do i need a lead substitute?

The main thing to keep in mind is the octane rating during during your vehicles birth year-I have a '65 Shelby mustang and a '64 Honda 305 dream-the octane ratings during those years were:regular 93 premium 99,and super 102-esso and Sunoco had 105 super-I use the highest grade gas I can find and don't use ethanol base.I have found if you do this your vehicle will run like a dream and to date I have not had any valve problems.

 

If it makes you feel better Lucas makes a lead additive sold at Advance Auto parts.

 

I wish I had known this 25 years ago. Would have saved me years of trouble, frustration, and many dollars. I bought a car with a one year only '68 Ford 302 with 10:1 compression. I believed that I need to run a lead substitute and started using Bardahl's Instead of lead. I ran this for 7 years with no problems. I even did a 4,000 mile trip running for hours a 80 MPH. The car always sat for 5-6 months during the winter. With no problems the next spring. Then it sat for almost 10 years. That's when the problems started. It started after all that time, but then it wouldn't stay running. It acted like it was out of gas, and sure enough the float bowls were empty. Changed the fuel canister fuel filter, at the carb, with a see thru one and sure enough there was no fuel flow. Working backwards, I discovered another fuel filter at the gas tank that was full of green stuff. Didn't even know it was there. It was stamped "replace every six months", that was 40 years ago. So I changed the filter and it ran fine, for 20 miles. That rear filter was plugged again with green stuff. Replace and repeat. Pulled the tank and washed out about a pint of this green powder. The tank looked fine. It was galvanized. Washed it out with acetone and the tank looked spotless. New filter, new gas no Instead of Lead. Filter plugged up in about 20 miles. Replace, repeat. All summer long and 10 filters. The next summer nothing changes, so I cleaned out the float bowls, that had a layer of green powder on the floor. Changed the rear filter and it plugged after about 20 miles. Replace, repeat all summer long. This spring I had the carb professionally boiled out and rebuilt. Runs fantastic. I've been running it from a temporary boat tank with no problems.

All I can think of is that the lead substitute had some greenish crap in it and it settled out, and after years of trying, I still can't get this crap out of my tank.

 

GM induction hardens the seat up to 1973 then put harder seats in .

 

I remember a rubber scare also when we changed to unleaded. All the hoses were supposed to deteriorate and leak and burn our cars up