Unleaded gas

[KennyHardtop]

Mr Kotze,

I have a '63 Impala and it's a stock small block with 26,000 miles. I have been using the 92 Octane. It's a four barrel. I know those years are designed for leaded gas and I have been putting the additive in it. What do I need to do so that I can use the unleaded gas without buying the additive. It pings a little bit, even with the additive in it. It has air conditioning and power steering, power brakes. Thanks.:banghead: :confused:

[MKOTZE]

Originally posted by KennyHardtop
Mr Kotze,

I have a '63 Impala and it's a stock small block with 26,000 miles. I have been using the 92 Octane. It's a four barrel. I know those years are designed for leaded gas and I have been putting the additive in it. What do I need to do so that I can use the unleaded gas without buying the additive. It pings a little bit, even with the additive in it. It has air conditioning and power steering, power brakes. Thanks.:banghead: :confused: Hello KennyHardtop, I'm not sure what kind of additive you are using at this moment. However, I was reading an article where they tested different additives and almost all of them were ineffective. However, there were two that were recommended. For a lead substitute they recommended Red Line Synthetic Oil Co. lead substitute. As for octane boosting they recommended NOS-Racing formula octane booster. Also I wanted to mention that with as few miles as you seem to be putting on the car you actually would not have to add the lead additive on every tank full. With the engine you have in the impala you should not have to use the octane booster at all because the 92 octane should be fine. Now about the pinging, the first possibility would be that there is a build up of Carbon in the engine. The best way to remedy that would be to pour The GM engine top cleaner,(Part#1050002), down the throat of the carburetor while the vehicle is running. This is a good maintenance procedure even if the pinging does not go away. The next possibility is that there is a timing problem in the engine. You would want to check the base timing, the mechanical advance, and the vacuum advance to make sure they are working properly. The only way to be absolutely sure you won't have a problem with the unleaded gas would be to replace all the valve seats in the engine with specially hardened seats. This would be expensive and time consuming. I really do not think it is necessary unless you are planning to use the vehicle more often than in the past.I hope it helps. :chevy: MKOTZE