Lead Fuel replacement

[lucebayjack]

Hi guys,

I have just purchased a 1971 MGB GT. Unfortunately it doesn't have a unleaded head and i was curious of your opinions of lead fuel replacement.

I have read that it is not entirely necessary if you run your B on premium unleaded. Unfortunately the nearest premium unleaded fuel pump to me is a good hours drive each way.

I have also heard of lead balls you can put in your tank but have failed to find any mention of such a mystical device on line.

The car is not a daily driver so could i get away with not using the stuff or is this just a false economy?

Which Lead Fuel Replacement do you guys advice.

All help is much appreciated!

Jack

[hearselover]

Hi

I use Shell V Power in mine andit runs perfectly, the other option is a lead substitute for regular unleaded such as the castrol or the one I did use was Millers VSP but if the car is not ran for a long period of time then the additive can settle in the carbs and creat more problems. Another school of thinking is that if the engine had a reasonable amount of miles on it then the lead retention in the valve seats would compensate for any adverse effects. My personal preference though is the higher octane fuel like V Power.

Ash

[perdu]

lead balls

are a load of

Total waste of space which is better reserved for half a pint of petrol IMO

I run my Midget on ornery U/L axcept on track days when the extra "oomf" of SUL is welcome

It is said that engines that once ran on 4* are unlikely to need additives but if you are worried just use a bottle of lead substitute guff in every few refillingses

The theoretic benefits of dropping dollops of metal inside your tank are like many other fairy stories*, not true. Petrochemical giants would not have invested so much money trying to replace the lead during the "panicking years" when 4* dropped off the forecourt, if simply doing that would work.

However, in respect of other fairy stories please remember that we don't want dead fairies on our consciences

• never say "I don't believe in f......" ever

this is vitally important, specially to Tinkerbelle

[lucebayjack]

Thanks for the advice guys. Think i will buy a couple of bottles of lead and add it to the mix every now and then.

[SB - Nigel]

lucebayjack said:

Thanks for the advice guys. Think i will buy a couple of bottles of lead and add it to the mix every now and then.

Having ben thro' all this in the 1990s I think the mimimum suggestion was add lead substitute every fouth fill up, but the stuff is expensive

However it was susequently generally believed that if you didn't drive the car hard regularly then you don't need the additive

My personal opinions now based on only my personal experience - it could be considered as a bit like a generally healthy person taking a vitamin pill it wont hurt other than the cost and could be of placebo effect

People believe in lots of strange things without a shread of evidence and lead balls in the tank is one of them

If you're going to run the car on 95 octane it will probably need retarding

If you get the chance to put a tank full of 97, or better stil 99, you will notice the difference especially when you go back to the next tank full of 95

[lucebayjack]

Okay i think its time to put some lead in the tank. Is this stuff any good?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/REDEX-LEAD-REPLACEMENT-FUEL-...

Seems a lot cheaper than any of the other stuff

[300bhp/ton]

lucebayjack said:

Hi guys,

I have just purchased a 1971 MGB GT. Unfortunately it doesn't have a unleaded head and i was curious of your opinions of lead fuel replacement.

I have read that it is not entirely necessary if you run your B on premium unleaded. Unfortunately the nearest premium unleaded fuel pump to me is a good hours drive each way.

I have also heard of lead balls you can put in your tank but have failed to find any mention of such a mystical device on line.

The car is not a daily driver so could i get away with not using the stuff or is this just a false economy?

Which Lead Fuel Replacement do you guys advice.

All help is much appreciated!

Jack

M view is just run it on normal unleaded fuel.

If the valve seats wear, sort it out then as it won't cost any more than sorting it out now. And chances are it might be years and 1000's of miles before it becomes and issue.

As for the lead balls. Well most devices (if not all) are just scams. That said, there is one company http://www.broquet.co.uk/

I don't understand the physics, and it seems neither to they (or they don't tell). But if you look into just this company and what they sell you'll see some surprising results.

1. They seem to have a long history, going in some ways back to WW2.

2. Companies like ProDrive have dealt with them.

3. When I've searched on the net I've not yet found a single unhappy customer of theirs. Sure you get the usual hysterical types that diss them, but if you look, none have actually bought or used the devices.

I'm not trying to sell it, not even saying I believe it. But it seems surprising that from various places on the web (I got bored of looking), owners always gave praise and never a harsh word.

Food for thought maybe?? Dunno, just something I've observed.