Classic Car E10 corrosion - additive to prevent?

[Oldswagon]

I have some vintage cars that use carburetors and see somewhat infrequent use (nice weather only and stored 6 months of the year). I used to be able to get 100% premium gasoline but now it seems the Ontario Government has forced all gas in the province to contain ethanol.

This video shows the effects of corrosion that can occur with ethanol in a carburetor. Obviously I want to avoid this.



This guy is suggesting the driven additive to help prevent this corrosion. What does the BITOG community recommend? I don't think I can get that Driven additive here so I am looking for alternatives. One of my cars has an old restored Q-Jet that I'd hate to see corrode after the time and money I put into it. I do have some newer performance Holley carbs, which aren't as irreplaceable but I still would like them to last. One of my Holley's is 10 years old and shows no signs of corrosion inside running pure gasoline through it.

Any advice? What are other classic car owners using?

 

[GSCJR]

I use Stabil fuel stabilizer.

 

[marc1]

I have owned a lot of classic cars (see signature) and have been using ethanol enhanced gasoline for well over 30 years, pretty much since it has been available. I have never had any serious issues and certainly my Q-Jets have never looked like that thumbnail. The only thing I have ever done is convert all the rubber gasoline hoses to modern formulations and, recently, the Q-Jet accelerator pump has been available in an ethanol resistant version so I put the better pump in. I have had long storage Q-Jet pumps shrivel a bit if they aren't the new version but that was very rare. The most serious effect from ethanol gas that I noted was that it is hard on the exhaust system (mufflers, tail pipes etc.) due to the extra water from the combustion. I do not use any additives in my fuel system.

 

[wings&wheels]

1974 Triumph TR6, as stock as possible.

Rear carb back in '14 or so after ~12 years of driving on e10 w/ Redline Lead substitute and Marvel:

Same carb ~6 years later (had to pull for a stuck float valve, hose debris), after using Marine Sta-bil, the Redline and Marvel.

Now one user isn't a valid sample, but based solely on my experience and given the difference I'd say that 1) ethanol negatively affects certain cars and 2) Marine Sta-bil may provide a benefit. Please note that I do not use Marvel as an elixir to fix all ills and increase mileage, I use it solely to prevent corrosion in fuel tank ullage space; sloshing around, it should leave an oily film on the exposed surfaces of the tank. Corrosion at the 'water line' of the bare steel tanks is a problem w/ TR6's for some reason.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Check Project Farm. Unfortunately I could not find the version where they did head to head tests.

 

[barryh]

I've been using E10 in a 1979 BMW motorcycle for a few years now and so far I've seen no evidence of anything deteriorating inside the carburettors.

If you leave stale fuel in them for 6 months then I'm sure some deterioration will take place but it's the not using them that causes the problem and that always been true. The worst you can say about E10 is that it has a shorter storage life but I'm seeing no problems when a vehicle is used regularly. No fuel additives used other than a 1:640 dose of TCW3 2 stroke oil.

 

[Nessism1]

I use Marine Stabil. It works great. No deterioration of the gas that I've seen. With straight E10, I haven't had problems with interior corrosion, but then my area is low humidity. The pilot jets in my motorcycle plug up on E10 w/o Stabil after 6 months or so.

 

[Oldswagon]

Thank you all for the replies. I have used the marine stabilizer in my outdoor power equipment. Good to see it works well with automotive carbs.

What is the consensus on the Stabil 360?

 

[DriveHard]

I use Stabil 360 in my boat...never had a problem, but I can't say I did before either.

 

[ryanschillinger]

I use stabil marine 360 in all our vehicles and other gas powered equipment. 1 ounce per 10 gallons.

 

[CharBaby]

I too have been using E10 fuel since it's been available in the US and my area. Not only do I use E10 in the Firebird in my signature(which I bought new) but also in my OPE's. I have never had fuel related issues with anything...EVER! NOTHING!
I do use a fuel stabilizer in my Bird and OPE so this may be why?
However, I do talk to folks that say that they have had issues with E10 fuel.