Old Gas

[T120]

I very seldom pick up a magazine at a newstand let alone purchase one,however shopping with my wife today and bored I picked up the
February 2015 issue  of  Hemmings Classic Car and bought it.
A couple of articles that caught my interest were - under classic trucks was the Studebaker 2R Series.Also an article, Part II of the restoration
of a 1940 Dodge convertible,(apparently a 3 part series).
There was also an interesting article concerning the purchase of a 1940 Ford coupe in Colorado around 2002 that had been tucked away in a garage untouched for 38 years.The purchaser had to cut down a tree and hire a locksmith to open the garage door to inspect the car.The car had been in the family since new.
Now according to the story,"I took off the inspection cover in the trunk and pulled out the sending unit,and there was about 1/3 of a tank of gas in there.I could see the bottom of the tank and it was clean! That old leaded gas had probably been in there since 1965."
...Interesting,

Edited December 22, 2014 by Ralph D25cpe

[Ulu]

He didn't mention what it smelled like?

 

(Gasoline + oxygen = varnish-like crud. PEEEEYeW!!)

 

It goes stale with time, as does the oil.

 

You can get an idea of how bad an old engine is going to be by how bad the oil smells.

 

Now if that gas smelled like alcohol? Look for a chlorox jug with the real gas in it. 

[T120]

I guess his point was how well the old leaded gas had survived storage for that length of time,no doubt it smelled pretty bad.In the article he said all he had to do was drain the gas replace the fuel line to the pump and that was it.Hard to believe - while leaded gas maybe did last longer in storage, I think 35 years may be a bit of a stretch.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Ralph D25cpe

[Ulu]

I thought modern gas was actually supposed to have more stuff in it to "stabilize"  the chemistry.  

[Plymouthy Adams]

Ulu, on 23 Dec 2014 - 02:53 AM, said:

I thought modern gas was actually supposed to have more stuff in it to "stabilize"  the chemistry.  

you would think at the improvement in fuel that would be so but it is not and alcohol is the worse thing that has been added....read the very label on the fuel pump next time you fill up...not to be stored beyond 30 days...

[Brent B3B]

He didn't mention what it smelled like?

 

(Gasoline + oxygen = varnish-like crud. PEEEEYeW!!)

 

It goes stale with time, as does the oil.

 

You can get an idea of how bad an old engine is going to be by how bad the oil smells.

 

Now if that gas smelled like alcohol? Look for a chlorox jug with the real gas in it. 

that is the one thing i love about this forum, i always learn something. i never knew oil went bad, for some reason i was under the impression it was the additives that broke down and other contaminates from the engine that made the smell. and you change it every so often partially because condensation builds up etc.

i sure will be paying closer attention from now on. thanks 

[Ulu]

Oil gets acids and other crud in it from combustion, and they sit in the engine and eat metal.

Smell some fresh oil, then smell the oil from a junkyard engine. The difference is very obvious.

 

Conventional motor oil should be changed every 6 months regardless of mileage, to control this.

I suppose that's about when the corrosion inhibitors wear out.

 

Synthetic oils last far far longer in this respect. But you better have very tight seals to run synthetic.

 

It's so thin when cold, it leaks easily compared to conventional oil.