a testament to av gas

[Mike M.]

for the past 50= years, I've always put away our corvettes in October and awakened them come spring time, usually late April here in western md. Over the years, I stored the vets with pump gas and invariable come spring couple of the sleeping giants required carb or FI attention. for the past couple years, I've stored our 7 FI vets with a 1/4 tank of av gas in their bellies. today, I was 7 out of 7 that fired within a couple seconds . I'm a believer. mike

[Harry S.]

for the past 50= years, I've always put away our corvettes in October and awakened them come spring time, usually late April here in western md. Over the years, I stored the vets with pump gas and invariable come spring couple of the sleeping giants required carb or FI attention. for the past couple years, I've stored our 7 FI vets with a 1/4 tank of av gas in their bellies. today, I was 7 out of 7 that fired within a couple seconds . I'm a believer. mike

Agree, I've been doing the same for several years!

[Mark S.]

Great advice!

[Rich G.]

While not recommended, there have been cases of airplanes sitting for years and then started and flown without replacing the fuel. Of course those engines are generally lower compression and simpler. Closer to a model A than a small block fulie.

[Don H.]

I've been using AV gas in Fuelies for over 35 years, works GREAT for me!

[Tim G.]

Every one of my Corvettes uses 100% AV Gas, no blending of other fuels at all.

[Jeffrey S.]

I have also been using av gas but the only problem is , at least here in Michigan, it can't be pumped directly into an automobile. It can only be put into 5 gallon containers and then transferred to the car off site. For a full tankthat's 3 containers. Not the the most convenient.
Jeff

[Larry E.]

JMHO>I think the case is closed on this subject. There IS simply is no better gas to use then
100LL. IT IS THE CLOSEST GAS THAT IS AVAILABLE NOW COMPARED TO THE GAS THAT WAS AVAIL-
ABLE WHEN CHEVROLET DESIGNED YOUR ENGINES IN THE 50'S AND 60'S PERIOD. This plus the
long lasting attributes of staying fresh. (NO BLENDING AS THIS CHANGES THE CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE GAS)USE 100%. Why someone would change the originality of the engine(Timing,
advanced weights,head gaskets and etc.) is a mystery to me. Where I come from I call these "Gimmicks" thus
making your engine a counterfeit. Of course JMHO>Larry P.S. I always hear someone saying
"My engine runs fine with the above gimmicks" I do not buy this. It may run OK but not like
it should.

[Michael M.]

Not only does aviation gas have storage benefits I like the increase in octane for 11:1 compression ratio engines. I can feel the power difference between pump gas and aviation gas at all RPM ranges.

[Richard L.]

Cured all of my 62 fuelie's running issues. Aviation fuel lasts for up to 2 years, does not percolate, does not detonate, runs cooler, yields more power, starts instantly, has lubricating properties and nowadays there's only a few cents difference between it and premium non-ethanol. A no-brainer for Winter storage, Spring re-awakenings and a must have for all C-1 and C-2 fuel-injected original engines.

[Duke W.]

I have also been using av gas but the only problem is , at least here in Michigan, it can't be pumped directly into an automobile. It can only be put into 5 gallon containers and then transferred to the car off site. For a full tankthat's 3 containers. Not the the most convenient.
Jeff

It's both against federal law and state law for any FBO to pump avgas into a licensed road vehicle (Don't worry, I'm not going to tattle on anyone.) due to the fact that 100LL has TEL, which is a federal offense to use in road vehicles and federal and state tax issues. Some will let you fill jugs, but not necessarily all, especially in busy urban area general aviation airports.

Anecdotal evidence indicates that avgas has a longer shelf life than mogas. I've never had a problem storing cars with E10 mogas for up to eighteen months, although they have "closed" fuel systems (EVAP systems with vacuum and pressure relief valves), and I always store with full fuel to minimize the vapor dome at the top of the tank, to minimize any "breathing" because if humid air at or below the dew point is drawn in and water condenses in the tank, the only way to to remove it is to drain or consume the fuel.

Back in the winter of '64 my SWC would not start during a Seattle cold snap with below freezing temperatures. I figure a slug of water at the bottom of the tank froze. After a few days and warmer temperatures it started. I poured in a can of HEET, which is basically ethanol, which acts as a cosolvent and allows the water to homogeneously mix with the gasoline and be consumed with the fuel.

