If a 6" diameter wet spot of questionable gas, on dry cement, away from everything, is going to cause a Darwin Award, that award was coming sooner or later anyway. Do some research on a carbon canister and how to connect one so it functions correctly. Modern cars have used carbon canisters since before the mid 1990s.
Hello, Our experience with an old gas tank sitting around in a Model A coupe for who knows how long in this lady’s backyard. When we used to walk by this neighborhood street, we used to see a black Model A sitting in the driveway. But then the following year(s) we never saw it again. Then one day, my brother says we are going to buy a Model A coupe and it was in our neighborhood. When he drove over to the old house, there was a lump sitting under a tarp in the backyard. It was the same one we had seen earlier in the same house. So, it had been moved to the side of the house and put under a tarp. Now, my brother wanted to buy it, so he made the lady an offer. She accepted if only we would take it that day. So, we pulled out a thick dock line rope we bought at a surplus store and towed the Model A home. I was the steering guy in the Model A. We did not know if the motor would run. It was 6 blocks to our house and being towed was an experience for me as a young kid. My brother wanted to start the motor, but he drained the gas tank first. Gooey stuff came out and then we put in some new gas. Cleaned up the motor and got new plugs. At first it sputtered, then as more new gas flowed, the motor caught and ran well. The old gas looked terrible in a bucket and we were glad we did not try to start the car with the old stuff. Jnaki We had no idea that gas could look like that and did not know how long it had been under wraps in the side yard. But, now, my brother was happy as he could sell the motor and transmission as a “running combination,” to any restorer. The old gas in the original tank probably would not have started that motor. My brother was anxious and antsy for a fast car, so he sold the running Model A and his 51 Oldsmobile sedan to friend(s) and in rolled a new 58 Impala in our driveway. Then we were locked into our adventures with the 58 Impala for the next two to three years of racing. Then in late 1959, he wanted to build a dual purpose street/strip hot rod with a Chevy motor. So, since we let the Model A go, it was time to find an appropriate stock body car to use. In the same neighborhood he found another old car under wraps, again. It was a 1940 Willys Coupe, with a stick shift trans and a stock motor. Running was not in the picture, but ever consistent older brother was always looking ahead and wanted to get the stock 4 cylinder motor running. We did the same procedure, starting with draining the stock gas tank. It was the same story and luckily, we did not try to use the leftover gas in this old non running Willys Coupe. We did the exact same thing as before and in no time, the clean tank and lines, along with new gas, new spark plugs and wires was all it took to get it running. Now, it could be taken out and sold as “a running motor.” Note: For anything that takes place on any old car, a clean source of gas is mandatory. Yes, we have seen car repair shows where someone takes and old car sitting for years and it starts right up with a squirt of starter fluid. But in the long run, a clean source is the lifeline to a motor. We would not eat garbage as a source on intake for growth, so why would we make an old motor try and start with old gas? Minimal cost to drain and clean the tank and if necessary, all new gas lines to lead clean gas to the motor. Now, if the motor does not start, it is not the gas intake problem…YRMV
A friend of mine races circle tracks and told me that one Saturday night he got disqualified because of his gas he was using. The problem was when they tested his gas after a race the octane level was to high! He told me he had used gas he had left from the previous season of racing. Does the octane rating go higher the longer it sits? Just wondering if that is what happened. Jimbo
I pretty much daily drive my Willys, (carb, vented gas cap). If that thing sits 4 days, especially in the summer, the bowl vent allows all the gas in the carb to evaporate. I gotta either crank a lot, or get out, find some gas, pour in a dribble, crank again. My next project will have a priming pump to help with this on start up, because I know its going to sit more. Also I park the car in the house garage, and after I get home, it stinks out there, I know I waste a lot of fuel with evaporation. I'd like to come up with a simple, old school way to vent the tank like a modern car has, where it's open while running, but sealed when not, some kinda solenoid valve business in the vent (No risk of building a bomb there is there?!), anyone got a plan?
I have a 5 gallon jug of some older 93 octane, been using it in the snowblower. I have to give it the sniff test... if it passes I'll throw it in the Ford. Maybe do 1/2 and get some fresh gas to top it off.
I totally drain all my small engines over winter and run the engines until they sputter and die. They have always started back up in the spring. Storing gas in my sealed gas cans is an area I’ve never had a problem.
It was probably a specific gravity test, I doubt if any race track would have the test engine to measure octane rating of fuels. And yes, as the light ends evaporate from the fuel, it's specific gravity will increase. That's also why the stuff gets "thicker" as it ages. And the remaining stuff also starts to polymerize, hardening up as well.
Here in the humid South, ethanol gas absorbs water pretty fast if it’s not in a closed system. I had a 1955 IH tractor, if I let it sit two weeks I had to drain the carb or it wouldn’t crank. Started using pure ethanol free gas, it could sit two or three months and never have a problem cranking it. I use it in all my carb engines now if they may sit a while between uses. Areas of the country that don’t have high humidity levels like we do might be different.
My O/T Olds sat for 10 years. Full tank when parked, about 3/4 when I got it. Although I had to do a little work it lit right off and ran decent enough to shake down over the course of the first summer. Only added 2-3 gallons of fresh gas.
My brother in law gave me an OT Buick from the 70's that had sat for 8 years. Put a new battery in it, and it fired right up after about a minute of trying. Ran just fine on that old gas.
The Jalopy Journal
