Hi,
First off, these are not dumb questions...
Two answers:
1. lead in the fuel. My direct experience is that the additives don't
really do anything. My indirect experience is that the stuff can lead to
other problems in the fuel system - I recall one TR250 guy (Hi Steve!) who
was adding CD-2 to his car... had to take all three Webers apart to clean
out the "gunk" after a year or so. Another data point is related to how
much you drive the car. If you fall into the classics-drive-em-on-Sunday
crowd, it'll take a really long time to damage the engine from running
unleaded. If the compression is still okay on your car, you're probably in
"good shape" for years down the road. If you start loosing compression
_and_ you take the head off _and_ you have valve recession, then putting in
hardened seats is okay. But, as I like to say, it'll take a long time to
cost justify spending hundreds of $$$ for machine work if things are okay
to start with.
I've got 100,000 miles on my engine in my TR6 - no valve recession yet, and
I've run unleaded only for the last 50,000 miles. And some folks on this
list can back me up on this, I represent the upper end of stress testing on
any car.
2. Use DOT 4 fluid. It is a good idea to flush the system every few years
anyway, so buy a few cans and change your fluid by doing a "flush". FWIW,
I've not seen Girling Red, for a long, long time.
Some say DOT3 fluid will damage your seals. I have no direct experience, I
only use DOT4. The brand that I use is Castrol LMA. It seems to work fine.
You can get it at better auto parts places or by mail order from the Big
Three. I usually pick up a can or two when I go to events where TRF is
there... I have a shelf full of the stuff.
Later,
rml
TR6's
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