Remember When

Quote: rxwine

Filled my car up yesterday, then for some reason wondered if any of the pumps say “unleaded gas”. Do they even sell “leaded” gas?

I think they used to have a placard that said "contains lead" but unleaded was more for the consumer. NASCAR still used leaded for years, IIRC until the 2000s.

Quote: gamerfreak

No, but you can buy it as an additive. I think it’s for certain types of motorcycles.

TEL? That is wicked stuff and I would be surprised if you can buy it as a consumer. Most additives were substitutes, not the real thing.

Quote: AZDuffman

TEL? That is wicked stuff and I would be surprised if you can buy it as a consumer. Most additives were substitutes, not the real thing.

Yep you’re right, I’ve never had a need for it and didn’t realize it was actually lead substitute.

Then where do you buy leaded gas for old muscle cars?

Quote: zippyboy

Then where do you buy leaded gas for old muscle cars?

You don't. You buy lead substitutes. Old cars need lead to lubricate the valve seats. But even by the 1960s not so much. If you rebuild you just put in hardened seats or you use the additives.

The other reason for lead was octane. Buy premium gas and octane boosters.

Most gas in America has ten percent ethanol added.

You can still buy gas without ethanol if you wish, but it costs more and is not as readily available.

see: https://www.pure-gas.org/

Quote: missedhervee

Most gas in America has ten percent ethanol added.

You can still buy gas without ethanol if you wish, but it costs more and is not as readily available.

see: https://www.pure-gas.org/

Marinas usually have E0 as it ethanol does not do well near water. It cannot even go in a pipeline. Back in the 80s there were problems with it in many cars, today not so much.

In the mid-90s I bought a 1976 three quarter ton Chevy Cargo Van that had 24,000 miles on it at an auction for $300. It looked like it was brand new. I drove that thing for years and it took leaded gas. I would buy a pint of additive and every time I fill the tank I would put in 2 cap fulls and that was it. No big deal, you get used to it.

My company did lots of work in small remote communities. The gas stations there were not corporate stations and often only had 1 pump for gasoline. They didn't convert the single pump to non leaded gas for years. During that time as I added new trucks to my fleet the first thing I did was take the bung out of the catalytic converter and drive around for a few days. I would then put the bung back in and the leaded gas didn't clog the converter up as beads had all fallen out.

Quote: Evenbob

In the mid-90s I bought a 1976 three quarter ton Chevy Cargo Van that had 24,000 miles on it at an auction for $300. It looked like it was brand new. I drove that thing for years and it took leaded gas. I would buy a pint of additive and every time I fill the tank I would put in 2 cap fulls and that was it. No big deal, you get used to it.

By 1976 you probably did not need any additive as it would have had the same engine as cars that used unleaded by 1976. I forget when trucks had to switch over.

I probably have said it a few times here, but we had a 1976 LTD wagon with the 400 V-8 in it. My dad "let" me pump the gas. We had a little adapter for leaded pumps. We only ran unleaded in it if we had to use full service say on the Turnpike or in a vacation area and that was all they had. He also had a 47 Caddy and 63 Falcon that never needed a drop of additive.