I had an Impala with the 300hp 327 in 1978 and I recall leaded being a few cents cheaper than unleaded. I dont recall if there were options on octane for the leaded because mine used premium. I do recall premium leaded being the only grade offered towards 1980. I only had it for a few years and it was getting expensive to keep fuel in it when it sold.
What was leaded - unleaded transition like? Octane?
- Thread starter TmanP
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As has been stated leaded was 89 octane and unleaded was 87.
Unleaded was several cents more a gallon, and many balked at that.
Some people knocked the restrictor plate put of the fuel neck of the newer cars with cats and burned leaded anyway, since the nozzles on each pump were sized differently.
I remember seeing someone with an adapter that they slid over the end of the regular pump nozzle to fill their unleaded fuel Buick.
I still remember the smell of sulfur from my parents 1975 Pontiac Lemans because my Dad always bought the cheapest gas available, and that generally at that time was ARCO, which marketed their unleaded as "Arco Clear." Their fuel was clearly laden with sulfur however.
Unleaded was several cents more a gallon, and many balked at that.
Some people knocked the restrictor plate put of the fuel neck of the newer cars with cats and burned leaded anyway, since the nozzles on each pump were sized differently.
I remember seeing someone with an adapter that they slid over the end of the regular pump nozzle to fill their unleaded fuel Buick.
I still remember the smell of sulfur from my parents 1975 Pontiac Lemans because my Dad always bought the cheapest gas available, and that generally at that time was ARCO, which marketed their unleaded as "Arco Clear." Their fuel was clearly laden with sulfur however.
That may not be so. Our two stroke racing engines suffered a rash of connecting rod roller bearing failures when we switched to unleaded. An issue that continues to this day. It is believed that TEL can produce a thin coating on bearings and cylinders.
Racers in motocross and karting forums have noted that leaded fuels like VP C12 or other high-octane leaded race fuels seem to extend engine life compared to unleaded alternatives, particularly in high-revving applications. Some attribute this to better lubricity or reduced detonation, or even combustion quality when detonation is not present. Remember, 2 strokes are utterly intolerant of detonation.
The 2 stroke ultralight aircraft guys note the same thing. With 100LL and 32 to 1 resulting in near zero problems and long engine life.
The issue is so pronounced, a switch to ceramic bearings is often warranted.
Anyway, leaded fuel was 89 octane in Connecticut, and was markedly better than any of the unleaded alternatives.
Perhaps under heat and pressure in a bearing, but even then I bet it’s from the products of combustion. How much unburned fuel is reaching those bearings? I’m skeptical to believe that would happen at all in a fuel pump.
That's correct. Older cars pinged on the unleaded and ran poorly. Amoco always had what was called "white" gas which was unleaded premium. Camping stoves had to use "white" gas as it was stated in the manual. Those older cars that were built for leaded gas weren't long for the road on unleaded regular. I'm not an EPA lover but that was a good move for the environment. Rain would wash particles of lead off the roads into the streams. Not good.
When I bought my brand new '75 Rabbit I had to start using unleaded because of the catalytic converter. You just cursed the government and went on. Then there were those new fangled airbags..
Now we cannot imagine using leaded gas or not having airbags, not to mention better bumpers.
Now we cannot imagine using leaded gas or not having airbags, not to mention better bumpers.
Sounds more like research octane number (RON). Antiknock Index (AKI) became the US standard in the 70s and is the average of research and motor octane numbers.
Most stations I remember stopped selling premium leaded. Mostly what I remember was maybe regular leaded (86 or 87), regular unleaded (89), and premium unleaded (92). There are some photos of older pumps. This photo looks like museum pieces.
The exception in my area was Union 76 which heavily advertised premium leaded. The sticker on the pump in this ad says 92, which looks like it’s (R+M)/2.
I heard about certain types of engines where the valve seats were cushioned by lead from the fuel.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2018/12/29/hardened-valve-seats-solved-leaded-gas-issues/
Of course lead had its drawbacks. Look at the Mobil AV-1 debacle, although that wasn’t with car engines.
The strange thing is that some think unleaded will destroy really old cars like Model As. But those came from a time before leaded fuel. They’d do fine with leaded though.
