Tudz

G'day all,

I'm shipping my '71 tomorrow. I should have thought about this earlier, but would it be worth putting in some fuel additives before it goes? It could be gone anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, don't want any damage done to the brand new Holley double pumper on it.

Should I put anything in it, if so, what products can people recommend, preferably that I can just pick up from autozone, NAPA, etc so I can put it in tomorrow morning! If I have to wait to have it shipped to me, it'll be too late!

Cheers!

Mike Ward

Mine sits for 6 months every year with no stabilizer and no problems.

Una4dbl55

My cars also, have for many years each winter

Tudz

Hmm, that's interesting. When I bought the car, the old carb (which was only 6 years old) was destroyed (massive flaking in the fuel bowls and metering blocks to the point where the carb shop said to just toss it) and a friend suggested it was probably because of ethanol and to use additives if it's sitting for any length of time. So other people haven't had problems with fuel systems gumming up or corroding?

C3 Stroker

Same here....in fact, 2 cars, the Vette and the GTA Trans Am. I just fill the tanks and trickle charge the batteries.

Tudz

So you guys are just putting in regular pump gas that I assume has some percentage of ethanol in it and letting it sit for several months? Interesting, I've had 2 different people tell me that's bad for carbs and fuel systems in general.

Mike Ward

E10 in my toys for the last 20 years, the sky is yet to fall.

Tudz

That's interesting! I've had a few people tell me if you leave fuel with ethanol in a carby the sky will fall

I wonder what went wrong with the old carby then, because that was only 6 years old and it was corroded to all hell.

cv67

If it had an aluminum body thats probably why
Mine sits too long also no stabilizer. No problems really

I did notice the gaskets dry out quicker thats about it. Save your money and ship it.

REELAV8R

You live in a humid environment? Water mixes with ethanol, separates out settles to bottom of whatever container it's in and can cause corrosion.

Tudz

It previously lived in Connecticut, not sure how humid it is there, it's currently in PA, it'll go to NJ tomorrow and then ship to Australia (south east). It's not too humid where it's going, no idea what sort of humidity it'll see on the trip though!

Mike Ward

Is the sky falling?

REELAV8R

when it rains?

Easy Mike

Sitting for six years without being driven will certainly gum up a carburetor.

AirborneSilva

So what would be the problem in a little insurance, buy a bottle of fuel stabilizer and not worry about it... Problem solved

Tudz

It didn't sit for 6 years, it was 6 years old. The previous owner put in a crate motor 6 years ago along with a new Holley 850 carb and as far as I'm aware, it wasn't driven heaps, but it was driven regularly other than through the winters. I bought the car just recently and one of the first things I had to replace was the carb because it was eaten away. Carb shop said it was one of the worst he's seen.

Anyway! Car's gone now. Hopefully it gets back home safely.

REELAV8R

One thing for sure is that gasoline does not corrode carbs. Ethanol & water do. One makes it much easier for the other to be present, both are corrosive to aluminum.

leadfoot4

Although the majority of my family's car are newer, supposedly designed to run on ethanol-laced fuel, I'm still not happy about it. Lucas Oil makes a fuel additive that supposed to "neutralize" the ill effects of the ethanol, and I've been using it for the last 2-3 years. I consider it cheap insurance.....just like the 6-8oz. of Sta-Bil I put in the cars before winter storage.

Una4dbl55

Are we planning a road trip?

Tudz

Yeah, I thought that was the purpose of the additives, reduce how readily it takes up moisture or simply to act as a corrosion inhibitor.
I'm from Australia, over in the USA for work for a while, bought the vette while I was here, shipping it back now, hopefully it'll arrive back in Australia around about the time I get back there