Carburator, E85?

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

I was wondering if it was possible to make a carburator run on E85 without any problems??

In South Dakota E85 is a big deal and i know you get worse gas mileage but it is also cheaper, On my dads flex fuel avalanch e85 and regular are about a wash since it is cheaper.

[shortbed70]

Check out hollys website.I think they have a few carbs to choose from. I don't think a gas carb will do the job.

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

Doesn't E85 effect rubber gaskets and other engine parts

[memphismatt]

Barry Grant makes one of them demon carbs set up to run E85 all you do is bolt it on and fill up your tank with E85. I heard that mileage drops off something like 15-20%. Anybody else hear that?

[67ChevyRedneck]

If your running a higher compression engine, you will actually get just as good of fuel mileage as if you had a lower compression engine that runs on 87.

The reason GM flex fuel vehicles lose 15-20% fuel mileage is because they have a compression ratio that is more suitable for 87 octane. E85 is a much higher octane and needs a higher compression engine to be properly efficient, but because it's more important for GM owners that their vehicle can run on both regular and E85, something has to be compromised, and the E85 mileage is compromised because GM needs the best fuel mileage and CAFE rating they can get.

I believe in addition to the carb you will need to run stainless fuel lines and fuel tank as the E-85 will eat rubber fuel lines and poly tanks.

Once you do this conversion with the carb, YOU CAN NOT run regular fuel in your truck again. The jets for E-85 are huge and will flood your motor with gasoline. You will have to swap carbs.

That's about all I know.

[Longhorn Man]

And it's only a temp fuel... it isn't going to solve anything. I give it 5, maybe 8 years.
It costs more to make and transport, than what it sells for. People make it becouse the feds are paying them to make it.
Add up the costs of the conversion parts, the reduction in MPG, and then figure the *curerent* price per gallon.
With that last one being a HUGE variable, it's hard to say exactly how long it'll take to pay it's self off.... but it wouldn't be any time soon.

[Boog]

It may be here for a long time. I hear South American countries have been using it for some 30 years and 90% of their vehicles run it.
It is true an engine needs much higher comp ratio to take full advantage of the E85 or E95 blends. As said the fuel to air mixture will be way different between gas and ethanol blend. The new FlexFuel vehicles can run both because the comp ratio is compromised and the computer senses when the fuel changes from gas to ethanol and makes mixture and timing changes to compensate for it on the fly. Ethanol is corrosive so changes have to be made to the fuel system also like to stainless steel.
In the last year there have been numerous magazine articles on the new fuels and great horsepower has been made with it. A little less mpg and price per gallon but more importantly it can help reduce our dependence on foreign oil and give our farmers another avenue to make a living.

[Bob D]

I believe that E85 has a 105 octane rating and requires a 35% richer mixture than gasoline. That means you can raise your compression and still run pump "gas" which equals more horsepower.

Bob

[jake60]

Here's what looks like a good article on converting a carbureted engine to alcohol including rejetting - http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id26.html

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

thanks alot for all the feedback you really helped

[Boog]

Great link Jake. Lots of good reading there on it.

[ksjh1316]

Dumb question but with most major companies placing 10% ethonol in the fuel already wont this also screw up our trucks?

[BurnoutNova]

thats a good question... most cars wont be affected by that small of percentage of ethanol... but in the early to mid 90's ive heard alot of gm moltec fuel injectors were damaged by gasahol/ethanol

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

I run 10% in my 1970 delta and it kept up with a 06 grand prix of coarse he beat a 4000 lb. car off the line but he only beat me by a length or so when we let off, and it kept up to a 2001 ish monte carlo SS from a 50 mph roll (at the strip )

[forgeman]

If you have one of the Rochester series you will want to change out your float to a brass float. (Pic 1) Also, you will have issues in cold weather. I highly suggest converting your choke from thermal or auto to a manual choke cable that you can manually adjust. The first thing you will notice after a full tank of E85 is that your fuel filter will be completely clogged. Get an inline fuel filter (the larger the better, I personally like the Wix O'Reilly part number 33033) and keep a spare or 3 in your glove box. Change out any rubber part that you can with something that is E85 safe. When you take the plunge start out with a gallon of E85 and a gallon of Premo. Have a 5 gallon spare tank of premo to get you home if you have issues. The choke has been the only issue I have had since.

Rebuild of my Rochester carb here.

Pic 1. Take note of what the E85 did to that poor bake-o-lite float. (it now sinks in regular octane).

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

thanks for the info, The reason I made this post is because I was looking at an engine kit that wanted higher octane fuel and since not very many gas stations in my area carry higher octane regular I could just use E85

[oldsmobilekindofguy]

but i decided not to go with that kit, thanks anyway