gasoline...

I think the statement was from A.E. Barit to a reporter stating that more horsepower could be derived from Hudson's existing engines (by design) when higher octane fuels became available.

More Fodder!



Unless you've done higher-compression modifications, and I mean pretty serious ones, buy the lowest octane fuel available.



Ethanol is in most fuels in the US now, and a 10% concentration shouldn't hurt anything. Yes, maybe over the course of several years, rubber parts will soften, but you're not going to immediately kill anything. E85 is a different animal; with 85% ethanol you're likely to barbecue something. That's why modern flex-fuel vehicles use neoprene and such in the plumbing. As far as I know all of the new fuel hose manufactured by Gates, Goodyear, etc. is compatible with today's roughly 10% blends.



The statement about gas in bygone days being lower in octane is correct. With prehistoric cars like my '29, gas was closer to 60 octane. When Phillips 66 came out, the reason for the "66" was 66 octane! I believe the statement is correct that by post- WWII, in '48, it was about 80 octane.



I read a post above about running the timing slightly retarded when running 87 octane. This may be a bad idea if the timing setting supplied by the manufacturer was for, say, 80 octane. Reason: The higher the octane, the slower it burns. This necessitates more advance for higher octane numbers. You won't get any ping out of retarding the timing; you'll get it out of advancing it. On the '29, I time 6 degrees ahead of the factory specification. Factory says 3 flywheel teeth BTDC, and I time at 4. Seem to have no problems there. Then again, there's a big difference between 60, as it was designed, and 87, what I'm using. So, using 87 in an engine designed for 80 might not require a change at all. I'd use the foolproof method of lugging the car in top gear and advancing till a slight ping, then retarding slightly. I recommend setting your INITIAL timing with a vacuum gauge by advacing to the highest vacuum reading (vacuum advance plugged if you have it) then retarding about 1 pound. That will give you a place to start.



Geoff, something occured to me with your statement-- there are at least two methods used in different parts of the world for measuring octane rating-- and forgive me if you know this already. One is the Research Octane Number (RON) and the other is the Motor Octane Number (MON). In European countries, and all of Australia, and probably NZ, the posted octane rating is the RON. In the United States, the average of the RON and MON is used, known as the R+M/2 method. This method is sometimes called AKI or Anti-Knock Index, or PON, Pump Octane Number. What does all this mean? Gas in the US will be about 4 to 5 points lower advertised than the same gas elsewhere. 87 in the US is more like 92 or so in other parts of the world. I remember reading in the owner's manual for my 86 Porsche 944 to use 87 octane in the U.S., or 91 octane elsewhere.



I do not use lead additives in any Hudson engine as I've never heard of or seen one with a valve recession problem, and most Hudsons were built before the introduction of Leaded gas anyway. I do however use Marvel Mystery Oil in the gas tank of my '29, 4 ounces per 10 gallons, for vacuum tank, carburetor, and upper valve train lubrication.



Hope this helps.