Quote:
Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda
Tinker,
You have a valid and important observation. Our engines, at least in a flathead Ford 1953 and older, have relatively low compression. The fuels we use now have higher octane ratings. The flathead will run on and was designed for lower octane fuel. I mentioned before that I was reading some AACA forums on this topic of vapor lock and higher boiling points in gasoline today. Some of these guys who were driving prewar Cadillac's and Packard's were adding a 5% kerosene blend to a tank full of 87 octane gasoline to reduce the gasoline boiling point. They found that because of the lower compression ratios their engines were able to run on the 5% blend of kerosene without experiencing engine knock. Some of these guys claimed it helped reduce or eliminate their vapor lock issues.
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Seth, with all due respect, I think you have it backwards about the boiling point of gasoline. Today's gas is highly volatile, which means that it vaporizes (boils) at a lower temperature. I hadn't heard of adding kerosene to affect the volatility, but it does sound like it might help that issue, but what does it do to the octane?