Re: todays gas


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Posted by D Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 13:20:05 :

In Reply to: Re: todays gas posted by Randy on Long Island [71.190.210.91] on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 at 12:31:10 :

I don't remember that, though my folks mentioned "blue Conoco", but I remember when you could buy "white gas" at the pump in a few stations. I do think the lead was added strictly as an octane booster (Oldsmobile and Kettering led the way) and any lubricating effect on the valves was an accidental benefit that the engineers didn't expect and didn't rely on. The first gasoline was "natural" or "casinghead" gasoline, which was just a volatile fraction of what came out of the ground naturally. In the really early days, when kerosene and lube oil were all that anybody wanted, the refineries just dumped the gasoline into the river.

Engines and fuel have evolved together, so now with smog rules and fuel economy rules, there's a pretty tight specification on what constitutes gasoline, but especially prior to WWII, when our flatheads were designed, about anything that would evaporate and could be ignited with a spark might be sold as "gasoline". I have to believe the modern stuff, crappy as it is in many ways, is plenty good enough for an old flathead. The main problem seems to be storage life. On the other hand, I never see the problems with varnish and lead deposits in a carburetor nowadays like we used to get. Also you never get a tank of "bad gas" from a gas station any more.



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