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Old 06-04-2017, 09:43 PM
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Default van started on four year old gas

Around 2013/2014 my stepdad stopped driving the 1996 Ford handicapped mini van I got for them. The lift function failed, and the van was about an inch off the ground, making it very difficult to drive, especially in the snow. I couldn't get under it to diagnose the trouble, as it was too close to the ground to even put a jack under it. I would have just sold the van, but it only has 16k miles on it. So it got put to the side for later. Eventually, the battery weakened, and it wouldn't start. It became that car that was constantly being pushed out of the way.

Today, my brother, son and I were organizing the yard. My brother suggested we pull the old van up to the garage, and check it out. After we towed it up front, I used a tractor to push it up car ramps. It is still too low to the ground, but I can work with this. My brother and son turned their attentions towards the dead battery, which wouldn't even work with a charger. I found a good battery in the garage. My brother installed it, so they could see if the engine turned over. To my surprise, when my son turned the key, it started right up on that old gas. Not only did it start on the old gas, it ran fine. Go figure.

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Old 06-04-2017, 09:48 PM
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What is snow?

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Old 06-05-2017, 07:10 AM
Txbobcat Txbobcat is offline
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Drain that old gas out of there and take it for a drive.

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Old 06-05-2017, 07:49 AM
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In 1997, I bought a 62 Tempest that had been sitting since 1970. It had a quarter tank of 27 year old gas in it. I changed the oil, cleaned the carb, put a battery in it, and it fired right up. Stunk like hell, but it ran fine.

More recently (last month) I was offered a motorhome for free if I could move it. It hadn't moved since 2004. I put a battery in it, primed the carb and it fired up and ran on the old gas. I drove it to the gas station, then 60 miles home (The tires were majorly flat spotted).

That being said, I've had 3 month old gas in my gas can that wouldn't burn even if you held a lighter to it.....

Importsmasher

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Old 06-05-2017, 08:09 AM
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The oldest "varnish" I have ever had in a car was 12 years old in a 1965 Lemans 6 cylinder. I primed the carb, and it ran on that old nasty gas. Good times back then...

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Old 06-05-2017, 08:29 AM
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Bought a 1972 parts car that the fuel was so old the tank was Half-Full of orange-red cottage cheese, formelry gasoline.

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Old 06-05-2017, 10:09 AM
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I think I have the record here...

In 2012, I got my brother's old '50 Pontiac running by putting in a new battery, a set of spark plugs and a fan belt. Got it running on 40 year old gas and drove it to the gas station to fill it up.

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Old 06-05-2017, 10:22 AM
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When redoing my dad's Studebaker in 2009...It had a full load of Sunoco from 1965. I poured it out on my gravel driveway, lit it, and my drunk best friend drove my son's go kart thru it. A miniature chitwood thrill show.

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Old 06-05-2017, 11:40 AM
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Let anything sit for any length of time and you can't do that now with today's E10 crap.

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Old 06-05-2017, 11:40 AM
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When I bought my 81 T/A n 2014, it had sat in a garage since 91ish. It actually fired up and ran on that old gas!

The smell was horrible, and it was even worse when I drained the tank.

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Old 06-05-2017, 12:51 PM
salem1912 salem1912 is offline
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Caddy hasn't run since '99 thought it was out of gas and afraid to just dump some in the tank I fill the Q-jet up by way of the vent. Car crank for 10 seconds and fired up! No smoke no noise. Their must be some gas still in it cause it continued to run.
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  #12  
Old 06-05-2017, 01:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Anonymous View Post
When redoing my dad's Studebaker in 2009...It had a full load of Sunoco from 1965. I poured it out on my gravel driveway, lit it, and my drunk best friend drove my son's go kart thru it. A miniature chitwood thrill show.
LOL. If we didn't live so far apart, I would make it a point to meet up and party. That is the type of shenanigans that my friends and I used to pull every weekend. I could tell you stories, but chances are that most people wouldn't believe me.

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Old 06-05-2017, 08:07 PM
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My 68 sat in the garage for probably 15 years, with half a tank of gas in it, that I had treated with StaBil. I would start it every couple of years or so, and let it run for a half hour or so. Never failed to start.

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Old 06-06-2017, 06:31 AM
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I drove out a nine-year-old tank a gas on this car. It ran OK but man did it stink!
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  #15  
Old 06-06-2017, 07:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GT182 View Post
Let anything sit for any length of time and you can't do that now with today's E10 crap.
Both the Camaro and the GTO were in storage for 2.5 years when I moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota over 10 years ago. Put them into storage for the winter of '04 in a friends barn and then they sat until the spring of '07 after we got our new house built with a 30x40 detached garage to store them.

Both cars fired right up on E10 and drove just fine on the 125 mile trip to the new shop.

Cars were stored with the tanks full, just like normal.

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