Morris Minor Owners Club

Dear All,
Iwent to my local fill up the other day to fill my moggy up with leaded fuel and the nasty man said sorry luv we dont sell it no more i was gobsmacked so i said what i do now then he said you will have to put a additive in so i went in the garage to buy some of this modern marvel the man put the right amout in and i filled it up but after about 20 miles the car started to stall and miss now and again it was fine before any ideas anyone do u have to alter the timing for this wonderfuel
thanks phil

how much did this guy poor in? Not the whole bottle I hope..... if used in a good mixture (I use 1ml per liter) you shouldn't even notice it's in there!

The additive isn't flammable itself (according to my bottle, this is a lead replacement without the added octane booster), it just makes a little layer on the valves (exhaust valve mainly)

Good luck with the car!

You are sure you put petrol in...... nearly filled up mine with diesel the other day. Stupid VW vans

Sainsbury up here still sell 4 star ! But unless you are doing big miles, running it flat out for hours on end - just use unleaded ! My Traveller has done so for the last 5 years and no problems at all.

The additive will protect the valve seats like the old lead used to. Running on pure unleaded won't, and it WILL cause problems and engine damage eventually. This has been tested by the FBHVC and proven in independant tests using an A-series engine. For more information see: http://www.fbhvc.co.uk/

I generally use leaded 4* but if I'm away from home,I use Castrol Valvemaster plus and any brand of 95 RON petrol.
The only thing I've noticed is thet the engine runs a tad hotter and isn't quite as smooth as normal.I would think that a small timing adjustment would take care of that though

Cheers,
Ian

Yes, ideally, the timing does need to be adjusted to be optimal, but the car will still run OK (with about 10% or less power difference) if you run on 4 star, LRP, unleaded or unleaded + additive.

You all worry too much about this - just use unleaded - it's cheaper and after 5 years there are no problems with my Traveller (and it gets well hammered) . The 'engine damage' is only 'possible' exhaust valve seat recession - easily fixed when it happens by then making the head 'unleaded' or just fit another head - they are 10 a penny ! Well, not quite - but £10 max ! Or pick up a Mini 12g940 unleaded head for £20 and get a performance increase thrown in too !

Yes, if you are keen on head swaps and the thought of it going when you are bombing down the motoray miles from home! It's not really for reliable motoring! Also, the majority of people (excluding me and your good self) don't like the idea of a head change and if their car is taken to a garage by the AA/RAC they will end up paying a FORTUNE to get it fixed by the garage/machine shop. Plus all the hassle of breaking down, etc, etc.

I personally have quite a few 12g202 heads spare so for us it's the cost of a gasket, unless you are using a £450 big valve ported head that's leaded!! Then it REALLY DOES matter!!

Dear All,
The garage man is a morris man he sells parts for moggies and minis he has been there since the first car hit the road i think so i think he put the right amount in when he gave me the bottle back it was down about 50mil and i put 40 lts in the car so i am thinking it must be something else my husband has put new plugs points,condenser.dizzy cap and as i said it ran loverly before.
thanks

I agree Cam - but it's hardly a 'breaking down' sort of situation - it will just eventually show itself as a slight power loss steadily getting worse over some time. Also regular check of ex valve clearance will tell if anything is going wrong. I always carry a spare head and gasket with me anyway ! That way I know I will have no trouble !
Mixer - I guess there is something wrong with the points etc which have just been fitted - has the timing been re-set ? Changing worn points for new ones changes the timing.

mixerman wrote:Dear All,
The garage man is a morris man he sells parts for moggies and minis he has been there since the first car hit the road i think so i think he put the right amount in when he gave me the bottle back it was down about 50mil and i put 40 lts in the car so i am thinking it must be something else my husband has put new plugs points,condenser.dizzy cap and as i said it ran loverly before.
thanks

40 lts! Whre the heck to you leave all that? Thats about 8 gallons... I have only got room for 5....

Dont you trust your car bmcecosse as carring a spare head seems rather excessive, do you also carry a spare propshaft and gearbox.

i carry a spare van in the back of van in case of breakdowns and a spare in that ad infinitum LOL

I have an entire BMC garage and staff on the back of the pick-up...
a

He - he -he - you are all very funny indeed! Seriously - a spare head slips in easily behind the spare wheel and a gasket takes no space at-all. I carry them on the basis that if I have them - I won't need them - and for the last 5 years it has worked !! But back to the 40 litres - where did it go ? I think your "morris" man is maybe more into Morris dancing than Morris cars ?? Forget the additives - just run it on unleaded - it will be fine !

Forget the additives - just run it on unleaded - it will be fine !

sounds like someone will be happy to fix it for you if it gos wrong in a year or 2?? Well at least he has the spares ready in the boot....

bmcecosse wrote:He - he -he - you are all very funny indeed! Seriously - a spare head slips in easily behind the spare wheel and a gasket takes no space at-all. I carry them on the basis that if I have them - I won't need them - and for the last 5 years it has worked !! But back to the 40 litres - where did it go ? I think your "morris" man is maybe more into Morris dancing than Morris cars ?? Forget the additives - just run it on unleaded - it will be fine !

Well, carrying a bottle of additive is a LOT less hassle than carrying a head! It also weighs quite a lot, but hey, whatever floats your boat!

Cam wrote: It also weighs quite a lot, but hey, whatever floats your boat!

Which affects your MPG, thus damaging your valves even more.
a