Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Ethanol in Petroleum

You are right but the question is "how serious is the problem"?

Ethyl alcohol in fuel destroyed some plastics used in fuel lines, mainly but not wholly in garden equipment and similar. But it also damaged plastic fuel tanks on Ducati motorcycles. That issue should not affect modern cars at all, and cars that are affected have to have the fuel lines changed. But its a fit and forget situation - trying to dodge it by only buying fuel you think is alcohol free is not reliable.

The water seperation is unlikely to be an issue with a car becuase of the rate of fuel useage, with the exception being cars stored for the winter. Even on boats where everything is much damper, it isnt in my experience an issue during the season. I have had the diesel bug ( a related problem) 4 times but every time has been on a newly bought boat that has been stood doing nothing for a season.

Might be interesting to put a gallon of petrol in a vented glass jar and see how long it is before any seperation happens.

I leave the petrol in my horticultural machinery and in my outboard tank over winter. A squirt of ‘Easy Start’ and they spring into life. Maybe after a long time there will be problems but a few months doesn’t seem to be a problem.

I would add that there was planning involved, the b&b was next door to the distillery so a very short walk was required and a lens with remarkably good vibration reduction for the photo.

Where I live in Florida (Tampa Bay), it is fairly easy to find ethanol free recreational fuel (I.e. boats and jet skis). The best location to get fuel is the local VP Racing fuel distributor near my office. They have up to 93 octane ethanol free at the pump. Today I tried making my own custom blend by combining 5 gallons of ethanol free 101 octane with another 10 gallons of the 93, resulting in just over 95 octane ethanol free. Did this with the DB7, and boy could I tell the difference driving home. They sell up to 110 Octane, but only in 5 gallon cans. I'm now curious if my 65 Plus 4 would do well with a 95+ mix.

Which one? I have a 1997 Volante, i6, manual gearbox.

. Turned my hedge trimmer pipes to jelly, over one winter.

Just to clarify for all in Europe who are not in the know, 93 octane in the US is measured in AON = (ROZ + MOZ) / 2 and it is equivalent to European 98 octane ROZ.

My first Mog was a 1993 4/4. 19 years old when bought. Ran well until the fuel pump started to fail. I replaced the pump and decided to look at the whole fuel system from tank to engine side filter. Drained and flushed the tank. Filtered the petrol to see what gunge was coming out. A few small flecks of dirt and a few jelly-like bits. Peering into the tank revealed good condition and no visible corrosion. So....new pump, added a filter to protect it, new flexible pipes (up to date spec so probably ethanol resistant. New filter in engine bay. Ran a couple of tanks with added detergent (Millers). Car was running well afterwards and no worries re ethanol.
My view is that Morgans are long lived so some systems deteriorate with age rather than use (too many low mileage “mature” cars about!). So it would be sensible to do Refurb/ upgrade to fend off rubber perishing, wiring insulation hardening etc . Not major jobs and well within DIY realms for most systems. A bit like tyres......how old are your Mog tyres?

'03 Vantage Volante with tiptronic transmission if you look closely at my avatar you will see the grey DB7 in the background.

That's news to me. I've been losing sleep over not being able to get easy access to anything above 93. Why in the world can't we have words mean the same thing on both sides of the pond? It's not like we are talking English vs. Metric Octane! At least a Meter is a Meter wherever you go.