will the new E85 ethanol fuel work in a carbed 3rd gen fbody?

a local fuel station just installed a new pump with the E85 ethanol at $2.38 pr gal.

will it harm the carb of fuelsystem?

 

Do a search. This fuel is not new. Only new to your area. Theres been many a debate on this topic however i will say that your car was not designed to run on it.

 

Yes, it was designed to run on it.

The OEMs changed over to ethanol-compatible materials in the late 70's. There isn't anything about the control systems that would cause trouble with feedback.

The most typical problem is the alcohol absorbs moisture. Generally, water isn't a good fuel.

The next most typical problem is the alcohol cleans out the gasoline residue crud that has accumulated in the fuel system. Tends to plug fuel filters for the first tank or few.

 

what I was really conserned with is would I need to rebuild the carb and replace all rubber hoses with a synthetic type hose?
and can it damage the fuel tank?

my car doesn't have any smog equipment on it, " I bought it that way"! so im not worried if it will clog up any cats . as for fuel filters I run 2 one before the mechanical pump and one before the carb. they are cheep and I dont mind replacing filters.

 

five7, read what engine is in his car.


not sure if that affects it, just thought i'd make sure it was known....

 

I tried about 2 gallons of the E85 in my car , and it didnt hurt the car but I did notice a drop in fuel milage, so I dont think I'm going to use it that much after all.

 

Can we assume none of the non-metal parts of the '69 engine's fuel system (if any of those parts are from the '69 engine) are of '69 vintage? If so, no sweat.

It takes more volume of alcohol to produce the same amount of power gasoline will make. So, fuel economy can be expected to drop. However, 2 gallons is hardly a statistically valid test. 2 tankfuls under carefully controlled conditions might be a little easier to believe.

 

yes all components on the engine are the original 1969.

true on the fuel. I still need to get a few buggs worked out and there are also a few mods I plan on then I will try a couple of full tanks of the E85 and record my milage and let you know .

 

I thought the only thing that would matter would be valve seats, being made for leaded fuel, and being too weak for non-leaded fuel, let alone E85.... (which is metallic, so...?)
but hoses and gaskets, are those still 1969....

either way it worked for ya, so whatever.

 

no the hoses and gaskets are new.

the heads are original to the engine but I don't know if any head work has been done on them, I only replaced the valve seals and all gaskets before installing the engine back in the car.

the block has been bored .030 over. and I would say it has a stock cam in it, it runs to smooth to be anything radical.

 

I'm talking about fuel pump diaphragm, carb needle & seat, float (if not brass), accelerator pump diaphragm, etc. The "rubber" stuff.

If it's not the '69 fuel pump, and the carb has been rebuilt (if it's the '69 carb), then you aren't going to have a problem with the alcohol in the fuel.

The unleaded part applies to the exhaust valve seats whether it's regular unleaded, oxygenated unleaded, or E85. In other words, if you're not using leaded avgas, the exhaust seats are in jeapordy (although I've run several pre-'74 engines on unleaded without any problems).