Most stations I remember stopped selling premium leaded. Mostly what I remember was maybe regular leaded (86 or 87), regular unleaded (89), and premium unleaded (92). There are some photos of older pumps. This photo looks like museum pieces.
The exception in my area was Union 76 which heavily advertised premium leaded. The sticker on the pump in this ad says 92, which looks like it’s (R+M)/2.
Dont forget the Sunoco custom blending pump.....The super high test was Sunoco 260....It was around 98 to 100 octane...I would always fill up before going to the drag strip in my 1968 Dodge Charger r/t....
Camp stoves and lanterns could use a wide variety of fuels. Something like Coleman camp fuel is considered white gas. But it’s generally going to be more stable than pump fuel and would be totally unsuitable as a motor fuel. This article claims maybe an octane rating of 50 to 55.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleman_fuel
Unleaded pump fuel could theoretically be used as a camp fuel, but it probably would suffer from deposits and poor burning.
Back in 1932 Union 76 was named because their gasoline was 76 octane, which was the highest level of octane for any gasoline at the time. Previously, the highest octane was 66, which was not how Phillips 66 was named. Other stories are told, but it was named after Route 66.
There’s dispute over the origin of the 76 name. As far as I can tell there’s no official history other than it started in 1932, although there’s a ton of claims that it referred to an. octane rating of 76. At the very least they capitalized on an association with the American Revolution.
Roll the credits.
In the mid 80s we'd drive around and gas stations had huge signs reading "99.9" then you'd pull in and the unleaded pump had its inch high digits reading around $1.179 or so. The old bait and switch.
I started driving in 1992 and if I accidentally got a full service gas station-- they were mixed in with self serve at about the same price-- I still asked for "regular unleaded." They didn't sell regular but I was a kid and wanted to make sure because "regular" still meant leaded in the minds of those slightly older than myself.
My dad had a 1940 Ford coupe and he was worried about the lead phaseout. Car only needed ~80 octane according to him, as it was engineered for terrible gas. But it was the "valve guides" he worried about, so he got some "instead-o-lead" by the case. Eventually he stopped worrying, and stopped adding the additive.
Dad had the plastic nozzle adapter in the glovebox of his 1980 Fairmont "for emergency use" but I never saw him use it. Car had a cat but no oxygen sensor, nor computer etc.
I started driving in 1992 and if I accidentally got a full service gas station-- they were mixed in with self serve at about the same price-- I still asked for "regular unleaded." They didn't sell regular but I was a kid and wanted to make sure because "regular" still meant leaded in the minds of those slightly older than myself.
My dad had a 1940 Ford coupe and he was worried about the lead phaseout. Car only needed ~80 octane according to him, as it was engineered for terrible gas. But it was the "valve guides" he worried about, so he got some "instead-o-lead" by the case. Eventually he stopped worrying, and stopped adding the additive.
Dad had the plastic nozzle adapter in the glovebox of his 1980 Fairmont "for emergency use" but I never saw him use it. Car had a cat but no oxygen sensor, nor computer etc.
I remember our ‘78 Malibu had labels on the dash and on the filler door saying to only use unleaded gas. When my dad went to get gas I’m pretty sure he asked for ‘regular unleaded’.
That car ran horribly - it pinged and ran-on all the time. Shut it off and it ‘coughed’ for 2-3 minutes every time. I remember the sound of it pinging when you accelerated, especially getting on a highway!
That car ran horribly - it pinged and ran-on all the time. Shut it off and it ‘coughed’ for 2-3 minutes every time. I remember the sound of it pinging when you accelerated, especially getting on a highway!
We always used it. Stove and lantern. It burned fine.
Indeed.Roll the credits.
Hopefully the country will get it's act together.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/heal...cess-mental-health-disorders-study-rcna182881
https://today.duke.edu/2022/03/lead-exposure-last-century-shrunk-iq-scores-half-americans
My dad’s car for a while was a 1974 Buick Apollo. There was a sticker in the glove box that said either leaded or unleaded regular was fine. Next car was a 1975 Chevy Monza 5.0 V8. Even with a large engine in a small car, it had poor performance and was clearly marked unleaded only. That thing could be weird filling it up. I remember once it was tricky getting a newer pump nozzle with a vapor recovery hood to go all the way in. A gas station attendant jammed a rubber cylinder in there to keep the flap open. The flap was buried really deep in there.
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