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Carpet / Fuel

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PeterB

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I have 2 questions about my BJ7. I have not put my interior in yet. I notice everyone talking about "tar paper" under the carpet. What are they talking about? The second is I live in Maine and we just got Ethanol gas. I am wondering what problems that leads to and if I should use 100 low lead from a local airport instead.

Thanks,
Pete
 
PeterB said:
I have 2 questions about my BJ7. I have not put my interior in yet. I notice everyone talking about "tar paper" under the carpet. What are they talking about? Hi Pete,
Tar Paper is the felt underlayment used to install roofing It comes in different weights the most popular being 15 & 30 LB.

The second is I live in Maine and we just got Ethanol gas. I am wondering what problems that leads to.

For cars that are not driven hard we have seen little effect on the Healey engine. However, removing the lead in gasoline can cause Valve or valve seat recession , but as noted this is not a chronic problem with our cars.


Should I use 100 low lead from a local airport instead.--This has been done in the past but it was mixed with the unleaded to produce an octane rating of 98. This practice was found to be somewhat of a nuisance and was phased out over time.---Keoke
I think you and your car will jointly become use to the new fuel.---Keoke

Thanks,
Pete
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Ethanol is corrosive and can have adverse effects on rubber components, esp. older rubber. Keep an eye on the bottom of your carburetors and other quasi-rubber components. If your carb diaphragms are more than 10 years old you might buy some carb rebuild kits to keep on hand.

I live in California, which has had many concoctions put in its gas. I put a new gas tank in my BJ8 a long time ago--10 years, maybe more--and sloshed it with Hirsh's tank sealant. My carb jets and diaphragms were replaced quite a while ago, and I've had no fuel system problems whatsoever (well, except for the occasional finicky fuel pump). I think the newer, alcohol-resistant rubber carburetor components are colored, usually green or blue, but I'm not positive.

100LL avgas still has a lot of lead in it, 2g/gal of TEL I believe (as opposed to 3g/gal in the older formulation). Treat is as the toxic chemical it is, but mixed with pump gas your Healey should run just fine on it (however, I believe it has a lower Reid Vapor Pressure than autogas and it might make the car harder to start when cold). Last I checked it's $4-5/gal. Some FBOs won't pump it into cars or cans, because it's exempt from road taxes and the revenuers could get them.

Aside from the above, your car should be OK on pump gas, lowest octane that keeps the engine from pinging. I always run 'high test' on principle.
 
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