I don't have a lot of time to do research atm (at work) but this thought ran through my head so I wanted to ask you guys.

I know gasoline has changed a lot in the past years. Since I am trying to find a stock 1969 442 (engine included, of course) I was wondering if the gasoline you pump out of the stations now is suitable for running the older cars?

I believe the #s refer to the octane level, yes? For example, 87, 89, 91? I'm not sure if those are correct (I don't really pay attention, I pump the cheapest stuff in my current car 2004 chevy classic).

Was gasoline leaded in 1969? Were the cars designed to run on it? Etc.

I'm sure I can read a lot about this in the wiki, but a quick search on the forums didn't result in much (though I may have just overlooked it). If these types of questions have already been answered, please just link the thread and I'll read there.

Thank you very much!

Dustin

 

69 would have ran on leaded gas. you can add marvel mystery oil to the gas for the lubrication of the valves and seats. as for the octane, if you have 9.5 and higher compression you will need the higher octane also.

 

Iam running 89 on the street in a 9.1 455...........If Iam going to spray it I go with 93.........Jerr

 

I have an original 1969-98 convertible with the 455. I am not sure what the octane levels were in the fuel back in 69 but I was driving around 1974 and remember in 1980 putting hi-test in my 66 Chev Impala SS 327ci 350hsp. At that time I could get fuel around 103 but did not run it all the time.Mid level fuel was close to 100 octane so I have been adding an octane booster to my fuel as well as lead substitute to keep valves lubricated.Around here lead substitute is hard to find since many places have stopped carrying it. Octane boosters are a dime a dozen and it would be nice if you could find a report on which ones are the best and how much they actually raise the octane levels. What is everybody else using for octane booster?

 

I would like to read some opinions on this also. I have a motor that I'm getting ready to get back and it's a little over 10 compression. I'm hoping my gas here does it justice? Most I have seen around town is 93 octane.

 

Running it on 93 octane would be just fine and it should work well.You are getting ready to get it back? what did you have done to it?

 

In the movie The Army of Darkness the hero runs his 73 Olds Delta 88 on lamp oil.

 

Good to see another Evil Dead fan on here.
I was watching the show Burn Notice the other day and all of the sudden I realized, it was Bruce Campbell!
What exactly is the octane rating for lamp oil anyway??

 

Since octane rating is a fuel's resistance to detonation I wonder if lamp oil would be high or low octante? I would think high... Lamp oil doesn't smell really bad of hydrocarbons the way gasoline or diesel fuel does.

 

About the lubrication issue and lead. I think most modern fuels have added lubricants in the place of lead (since lead is a no no now) so I really don't think using a lead additive would be beneficial, just redundant.

 

I agree Oldsguy. If you are having the heads rebuilt then go ahead and add hardened valve seats, otherwise, just run standard fuel.

 

where I usually fill up they have on the pump "tactrol" whatever that is?

 

Tactrol is just another so called engine cleaner.
The formulation of Tactrol is proprietary to Petro-Canada, and they probably aren't going to tell what it is. They'll just tell you that it's great.

 

So it's like KFC's secret of 11 herbs and spices would be nice to know just what the heck it is made up of no way of knowing what it does for your motor , just what they tell you. All their levels of fuel has it regular, mid-level and hi-test. The higher octane fuel the more Tactrol it has.

 

Is it just me or does this happen to others? It seems that octane booster bought over the counter drys up the gaskets and the rubber seals in the carburetor quicker that normal. Is that correct?

 

Don't know about Canada, you guys up north are in freezing weather all year round aren't you? (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Seriously, in the States we have fuels formulated for the different regions and weather conditions and supposedly the difference is in additives which make the fuel burn better for that climate, whatever "better" means. I think there are proprietary additives as well which every retailer touts as the best but I really don't think it makes that much difference. I have always purchased my fuel wherever it was convenient or cheapest or both and never noticed any difference.

 

Same here.

I know there are additives put in fuel like ethanol and MTBEs that are supposed to raise octane level. Ethanol is a green conspiracy and MTBEs turned out to be bad news. Didn't California say MTBEs cause cancer?

 

WHAT!!! YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO DRINK THE GAS

 

But I saw it on the movie Gone in 60 Seconds with Nicholas Cage. That hot chick drinks gasoline!

 

Doesn't California say everything causes cancer? lol jk, I had to.

 

I wonder if it gave her gas wouldn't want to light her farts

 

Must have been ethanol. down here in the south we've been know to drink that every now and then, but we call it something else.

 

 

white lightning , hooch , homemade hangover

 

I go 87-89 octane in my 1976 Cutlass but run super in my 1970 98 (10.25:1) and it runs fine. In a 1969 engine, I would stick to super. It's only a couple bucks more per fill up.
Tom

 

but if there is a choise with typ would you choose.

