In a message dated 97-10-25 22:52:51 EDT, curry@wolfenet.com writes:
> Since Unleaded fuel came into being in 1975, I assume your TR is made
> for the good old leaded variety. If the head has been reworked in the
> past 20 years, it might have been upgraded to run on unleaded. Barring
> that, you can add fuel additive or have the head reworked to include
> hardened seats and valves. Then you can just pull up and fill up. Lead
> is a lubricating agent and if your engine was built to run on leaded
> gas, it can be damaged if you don't have lead in the fuel.
Joe:
When I decided to run my '71 without valve seat modification or additives, I
justified my decision on the fact that if the car survived OK, then I was
ahead of the game, if not, then I could do it later. Modifying the engine was
going to be expensive, whether I did it then, or waited to see of any damage
was being done. I took a wait-and-see approach, figuring I could get it done
if it was needed, before any serious damage was done, and if not, I saved
some money. As it turned out, I didn't need to do the modification.
I'm no expert, but that seemed like a reasonable approach to me. I had also
read that most of the engines made in that time frame had adequate valve seat
hardness anyway, even though they weren't designed with unleaded in mind.
As I said in my previous post, after 15,000 miles, there was no seat damage,
and no detectable stem wear. I change oil every 3000 miles, and use very
little in between, less than half a quart, so it appears the stem seal is
holding up ok as well.
Are there other areas I should be concerned about that I've overlooked?
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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