Et tu, Studebakerus?

[plee4139]

Well, you can just imagine my surprise when I went to start my glorious Sky Hawk and, much to my chagrin, I got lots of heat and light, signifying nothing. Triple AAA man diagnosed the problem as a carb gasket, probably caused, at least in part, by the substance we refer to as "Gas," but is actually at least ten per cent "Ripple" or some other bilious substance forced upon us. When our cars were built oh so many years ago, the alcohol was for the driver, not the car. O lord, why hath thou forsaken us? Car's in the shop now, so there'll be no cruisin' the back roads of the Hamptons, no headin' for adventure either, no giving all the leased Bimmers, MeBes, and Back Porches, the maloglio, or "Stinkeye" as it's more commonly called, either. But, as Ah-nold so memorably said, "I'll be bock!"

[Lark Hunter]

I haven't noticed many problems with modern gasoline if I'm using it up fairly quickly. Where my problems occur is when it sits around for awhile... my Lark sat for a little under a year, and the fuel broke down into a dark yellow-brown, gummy substance that was particularly corrosive. Have dealt with rancid gasoline issues aplenty, but it usually takes far longer than what I'm seeing now.

Back when I lived in Montana, the premium unleaded was usually ethanol free. Last time I visited, all three grades were blessed with corn piss, but some stations had a singular pump where you could obtain ethanol free for about another 40 cents a gallon more than the tainted premium. Where I'm at now, ethanol free is unavailable unless you drive about 400 miles north.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I bought a new fuel tank for my '64 Hawk recently & have had a local radiator shop put a drain plug in the bottom center. Then, when my car sits for the winter, I will be able to drain the gas until spring. Up to now I have used a siphon, but that doesn't get it all. Not everyone has a traditional radiator shop nearby, though. It may be possible to add a drain plug to a used tank. Some have probably done it.
-Dwight

[PackardV8]

Been mentioned here many times, but problems with ethanol gas seem to be directly related to the humidity of the area. East of the Mississippi and especially coastal and southeast seem to have it the worst.

Out in the dry intermountain west, we have fewer problems with pump gas. I own and maintain a dozen internal combustion engines of all sizes. In the thirty years or so we've had 10% ethanol, I've had very few problems directly traceable to it.

jack vines

[Lark Hunter]

My problems here haven't been humidity related (5% relative humidity right now), but the often high temperatures speed its degradation... 103 degrees on that front at the moment. Do remember seeing the water and phase separation in MT from time to time.

[rockne10]

I've avoided most issues with intoxicated gas by adding a few ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil to each fill-up.