Here we go on the fuel question again........!

[David K.]

Running a 65' 365hp with 75k miles on it. I know it was rebuilt at 60k and the engine is running just fine. I drive about 200 miles each summer with the car. The 'super' fuel at Shell Canada is 91 octane with NO ETHANOL thankfully. I would like to get the most out of my solid lifter engine, and it's been suggested to me to add the following for octane boost and valve protection: Redline brand 'Lead substitute', and TORCO brand 'high octane accelerator'.
Does this sound like a good recipe - or a recipe for eventual problems.......? Thanks guys.

[Mike M.]

Re: Here we go on the fuel question again........!

our 64 365 runs fine on 93 octane. the BBC;s are a different beast--i usually run straight av gas but recently i've been using a 2:1 mix of 93 with ethanol(that's all we can get in Liberal maryland) and sunoco Blue(which was 10 bucks a gal when i got a 55 gal barrel last summer. the BBC's run and smell great with the sunoco blue. mike

[Joe L.]

Re: Here we go on the fuel question again........!

Running a 65' 365hp with 75k miles on it. I know it was rebuilt at 60k and the engine is running just fine. I drive about 200 miles each summer with the car. The 'super' fuel at Shell Canada is 91 octane with NO ETHANOL thankfully. I would like to get the most out of my solid lifter engine, and it's been suggested to me to add the following for octane boost and valve protection: Redline brand 'Lead substitute', and TORCO brand 'high octane accelerator'.
Does this sound like a good recipe - or a recipe for eventual problems.......? Thanks guys.

David-------


My answer is the same as always:

1) If you experience no significant detonation ("pinging") on the 91 octane fuel, then you need no higher octane or octane booster. Using those under these circumstances is a 100% waste of money and achieves absolutely NO benefit, whatsoever;

2) You don't really need to use lead substitute. However, if it makes you feel more comfortable, you can use one. The Red Line is a good product as it contains Lubrizol PowerShield as the active ingredient. That's the best of the lead substitutes in my opinion. However, I more recommend using the Alemite/CD2 lead substitute. It contains the same Lubrizol Powershield but it's much more concentrated. So, you use only a few ounces per tankful rather than a whole bottle as with the Red Line.

[David K.]

Re: Here we go on the fuel question again........!

Thank you gentlemen;

I'll stick with the Super gas at Shell and maybe try the TORCO octane boost in a tank of gas, just to get the curiosity out of my system..!

[Ed S.]

Re: Here we go on the fuel question again........!

I use 93 (non ethanol) in my 64 L76 and it runs great. David, don't know where you are in beautiful Canada but, if you have not heard of a smart phone app called "Pure Gas" (its free) - you might look into it. Pure gas is GPS based and it will list all gas stations near you that carry non-ethanol gas, it also lists the highest octane rating of the gas that stations listed sell. This app works in Canada. I found 2 stations near me that sell 93 non-ethanol. The app is pretty reliable..... but not perfect as some NCRS members have reported.

[Duke W.]

Re: Here we go on the fuel question again........!

Chances are it was rebuilt flattop pistons and a thick head gasket so the CR might only be 9:1 in which case it will probably operate detonation free on 87 PON.

Instead of wasting money on additives, use a feeler gage set to measure the head gasket thickness at the corners of the block head interface and post it hear.

A flexible tube borescope can be used to look down the plug hole and view the piston crowns. I think Harbor Freight has one that is quite inexpensive compared to what you could find a few years ago.

Several owners at my suggestion have run an "octane test" when it appeared that their engines had low compression. Let the tank go nearly empty, then add 3 gallons of 87. Drive the car and test for detonation. Load it up in third or fourth gear climbing a hill at 1500-2000. If it doesn't detonate run the tank down again a repeat the test. If it does detonate put in some premium and then run the test again with mid grade.

The way to get "the most" out of a solid lifter engine is keep the OE compression which is likely closer to 10.5 than 11 and massage the heads.

The world is full of chicken littles running around saying you'll destroy your engine on modern premium. They are morons.

Duke