Ethanol

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RioGrandMan

RioGrandMan

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Ok, so I am aware this question will stir the pot but please try your best not to dive down the ethanol is the devil route...

If I wanted to rebuild my motor to run modern ethanol fuel what parts need attention?

I ask ask I found a carb rebuild that states it is compatible with modern fuels, what other parts would be needed?
 
Old as is in 30 years old.

Old Fuel lines.

Old fuel pump.

I had a car that was designed to run on M85 (methanol) I needed a new fuel pump for it.

I contacted the manufacturer and actually talked with engineers who design the replacement parts.

They actually wanted to buy the car due to its age and uniqueness.

They said all replacement parts made, now use alcohol compatable materials.
 
Basically, replace all the rubber in your fuel system- sections of fuel hose (ethanol does not play nice with older rubber hoses), and possibly your mechanical fuel pump, unless it has been replaced recently...
 
The fuel requirements are different as well. (Re-jet the carb and bigger accelerator shot)
I’ve looked into this a bit and would recommend using a fuel injection system. Also for better performance ethanol needs higher compression. So possibly mill the heads.
 
A modern carburetor. Ethanol will eat the pot metal of some older carburetors
 
thanks across the board, and fair difference in fuel types. Im curious to know the answer to both but I only have E-10 at 85 (87 some places) or 90 octane where I am at (Western CO).

any yes this is 30+ years old (1966) but with some modern pieces added along the way to keep her going.

Thanks all!
 
RioGrandMan said:
thanks across the board, and fair difference in fuel types. Im curious to know the answer to both but I only have E-10 at 85 (87 some places) or 90 octane where I am at (Western CO)
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If I understand correctly you just are concerned that your older car will have issues with available gas.

Yes there can be issues

Rebuild the carb.

Replace the fuel pump

The filter

and the rubber parts in the fuel system.

Then drive and be happy.

Now you might have drivability issues due to the alcohol boiling in the system our old cars are setup with.

You can jump through hoops to eliminate the boiling or just use alcohol free gas available at maverick and buckeyes.


Check Pure-gas.org - ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada

for other stations near you.

I have done nothing else to my 67 dart except use alcohol free gas and have no drivability issues anymore.
 
Once you have built the car to run on modern fuel, drive it around and tune it accordingly. Check your timing, read your plugs and pay attention to the old seat of the pants feeling.
 
Geez, this all sounds like an enormous and costly resolution for your desires. I have 3 1970 Darts with small blocks from 318 to 340 with compression from 8.5 to 10.5. I live in WA state and we have no source of legal, readily available fuel that is ethanol free. My understanding of the problem is as follows:

When almost all cars had carbs and vented fuel bowls, gas manufacturers put stabilizers in the fuel to prevent excess fuel evaporation, but once most cars had fuel injection and sealed systems they stopped doing that. Thus the fact that your carb is dry after only sitting for a few days.

Then ethanol was added to gas, which was fine in a sealed system (fuel injection). Ethanol is hydrophilic - it binds to and hold water. Carb systems are vented drawing moisture laden air into the system. Gas evaporates more readily than ethanol. Now in your fuel bowl the sitting gas evaporates first, leaving higher and higher concentrations of ethanol laden with water that attacks things in your carb, and effects tiny fuel passages.

At Carlisle many years ago, I heard Herb McCandless talk about the mess in street carbs that he was finding and he suggested using a product called Carb Defender from Driven. I have done so ever since to treat 10% ethanol gas. First small drive-ability issues with the cars slowly disappeared and the carbs and engines have worked flawlessly ever since. This is true even though the cars are driven sporadically in the 6 month poor weather season and might sit for a month or two.

This sounds more economical as a solution. It doesn't depend on identifying every potential problem material in the system. My latest engine, a 318 in a 70 Dart, has 7000 miles since break-in including a 6000 mile trip around the country buying gas just about everywhere in every circumstance (it was mostly a rural 2 lane blacktop kind of trip) with zero fuel difficulties.
 
str12-340 said:
Thus the fact that your carb is dry after only sitting for a few days
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In my experience the carb is not dry, pump the pedal after a week and there is still gas shooting from the accelerator pump ports.

In my experience the vapors in the fuel system from under hood heat replaced liquid fuel and caused fuel starvation. Non alcohol fuel fixed the issue for me with no other changes.

Just my experience!
 
RioGrandMan said:
Ok, so I am aware this question will stir the pot but please try your best not to dive down the ethanol is the devil route...

If I wanted to rebuild my motor to run modern ethanol fuel what parts need attention?

I ask ask I found a carb rebuild that states it is compatible with modern fuels, what other parts would be needed?
Click to expand...
Well, when I built my 360, in 1999, 87E10 came to town, and for a while, it was all we could get.
I made no changes to my build whatsover, and that combo, minus the cam, is still running today, and still runs just dandy fine.
The carb I installed was and still is, a Holley 750DP, and it was rebuilt in 1977 with a jobber kit.
In about year 2000, I upgraded the Factory 340 fuel pump to something I found in the Mopar Performance catalog, pricy thing it was, and it is still on the car. I installed a new 3/8 steel line that same year, with EFI-rated neoprene jumpers on both ends. Well, last year, 2022, I had to replace the rear jumper due to rot. IDK, that's 22 years, so what do I blame the rot on? I'll tell you; the rearend was dumping oil-vapors on it from the vent, which I promptly relocated.
In addition; I purchased a large metal-canister EFI fuel filter and installed it at the back, in front of the passenger-side wheelhouse and changed the pump to carb line to a one-piece new 3/8ths line, with a tiny neoprene jumper to the dual-feed. All of that is some 23 years old now (minus the one jumper), and the car motors just fine.
The tank was new in 1998, and has never seen anything but 87E10, except one time when I dribbled a few gallons of 91 gas into it for testing purposes.
In other words, I got nothing bad to say about 87E10, and it goes 93mph in the Eighth in my combo.
And no, I have no percolation issues either, but, I admit, my many-decades old 750 is sitting on an Airgap, which sits on a SBM running at 205* minimum coolant temp, and she gets her air from on top of the hood.. And, you know, it hardly ever gets up past 37*C up here, lessee, I think that is 99*F..... so, maybe, I'm just blessed, lol.
 
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