We have in the netherlands the 95 and 98 unledded feul.
And for older cars 98octane with lead substitute.

its stil about a 350 of 68'or 69 like my olds 88 of 69

 

Thats only in Nova Scotia.Here in Ontario we get at least 30 days of summer.But not all at once.(at least it seems that way)

 

Come on now my outdoor freezer melted last month

 

Octane ratings are calculated differently now than back in the 60's. 87 today is like 91 back then. Just run the lowest octane that won't cause pinging and you'll be fine. Plus stay away if possible from that Ethanol crap.

 

Check the Vehicle Emission Control Information sticker on the shroud - it probably says use 91 octane or higher.

 

I have a 69 455 with C heads and in the book it recommends using hi-test fuel. So in 1969 what would comparible fuel be today? At the pump hi-test is 91 octane with tactrol addative. I did add an octane booster in my last tank and the car seems to be working better. I could really care less about fuel mileage in my 69 cause I don't drive it very much especially now that the weather sucks.

 

I know that I've reviving an old thread here, but I have a question about gas stabilizer related to booster.

Here's the thing:
Just took my car -72 Cutlass S- out for the first time in a year. Last fall I filled the tank with 87 octane and stabil fuel stabilizer. The car fired up right away, even after sitting for a year. Took it to my mechanic to adjust the idle setting (mostly cause he worked on the car last and it's still under warranty from then - pretty good mechanic huh?). The 350 4bbl is set for 12°timing at about 1100, which is bang on for specs. The car seems to run a little rough though.

Recommendation was to run a couple tanks of premium through it. In the meantime I've got a whole tank of 87 with stabil in it. Should I just run the tank down and start using premium to see what happens, or can I add fuel booster (Lucas) to the tank. I'm not sure whether it's a good idea to mix the two. This weekend is a car show and it will be a couple hundred mile round trip. I'm definitely going to burn some gas, but am trying to determine what is the best thing to do. My mechanic suggested run a couple of tanks of premium, then maybe bump the timing to about 14° to compensate.

Wolfie: when you say your 98 is working better, does that mean running smoother?

 

After pulling a car out of storage, I like to run the tank almost dry before filling up with fresh gas. Even with Stabil, old gas never seems to run perfectly -- it just runs. Wait for your tune-up until you have fresh gas in it.

 

Thanks Brian,
That's pretty much my thoughts too. I didn't do a tune up, just an idle adjustment. It was necessary because when I converted the car to 4bbl, the idle stop solenoid wasn't on so the mixture was set a little lean, and lower rpm to prevent run on when keyed off. The result was a choppy low idle, like you'd get with a lumpy cam. Now that the idle solenoid is on and adjusted, the car runs but like you said and there's room for improvement. Not stellar. I remember this car used to run quite smooth. Unfortunately, with my work being really busy over the past 6 years, I never really had a chance to take it out and play. Last year was the first 300+ mile trip (highway) it had in over 15 years. This Saturday I'm hoping to make the same trip, + have the opportunity to cruise around town more now that I am retired.

What I was trying to figure out was whether adding a container of Lucas gas octane booster would help, or whether I should just run the tank down and add premium. Don't know if the octane booster is compatible with the stabil that's in the gas already???

What engine is in your car? If it's the 350 what is your timing? I converted my distributor to HEI 4 years ago, so I don't need to worry about dwell, but I'm wondering if I shouldn't bump the timing up to around 13 or 14° when I start running premium to compensate for the higher detonation range.

 

When I had my Delta, I ran regular when it had the 307, but when I dropped in the 350, I ran 93. (1968 Olds 350 2 barrel converted to a 4 barrel)

I tried running 91 in it, just to see what it would do, It pinged when I got on it and sucked the tank dry pretty damn quick. I only got 4 MPG with that fill up, compared to 8-10 with the 93.

I do run 91 in the Alero, have for years. I have the car programmed to run on 91 though

 

Me too. But that awesome 140 hp wasn't my idea of a fun time...

Wow 4mpg?? That wouldn't get me very far. My 72 will do around 22mpg on the highway and 15 city (even with 120014 actual miles). I had thought about running mid grade - up here mid is 89 - most stations sell premium as 91. I think (not sure) that ESSO has 93. So it's really a question of finding the right station. What did you set your timing for?

 

I was at 20* just like what it shoulda been.

I had 3.42's out back and a 400th thans in that car too

 

In 1969 Sunoco sold a street fuel that was 110 octane. The next level I believe was 98 octane. I have a 1970 455 that I run with a 50-50 mix of 110 leaded racing fuel that I buy at Raceway Park and 93 unleaded Sunoco Ultra. I set my timing at 12 degrees BTDC. I have pushed it to 14 degrees with no problem. Frankly I think the engine runs smoother and certainly more umph (due to advanced timing) with the leaded 110.