'66 350 hp octane
#2
Team Owner
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It should run on octane between 91 and 93 if everything is as spec'd in the book.
#5
Team Owner
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There is no advantage to using any higher octane than required to prevent pre-ignition. My 327/360 hp engine runs fine on 89 octane except for a slight, quick rattle on low speed, partial throttle tip in.
#8
Burning Brakes
Member Since: May 2005
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Sunoco 104 Leaded,"Special Reserve" vintage '64?
H*ll, at about $.33/gallon, I even ran it in my '59 Nash Rambler American. I was convinced it accelerated faster than with lower octane fuel.
Ah, those were the days!
H*ll, at about $.33/gallon, I even ran it in my '59 Nash Rambler American. I was convinced it accelerated faster than with lower octane fuel.
Ah, those were the days!
#9
Le Mans Master
Why those '59 Nash Rambler American's just started coming alive at 7000 RPM's!
- Pat
#10
Team Owner
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I think at a two pump gas station in '63 the premium fuel was 97 octane and I believe regular was 92 or 93. This was by the rating method which I've heard today's 87 octane is equivalent to the "old" 92-93 octane. I don't know for sure. Doesn't matter really.
Anyway, I had holes in the bottoms of my shoes and in my pockets. No money for expensive gas, no matter how cheap it was. But I had a fast car. It was a '56 Bel Air with a crate 327/340 engine with 270 dual fours on top. Had a 270 dual point distributor. Anyway, I found I could run that thing on regular gas of the day at the no name station without pinging. At least I couldn't hear it and internal inspection later didn't reveal any damage. I think it might have pinged a little if you pulled it down to 15 mph in high gear and nailed it but I didn't normally drive like that. Of course, most of the other guys that had two nickles to rub together and running that same engine thought they had to have 260 Sunoco to make their cars run right. That was all BS.
Anyway, I had holes in the bottoms of my shoes and in my pockets. No money for expensive gas, no matter how cheap it was. But I had a fast car. It was a '56 Bel Air with a crate 327/340 engine with 270 dual fours on top. Had a 270 dual point distributor. Anyway, I found I could run that thing on regular gas of the day at the no name station without pinging. At least I couldn't hear it and internal inspection later didn't reveal any damage. I think it might have pinged a little if you pulled it down to 15 mph in high gear and nailed it but I didn't normally drive like that. Of course, most of the other guys that had two nickles to rub together and running that same engine thought they had to have 260 Sunoco to make their cars run right. That was all BS.
#11
Pro
my L79 327 runs OK on pump 93 octane, but man, oh, man she loves it when I stop by the "specialty" store and grab a cocktail of 101 low-lead Av-gas and mix it in with the 93 octane. I have gotten crazy and used 106 race fuel blends in other cars/bikes, but this one doesn't need it. I remember back in the 70's when my friends and I didn't have much money we used regular gas in our high compression cars. We only spent the extra $$$ for Ethyl when we wanted to show off or go to the drag strip.
#12
Tech Contributor
The younger the driver, the more they think "high octane = high power".
Remember gang, the higher the octane the harder it is to burn (essentially). You need the higher compression and higher cylinder temps to ignite the higher octane fuel.
That having been said, I've always heard that higher octane fuel will not go bad as quickly as low octane fuel, when sitting up in a car for an extended period of time.
Thoughts?
Remember gang, the higher the octane the harder it is to burn (essentially). You need the higher compression and higher cylinder temps to ignite the higher octane fuel.
That having been said, I've always heard that higher octane fuel will not go bad as quickly as low octane fuel, when sitting up in a car for an extended period of time.
Thoughts?