Lead Additives

[Guest Chuck Conrad]

Most of the cars of the Classic Era (1925-1948) had no need for leaded fuel. It wasn't even available during most of the Era. When it was introduced, Tetraethyl Lead was used as an octane booster. It's valve lubricating properties were secondary. Although a great deal of conversation erupted over the phasing out of lead as an gas additive, it seems that for most cars the alarm was unfounded. When driven moderately most cars seem no worse for the wear. <P>In fact in the 1950's & 60's, Amoco's Super Premiun fuel contained no lead. Cars of that era ran very well on it, and every kid with a lawn mowing business really liked it because the spark plug on their mower was far less likely to foul than with regular leaded gas. That's probably why today's cars go 60,000 to 100,000 miles on the original plugs.<P>As far as I know, if you aren't racing your car, the fuel problem has little to do with the lack of lead. <P>But there still is trouble lurking in your future. The use of government mandated fuel additives like MBTE in todays fuel is much worse for your car than the lack of lead, since these chemicals attack rubber parts like hoses and fuel pump diaphragms. They react poorly with the paint on your car's finish, and they also appear to cause cancer. If that isn't enough, these new fuels have a very short "shelf life" in your car's gas tank. They go bad very quickly. <P>I just spent a fairly unpleasant Saturday trying to get cars started that had been sitting for six months. They were very difficult to get running on last year's fuel. One car would not start at all until I finally replaced the fuel with fresh gas. I should have used a gas stabilizer. Hindsight is 20/20. <P>Does anybody know what to do with 10 gallons of bad gas? You sure don't want it in your ground water.

[Guest]

I'm new to the collector car hobby, and would appreciate information on Lead additives for fuel. Any words of advise or recommendations? The car is a 1955 Austin Healey.<BR>Thanks

[Guest]

Hello Chuck:<BR>I certainly appreciate your help. The car gets driven only on occasional Sunday afternoons in the summer and the fall. In my case it sounds like the lead issue is a non-issue. I wasn't aware of the other concern that you raised. I did use an additive before I put it in storage for the winter. Hopefully the gas is still o.k. and I won't have any starting problems. I'll find out in about a week.<BR>Thanks again.<BR>Thomas

[Guest Chuck Conrad]

The people at Hemming's Motor News have been publishing lots of information about gas problems for quite some time. I imagine some of the more important points are on their web site, <A HREF="http://www.hemmings.com" TARGET=_blank>www.hemmings.com</A> It might be worth looking.<P>I don't think you have a big problem with fuel in your car. Most of us don't, but keep an eye out for problems with rubber fuel lines and fuel pumps. If they start leaking, they could cause a fire. If the lines are old, it's not a bad idea to replace them with modern fuel resistant types. It's a fairly easy Saturday afternoon kind of job. <P>If you get some of today's fuel on your skin, wash it off ASAP. Rubber gloves are a good idea, but I've found that it also disolves them too!<P>You may also experience vapor lock problems in hot weather. Usually an auxilliary electric fuel pump mounted near the gas tank will solve this.

[Guest]

Thanks for the additional information, Chuck. I'll keep my eye out for leaks.<BR>Thomas

[Guest]

Information on the use of lead free fuel in older cars can be found at <A HREF="http://www.come.to/motordata" TARGET=_blank>www.come.to/motordata</A> (F.B.H.V.C.LEAD FREE REPORT) Together with recomended tested additives.