Fellow listers,
Just to enhance my reputation on this list as one who jumps in with the
ill-prepared question, I have a query about octane and lead levels in
fuel and how a 1968 MGB will handle a potential overdose of both.
The other day I took the advice of a fellow (but almost equally
inexperienced LBCer) who passed on the aquired advice that, as there was
no such thing as low/no lead fuel in the sixties, it should be better
for my beast to run on a high lead fuel. So, without consulting this
list (potentially a BIG mistake) I went down and filled up on what is
known as AVGAS (aviation fuel) or as it says on the pump, BP Racing
Fuel. Nope, I don't know the actual octane/lead levels - hence my plea
of being unprepared.
Yes it smells wonderful (some don't think so) and I certainly do seem to
have better cold starting and "pull" lower in gears/revs, but I worry
about what may actually be happening up front. Am I going to give the
poor thing a heart attack and have pistons flying over my head or have I
done the right thing?
Eric
PS The person with the advice now mixes half a tank of the
aforementioned AVGAS and half a tank of leaded fuel, but I was told that
this is mainly because the AVGAS is so expensive. (You do the
calculations, the AVGAS costs $1.05 per litre when unleaded costs 74c
per litre here). Yes, we foreigners in Australia speak metric too!
Eric
'68 MGB
|