I'm going to run E85 in my 60 chev PU with a Q-Jet. I already have the jets to swap in etc. My question is, how do I stop or at least slow down the evaporation? I know, someone is going to say "do a search for ....(insert word here) and post links. That is welcome too. Thanks, Robert
If the fuel system is fairly well sealed, I don't think you'll have an issue. Use a vented fuel cap that maintains a few psi pressure and it should be fine. You shouldn't see any evaporation through the carb. Are you aware of all the seal and corrosion issues you'll face running E85 in a conventional fuel system? You'll need alchohol freindly seals, fuel pump, needle and seat, fuel lines, etc.
Yeah, Its a gamble. When I put the fuel system in last year, I had the tank resealed with a supposed alc-resistant coating. Went with the special "green coated" steel line from NAPA and a new carb kit that will tolerate the 10% ethanol blends in premium gas. Not my daily driver so I figured it would be a fun experiment "Evap shouldn't be an issue as long as you have a closed system." That's the question. The old system is "vented". Does it need to be converted to a "non-vented" system and if so...Whats the steps required.
Get an expansion tank and charcoal canister from a 70s smog era bucket, and plumb them in. You'll need a sealed cap too. Don't worry, that gear doesn't take any horsepower to run. Not like an air pump
All these people worried about alcohol resistant seals and seats better stop buying gas right now. The shit at the pump has around 10% Ethanol in it, has for years...
he didnt say it didnt evaporate... he said it wont escape. it needs to be open to the air completely in order to evaporate and escape... trust me, any normal fuel system on a car is not going to allow for that
+1 That is what I meant by closed system. If you had a tank w/o a cap you might have problems, but only after a long period of time. If you had some sort of open bucket, then yes - you could have issues. I used to work w/ 99% alchohol and while it evaporated rapidly, in any sort of semi-closed space it lasted fine. I wouldn't worry about it.
Evaporation in the tank shouldn't be an issue, as has been explained by others. Have you upped the engine's compression to 12.5 to 1 or more to compensate for the lower energy output of E85? Ralph
In the process. Current motor is 9:1 305ci SBC. Going to try something different this time. I have anouther 305 that I am going to put a 327 crank (3.25 stroke instead of 3.48 stock) and 6" rods in. (instead of 5.7 stock) Should be around 12:1 when done. We'll see if my machinist says I'm nutz and it wont work.
Pop-up pistons? I can kinda remember a problem of alcohol escaping in my younger days. I'd open a bottle, and when I went to open it again the next day, it would be all gone. Never knew where it went.
I was going to make a stroker 383 for E-85 but I couldn't get any real concrete answers as to how long it would be availible or if it were just a fad. I didn't want to end up with a super high compression motor in my regularly driven Cadillac and then have the E-85 supply dry up. I have make a round trip of about 50 miles to get to a station that sells e-85 anyway...the benefits and cool factor just slowly disappeared for me.
Same here. Going to be conservative with cam, head and intake choice so it won't be a total wash. Everythings a crapshoot now. I have a friend that is converting his diesel truck to run on used vegetable oil that he can get for free. Trick is, he needs to spend $4k on the conversion and its not like just pulling up to the pump. There are too many gas engines today for there not to be alternative fuels to power them. Hydrogen fuelcells and total electric cars are not going to take over overnight. There will be a 10 to 20 year phase out to these if thats the direction everyone goes. Figure id learn on my old truck instead of my new car.
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