Re: Unleaded fuel for boxer engined ALFAs

["David R Johnson" <johnsnd@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Jan 18,  3:27pm, Steve Allenby wrote:

> Does this apply equally to all the boxer engined cars?  I had always
> been lead to believe that, at least on earlier boxers, leaded fuel
> was a definite requirement.
>
> Steve

When I lived in England, I ran many tankfuls of unleaded through my 1983 1.5
Sud's boxer engine without any apparent problems, although I confess I did not
inspect the valve seats after doing so.  I owned this car right about the time
unleaded was becoming widely available there, and did so after consulting one
of the oil companies' compatibility booklets (tells you if unleaded is OK on a
model-by-model basis).  How accurate the books were I can't be sure.  This does
not guarantee the earlier engines are able to use it either.  My previous 1978
Sud 4-door expired due to terminal rust before unleaded was available in the
UK.

However, both those cars had aluminium heads and therefore would have required
valve seat inserts, so it is likely that unleaded would be fine.  I would
imagine that all Suds used this head material, although the boxer engines I
owned did have cast iron blocks (the block of a 4-cyl boxer is so compact I
could lift it on the end of my finger, minus rotating assembly of course!).  To
be absolutely certain, you could ask an Alfa dealer, as you have the luxury of
living in a country where they are still available.

BTW, I still have 2 of those boxer engines and gearboxes in the UK, available
 for a minimal sum to deserving Alfa enthusiast homes.  Contact me off digest
for details.  I don't want them to go to waste!

Dave J. (now US resident)
1982 GTV6 (engine now on garage floor)

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