Austin Big Seven starting problem

[Steve Jones]

I, too, have never had a problem with so called 'stale' fuel. I understand that ethanol does take in a degree of air born moisture over time but as yet, this has not caused me issues. I took my RM Saloon out on Monday afternoon. The first time it's been on the road for two years. The half tank of petrol in it is also two years old and is normal unleaded. It started first time and ran perfectly. 'Stale' or not, no issue there. The engine is perfectly standard with no go-faster modifications but is in good condition. I'm not alone in having the view that 'stale' petrol is blamed when the real issue is some other weakness in the engine or its systems. In the case of the Big 7, 70psi compression seems very low and I'd suggest that's more of the issue than the fuel being 3 weeks old. Yes, of course fuel will deteriorate over time but the deterioration over 3 weeks shouldn't make any difference.

In another place, Esso Super Unleaded is reported as having no ethanol in it at most UK outlets. It's what I use in my two competition Sevens but that's more a product of it being sold at my nearest petrol station than anything else.

Steve