The Ford Barn

ssrcobra · 07-10-2016, 09:27 AM

What type of gas should I be putting in the car.

I have leaded available in my town but now sure what octane it is.
If it doesn't matter and I use unleaded what octane should I use?
Can I add STA-BIL to it?

thanks for your input

mhsprecher · 07-10-2016, 09:57 AM

The cheapest gas you can find. Lead was initially added to allow for higher compression engines and to reduce spark knock. Personally, I would not use leaded gasoline as it is not necessary. Ethanol-free gas is another question. If your car has a cork float in the gas gauge, the ethanol gas will dissolve the shellac on the cork, so your gas gauge will eventually not work. If you can find ethanol-free gas easily and it is not too costly, you might go with that, but otherwise the gas you will buy at any pump will work. FWIW, Henry Ford was a big proponent of ethanol because he hated the oil companies and wanted farmers to be the suppliers of the fuel for cars.

If you do not use the car often Sta-Bil is good to add. Some people swear by the blue marine variety, but I have no idea which is the best. Some people use Sea Foam. You will get a variety of opinions here, but many feel that the gas with ethanol does not keep as long as the stuff without. I have not seen anything empirical with regard to that. There are some petroleum engineers on this forum and they may weigh in with more informed advice than I can provide. In any event, you don't want the gas in your tank to go bad, but the key to that is driving it often! :-)

JSeery · 07-10-2016, 10:40 AM

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Octane rating is not an issue, these are low compression engines. Ethanol free, if you can get it, is a good way to go.

07-10-2016, 09:27 AM	#1
ssrcobra Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 73	Gas for Orig. 1935 What type of gas should I be putting in the car. I have leaded available in my town but now sure what octane it is. If it doesn't matter and I use unleaded what octane should I use? Can I add STA-BIL to it? thanks for your input

07-10-2016, 09:57 AM	#2
mhsprecher Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Takoma Park, MD Posts: 2,817	Re: Gas for Orig. 1935 The cheapest gas you can find. Lead was initially added to allow for higher compression engines and to reduce spark knock. Personally, I would not use leaded gasoline as it is not necessary. Ethanol-free gas is another question. If your car has a cork float in the gas gauge, the ethanol gas will dissolve the shellac on the cork, so your gas gauge will eventually not work. If you can find ethanol-free gas easily and it is not too costly, you might go with that, but otherwise the gas you will buy at any pump will work. FWIW, Henry Ford was a big proponent of ethanol because he hated the oil companies and wanted farmers to be the suppliers of the fuel for cars. If you do not use the car often Sta-Bil is good to add. Some people swear by the blue marine variety, but I have no idea which is the best. Some people use Sea Foam. You will get a variety of opinions here, but many feel that the gas with ethanol does not keep as long as the stuff without. I have not seen anything empirical with regard to that. There are some petroleum engineers on this forum and they may weigh in with more informed advice than I can provide. In any event, you don't want the gas in your tank to go bad, but the key to that is driving it often! :-)

07-10-2016, 10:40 AM	#3
JSeery Member Emeritus Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Wichita KS Posts: 16,132	Re: Gas for Orig. 1935 Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Octane rating is not an issue, these are low compression engines. Ethanol free, if you can get it, is a good way to go.