Modern E10 allows much more water to be homogeneously absorbed and corrosion isn't an issue until there so much water that a water alcohol blend drops out to the bottom of the tank, but that takes 10 times more water than with straight gasoline.

Cars with vented fuel systems are much more susceptible to water intrusion especially if they are exposed to condensing humidity (like being outside), but filling the tank fully to minimize the volume of air that might be drawn in is best as is inside storage where temperatures don't often drop below the dew point.

Also the colder the storage temperature the longer the shelf life because chemical reactions like oxidation increase/decrease exponentially with temperature.

I have a friend who formerly managed air operations for his employer. (He's now an airline pilot.) The fleet included piston engine aircraft that used 100LL avgas. Certain maintenance operations require fuel to be drained, and it's against FAA regulations to put drained fuel back in any aircraft, so it has to be "disposed", and he disposed of it by pouring it into his C2 rather than paying for it to be "recycled".

Too bad we all can't get such a deal!

BTW, the "Aviation Method" for rating octane yields about the same number as the Motor Method for mogas, and since the "sensitivity" - the difference between MON and RON is 8-10 for most gasoline blends - the RON of 100LL avgas is about 108-110 and the PON is 104-105; and since avgas is blended to prevent vapor lock at high altitude, it has a higher distillation curve, than any mogas which will delay the onset of percolation in vintage cars with non pressurized fuel systems (and this includes the old Rochester FI system since the fuel bowl in not pressurized), but they may be a little harder to start, especially vintage carbureted or Rockester FI engines.

Duke

[Mike M.]

I have also been using av gas but the only problem is , at least here in Michigan, it can't be pumped directly into an automobile. It can only be put into 5 gallon containers and then transferred to the car off site. For a full tankthat's 3 containers. Not the the most convenient.
Jeff

here in Maryland, the local airport will not pump av gas into a motor vehicle. in my 5th wheel box trailer, I have a 60 gal steel tank the airport willingly fills. I also have 6 x 5 gal plastic racing fuel containers they also fill for me. I bought a handy little pump, operates on 3 volt lithium batteries. it come with an input hose that fits the 5 gal plastic racing jugs and it threads onto the top of the racing jug. its got a exit hose long enough to insert into a C1 or C2 fuel tank, with the 5 gal container sitting on the ground. simply press the fill button and a minute later the 5 gal of av gas is in the corvette. The pump and the 5 gal plastic racing fuel containers were purchased off amazon. the pumps sell for about 80 bucks. the pump is labeled TERA/PUMP-XL and is made in Korea. if I find the literature that came with the pump, I'll be back with more pump info. No more having to hold the 5 gal gas container above the fuel tank and no more fuel splashing on the corvette paint job. Mike

[Arland D.]

The local airport was slightly flexible in that they wouldn't let me put gas in the car but would let me fill up the motorcycle. I suggested it was really a 3.5 gallon gas can sitting between the seat and the handlebars. After sitting for two years, the car started right up after a couple of cranks.

[Brant H.]

Apparently, the boiling point of 100LL is not as high as a racing fuel such as VP Vintage Leaded or VP110.

Due to this reason, Ken Hansen (and Jerry Bramlett) recommend running some type of racing fuel as mentioned above in a mechanical fuel injection equipped Corvette. Ken rebuilt the FI unit on my car and was quite adamant about that notion.

Other than that point, I have been told (and have experienced) that 100LL is great in terms of octane level and longevity, which has been mentioned by others in this thread.

[Tim S.]

Apparently, the boiling point of 100LL is not as high as a racing fuel such as VP Vintage Leaded or VP110.

Due to this reason, Ken Hansen (and Jerry Bramlett) recommend running some type of racing fuel as mentioned above in a mechanical fuel injection equipped Corvette. Ken rebuilt the FI unit on my car and was quite adamant about that notion.

Other than that point, I have been told (and have experienced) that 100LL is great in terms of octane level and longevity, which has been mentioned by others in this thread.

I was told the same by both Jerry and Ken. In my 65 L84, the 100LL ran leaner, thus had to adjust the unit slightly to account for it. Aside from that, I have been running 100LL in everything including my L88 powered Camaro which works best with the timing locked at 38 degrees.