Does anyone have any recommendations based on their own experience how best to feed my new baby when it arrives? Should I just use unleaded regular (87 octane) gas in it or super (93 octane)?
Is it recommended that I use fuel additives of any kind? I'll probably use a stabilizer, since I don't plan to drive it an awful lot. Just club events and meetings, shows, etc. That's the PLAN anyway. We'll see if I can keep my mitts off it though!
Chas, you definitely should use premium. Here in Northern California, the best pump gas generally available is only 91 octane, and in very hot weather on wide-open throttle and low rpm I do get just a faint hint of pinging. This goes completely if I put a gallon or two of 100 octane race fuel in the tank, but that's a rare treat!
I don't use any other additives, but I do drive the car regularly.
I can get 93 octane here in TX (86, 89, or 93). So I'll run the good stuff.
I do plan to drive it enough to clear its lungs and stretch its legs every few weeks, so I don't think I'll need to run stabilizer, but I'll keep an eye and an ear on it. I was just worried about the missing lead, but if I run 93 I shouldn't have too much of a detonation problem... hopefully.
Thanks Peter!
Chas
PS - I'm a California guy transplanted here to TX. Graduated from Carmel High School in the north and then UCLA in the south. What part of CA are you in? I know Ed's down south...
With standard compression, you will absolutely not have a detonation problem with 93, assuming that everything is in tune. (Frankly, you should be able to use 89 without a problem). With a skimmed head, my compression is close to 11:1 and I have no problem with 91, though I'd use 93 if that was available in CA.
(Peter, if you're having issues with 91 on a stock engine, and everything is in tune, you might want to try playing with the advance.)
You don't need to use fuel stabiliser. If you let it sit for weeks on end, the fuel will be the least of your problems; you're likely to have brake issues, difficulty keeping the engine in tune, and a host of other niggling issues. Instead of fuel stabiliser, try using the fuel itself--drive the car. Instead of every few weeks, try to figure out how to manage a couple of times a week--once a week anyway. It's the best possible thing you can do for the car, and it won't do your psyche any harm either.
But I'm going to bet that this won't actually be a problem; Fulvias are addictive. I suspect that once you get the car sorted and start driving it you won't settle for just once every few weeks.
> But I'm going to bet that this won't actually be a problem;
> Fulvias are addictive. I suspect that once you get the car
> sorted and start driving it you won't settle for just once
> every few weeks.
Right, like my neighbour is walking his dog every evening, I have to drive one of my Fulvia's for at least 40 kms on the country roads in the Dutch Belgian border area EVERY NIGHT. If not, I simply won't sleep.
Note that Fulvia's are also like mice. Before you know it, you have 12.
I recommend a lead replacement additive such as the castrol valvemaster which also has octane booster in one of the products. This is if your baby is a 1300 without modified head (ie no hard valve seats). I run 95 or 96 octane and get just a little pinking at low revs and full throttle on my 1600 with 11.5:1 compression and 10 deg advance and this is with the valvemaster octane booster.
Ed, the pinking I get is scarcely noticeable, and then only when the engine is very hot. Also, I think the advance mechanism on my distributor is a bit worn ... full advance comes in a bit earlier than shown in the Dati Tecnici, which may be part of the reason. And I had to set static advance to 10 deg in order to get 23 deg maximum total advance, rather than 8 deg as in the spec.
Wow, small world department here. I lived in Redwood City for several years, from age 11 to 15 when my dad retired the family down to Carmel. I went to Kennedy Jr High, San Carlos and Sequoia HS (one year each) before moving.
Your photo looks like a pic from up by Canada College, or at least on the hill. There's the old San Mateo bridge in the background. The foreground scenery is beautiful too!
