Low octane, leaded fuel in 3.5V8 from SD1 in 101...

Hi everybody,

I'm thinking about my Africa trip, and thoughts turn to petrol.

My engine is a 3.5V8 from an SD1 - this is the high compression version
- running on SU HIF44 carbs.

I've had a punt around on the Internet and in a couple of Africa
Overland books and it appears I should expect octane ratings of fuels in
North Africa to be consistently <91 and sometimes <86. Additionally, I
shouldn't expect to be able to find Unleaded fuel, with leaded being the
norm.

How will this engine cope with this kind of fuel? Does the fact that
it's a high compression engine make a difference over a standard Rover
V8?

Thanks,
David

"David French" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:david.not.spam.french-65CF01.17435807112005@no-dns-yet-212-23-3-119.zen.co.uk...
> Hi everybody,
>
> I'm thinking about my Africa trip, and thoughts turn to petrol.
>
> My engine is a 3.5V8 from an SD1 - this is the high compression version
> - running on SU HIF44 carbs.
>
> I've had a punt around on the Internet and in a couple of Africa
> Overland books and it appears I should expect octane ratings of fuels in
> North Africa to be consistently <91 and sometimes <86. Additionally, I
> shouldn't expect to be able to find Unleaded fuel, with leaded being the
> norm.
>
> How will this engine cope with this kind of fuel? Does the fact that
> it's a high compression engine make a difference over a standard Rover
> V8?

It'll be fine, just be prepared to retard the timing a few degrees if it
pinks due to the lower octane. The lead won't harm it, the opposite in fact.
Badger.

"David French" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:david.not.spam.french-65CF01.17435807112005@no-dns-yet-212-23-3-119.zen.co.uk...
> Hi everybody,
>
> I'm thinking about my Africa trip, and thoughts turn to petrol.
>
> My engine is a 3.5V8 from an SD1 - this is the high compression version
> - running on SU HIF44 carbs.
>
> I've had a punt around on the Internet and in a couple of Africa
> Overland books and it appears I should expect octane ratings of fuels in
> North Africa to be consistently <91 and sometimes <86. Additionally, I
> shouldn't expect to be able to find Unleaded fuel, with leaded being the
> norm.
>
> How will this engine cope with this kind of fuel? Does the fact that
> it's a high compression engine make a difference over a standard Rover
> V8?
>
> Thanks,
> David

Just another point, if you have a CAT, then remove it before the trip as
even running the motor for a few minutes on leaded will wreck the CAT.
something to do with the lead reacting with whatever the catalyst is on the
cat-converter.

Sam.