem wrote: ↑Mon Nov 04, 2019 7:08 pm
Hmm...just to bowl another googly, what do you all think about adding redex when you fill up?
The formula seems to have changed a few years ago so it is thinner and less oily now. I believe it is marketed more as a fuel system cleaner than upper cylinder lubricant. But, it won't do any harm. I don't even bother with Lead replacement additive anymore and I cover a few thousand miles per annum with many motorway journeys.
Super unleaded has less ethanol than regular unleaded and I have used it for years. My MG Midget has to use higher octane fuel as it has a higher compression ratio than standard.
After fitting a new camshaft and head de coke, in 2017, the Midget would only go fut fut when I tried to start it. In the past, following more lengthy lay ups (In the days of 4 star), I don't recall this happening. Anyway, I disconnected the fuel line, switched on the pump and collected the fuel in a gallon container. With new fuel, it started at the next attempt and ran faultlessly.
My Midget is a 1500 model, with the Triumph engine and I used Jigsaw Racing for the bits. Mark, the proprietor, when told about this , told me that modern fuel isn't very stable and will go off quite quickly. He advised me to use Millers VSP as a matter of course, which has an anti ethanol agent. This I have done ever since.
There was a series of articles, on fuel, in the MG Car Club Magazine. Using an XPAG (MG T Series) engine, tests were carried out, at Manchester University, using various fuels, including some of the classic fuels (Such as Sunoco). I sent copies to Rob Thomasson but if anyone would like the same, PM me your email address and I can email you the scanned copies.
Long term supply of fuel could be a problem for us, A, if fuel changes too much or, B, if electric cars ever become mainstream and supply of petrol reduces. To this end, I can't see electric aeroplanes taking off (Awful pun I know) and since piston engined aeroplanes use Avgas, there would still be a demand for that (I am sure agricultural engines will still need petrol or diesel). I have suggested, to FBHVC, that allowing pre cat classic cars (Which I think will always account for the vast majority of classic cars) to run on Avgas could be a way forward. The relatively small number of vehicles involved wouldn't result in large amounts of lead pollution, which let's face it, would be negligible compared with that coming from aircraft. I know, from my hillclimb days, that Avgas was used in racing cars (It was obtained from air fields). One reason was that it is far less prone to vapour lock. Mine used to run on a methanol mix and I used to run it on Avgas, to flush out the methanol, which wasn't good stuff to leave in the system. Once the engine began to run a little less smoothly, you knew the methanol was gone.
