New Member

[henda]

Just want to say Hello,
I'm a new member to the forum. I have just purchased a E Type, never in a million years thought Id be able to own my dream car. Really looking forward to doing a few jobs to it and hopefully getting some good advise from this forum along the way. I have a rather pressing question, the car was my late Uncles car, which he sadly only had for a few months. What nobody seems to know is what petrol it will take, we have found a unopened tin of Classic Valve Master Lead Replacement Additive in his garage. Is there anyway of checking?

[Gfhug]

Hello Henda, welcome to the best place for all things E Type. As for fuel, use Esso Premium unleaded, their 99 octane. Or Shell’s version. No need for lead additive. There is concern in some quarters for the ethanol in modern fuels not being kind to fuel lines and diaphragms. But arguments both way as to whether it does damage or not.

Please add your name and car type to your signature. Click on your user name to do that. That way we will know which version you have and how to better answer questions.

Is it fully roadworthy? Do you expect to work on it soon? Just be careful before charging in to do anything by reading on here or searching for topics that can help. How old are the tyres? Is there any rust (the worst thing to find) and care is needed replacing parts or cleaning off paint, never plan to blast it unless you really know what you’re doing as panels can be distorted.

An MOT is a useful way to get an independent inspection that might show up parts that need replacing to get properly roadworthy.

Why not get yourself down to Angus Moss’ open day in June. Look on the meet and greet section. It’ll be a great way to meet others and learn so much more about owning and driving this wonderful car.

Post a few photos and good luck

Geoff

[henda]

Thanks for that Geoff,

The car is a series 2 4.2 Roadster 1970. It was nut and bolt rebuilt before my Uncle bought it. It must of been a while back as it needs a small amount of TLC. It is ready for the road, however it has a small problem of cutting out after a few miles, if left for a15 minutes it starts again and away you go until it cuts out again. I will get some photos of it, but these are pictures of it in some German series, obviously filmed in the UK. Would love to track down the actual footage.

[henda]

Sorry don't know how to rotate images.

[Gfhug]

We can get around that, but is your actual name? Or is it really Henda?

Geoff

[henda]

Hello, Forgot to mention Im Paul.

[cactusman]

Cutting out when hot may be a dodgy rotor arm...get a genuine red rotor arm from the distributor doctor...

[DWW]

Welcome, also a dodgy coil can contribute to engine cutting out when hot.

[henda]

Thanks for the information, I'm hoping to start looking at it at the weekend. I will replace those a matter of course, cant imagine they will be too costly? Someone mentioned to me that it could be a breather problem with the fuel tank. Any thoughts

[andrewh]

Welcome Paul, as Geoff says you will find a great knowledge base and help on this forum for all things E type.

Cutting out after a while is almost always electrical and probably coil. Maybe overheating due to being either an incorrect fitment, does your car take a Ballasted coil? I think it maybe should? Someone in the Series 2 section will know the answer to that. Or Contact Points or condenser. They are good places to start unless you have electronic ignition fitted.

As for Ethanol in petrol, it definitely does damage to classic cars by introducing water into petrol tanks, fuel lines and carburettors as well as destroying rubber parts and brass fittings and solder. But don't worry , they can all be updated and you can add additives to diminish the effects of ethanol.

[malcolm]

Yes, welcome! Still plenty of E5 around at the moment which is fine - as said, get the higher octane stuff if you can. The engines are very tolerant though. Touting France, I've often had to fill up with really low octane stuff and it's fine. Definitely no lead additive needed; the standard valve seats are fine for unleaded.

[cactusman]

Don't get.too hung up on ethanol. Unless it is left standing for lengthy periods allowing moisture to absorb modern fuels do not cause untold damage. Yes ethanol does degrade old rubber fuel lines but R9 hoses are fine and you should be replacing old fuel lines anyway. The copper pipes are unaffected! Aluminium and aluminium alloys are not significantly affected unless the fuel is old and stale with significant water absorption and even then it happens in weeks not days. Use the car regularly. If you do plan to lay it up for any length of time either drain the fuel out or add an additive (although I suspect many do very little good!)...
Here in the UK E5 is available E5 means up to 5% ethanol...in some areas E5 is still free of ethanol... And don't forget that while it has a lower energy content than octane, the RON of pure ethanol is 108! Brazil has used pure ethanol for years...

[andrewh]

I am not sure how you can down play ethanol. Laying up in the UK is normally 6 months. That’s easily enough to cause modern fuel to do its worst. Most classic owners have only one problem with their cars in Spring and its fuel. Gummed up floats stuck needles and low octane misfiring. It’s awful stuff and dreadful for those not switched onto the issues. Don’t down play it. Ethanol in fuel is cancerous to classic cars.

[Allrand]

40 years ago the government here enforced a 10% ethanol content. It played havoc with carburettors & fuel systems so was discontinued after a few years. We had a Ford Escourt with a Fomoco VV carb, what a disaster!

[liamvanderriel]

This is a good read:

https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/main ... assic-car/

[cactusman]

I speak as a chemist. Ethanol does not attack copper fuel lines or brass. It does not instantly rust steel fuel tanks. It does not immediately attack aluminium....Aluminium lids are used On (cheap) wine bottles that contain very damp ethanol and they do not instantly corrode! Aluminium has a molecule thick layer of aluminium oxide and is actually impervious to most things...only mercury or it's salts will immediately disturb the layer and then it will oxidize in air!

Ethanol will certainly deteriorate old rubber fuel lines with the potentially consequence being ruptured lines and possible fires but R9 lines are designed for fuels with an ethanol content beyond 10% and no rubber fuel line will last indefinitely. I replace my rubber lines every 5 years max.

Ethanol containing fuels are more prone to evaporation in hot fuel lines and this can cause issues in carburated cars that do not have fuel continually pumped to the engine and recirculation back to the tank. It can be an issue with non cross flow engines where the carburettor(s) sit above the exhaust but E type six cylinder engines are cross flow so the carbs are On the cooler side away from the exhaust. I've never had an issue.

Stored for months ethanol containing fuel will absorb water and then corrosion of steel will begin. Left in float chambers for weeks it will leave gum behind once it has evaporated....but non ethanol fuels do the same.
As I clearly said, if you plan to lay your car up for more than a month or two then yes. Drain the fuel or add a stabilizer. However if you use your car regularly and maintain your car appropriately then you are unlikely to run into severe problems related to fuel compositions.

I've run my MG for 33 years and the E for coming up 12 and thus far I have had no issues attributable to the ethanol content of fuels. I use E5 when available but both cars have had E10 when that was all I could get...but neither car stands for more than 3 or 4 weeks without at least being started if not taken for a run...even a new car will probably miss behave if left with half a tank of E5 for six months...

Yes, ethanol containing fuels are different in composition to non ethanol fuels and do have a slightly lower energy content per vol. Burn temperatures are probably higher but are unlikely to cause issues on road cars at usual road speeds although highly tuned (race) engines may run hotter. However in my view and based on my experience small percentage ethanol fuels are not Armageddon, at least not for XK engines (or B series engines for that matter). If we get to E20 or more then things may change. Use your car regularly. That way the fuel won't have the opportunity to get damp and gum things up!!!