>Raimondo wrote:
>
>>Here in Italy we are very much concerned by the no more sale of
>>red-full-of-lead-gasoline from Jan 1st 2000. Millions of cars cannot be
>>used (including - sob - me!)!
>>This deadline is a rule of the E.C. What will you do in Germany? I am
>>sure that there are a lot of cars using red gasoline.
>
>You'll just have to do what everyone else is doing, and
>change your exhaust valves and valve-seats for stellite ones.
>
Not necessarily. . . . . . . .
Leaded has virtually gone here already in readiness for Y2K, the major oil
companies have filled the pumps with "their" own formulation of "lead
replacement petrol" or LRP, the formulations have not been publicised and the
BSI have abandoned any attempt to approve it and award our recognised kite mark
symbol mainly because of bickering about test methods.
Many, indeed most early, and W.W.II MV's are low (specific) powered gas/petrol
engines and may very well have got virtually unleaded fuel in service as the
norm, side valve (L head) engines have very well cooled exhaust valves anyway
and some
famous engines were specifically designed like this for post-war MV service.
All engines vary somewhat but as a rule of thumb engines running below a nominal
3000 rpm don't need the lead to lubricate the exhaust seats anyway so its worth
doing a rev counter lash-up to see what your MV lump actually makes in use,
having recently done just this to a Ford CMP I can tell you that apparently
unsympathetically thrashing it is in fact 2750 rpm as the fan creates most of
the racket, to get it up to 3K takes some doing and is wholly unnecessary in
use. The specified 51 mph maximum on the F15 mathematically equates to a tad
under 3200 rpm but you'd have to be very insensitive to give it this much grief,
even so this is likely within the top limit of the 3K rule of thumb.
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs has defined a standard and lab
test for additives in conjunction with the Associated Octal Company who have
been making the TEL and other additives for the petro-chemical industry since
well before W.W.II, the test engine is the BMC A series (Mini etc) since it is
the worst known thing for valve seat recession (VSR).
Of all the multitude of often expensive products now filling our shelves here
some 4 out of the few that submitted samples have been proven efficacious, these
were not the well known household names for general "additive" motor products.
None of the in-line gadgets or added to the fuel tank "catalysts" did anything
at all. This has been well covered in the MVT magazine, data from the FBHVC and
various classic vehicle publications here, so no free adverts from me.
Reference to back issues of the MVT "Windscreen" journal will recount the
serialised input from an MV owner, with I think a Dodge variant of W.W.II
vintage, that has toured Europe now on solely unleaded fuel for some 30,000
miles with no problems apparent.
>That will solve that particular problem.
>
Fitting hardened seats and tipped valves certainly will, but may be largely
unnecessary depending on the specific engine, it is the higher revving OHV
domestic engine of the 60's and 70's that are at grave risk, the A series
suffers VSR with unleaded fuel at 1 thou per 5 mins run at 60 mph equivalent
apparently.
Now, our American chums haven't seen any leaded pump fuel for many years, yet
the list, whilst understandably heavily biased with US subscribers as you'd
imagine, is quite free of VSR hassles, questions and tales of woe it seems. Can
we deduce therefore they are all just pumping the standard stuff into their
trucks and the VSR bogey has been a non-event for MV engines ?
One pace forwards all those US MV owners who have _definitely_ wrecked their
motor on unleaded, lets be hearing from you.
Richard
(Southampton UK)
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