yes, you can alter the ignition so that it will run on RON95, in practice you will nearly even out on the cost of Ron98 as Ron95 will consume a bit more fuel; you do still need to add lead additive for all cilinder heads other than B14.3 or B14.4., espescially for you Tom it's more interesting to find a .4E head for your 343 wich has a .1E engine; it's only a matter of drilling 1 hole for the coolant system, the rest is all bolting on parts. it's a conversion that can easaly be done in a day's work and you won't need lead additive anymore

Or what I do is try and kill the head first without additive and see how long it lasts. If it does die, then take out all the pennies out of the "haven't bought additive" savings jar and pay for the swap. If it doesn't then keep trying until it does.

(B14.0E, still somehow running at 77063k miles (124 021km) at last fill-up )

macplaxton wrote:B14.0Eeeeeeeh

sooner or later, the rods will come out and play

volvodspec wrote:

macplaxton wrote:B14.0Eeeeeeeh

sooner or later, the rods will come out and play

Ha Ha Ha.... Yes indeed !!!
I'm taking no chances with my B110, B130 or B14 motors...Lead substitute as well as an Ethanol neutralizer are used for those "french motors".
The Ethanol count here currently is between 13-15% and have noticed a decrease in mileage (I burn 89 Octane, which is a mid grade available here).

The lack of lead is not a problem for my DAF motors (i.e. 600, 750 or 850cc twins) they all have hardened Valves and seats from the factory but the "Renault Motors" are another story altogether.

John

volvodspec wrote:

macplaxton wrote:B14.0Eeeeeeeh

sooner or later, the rods will come out and play

I wish they would, I've a B14.4E taking up valuable space.

Hi mate.
I test fitted my later boot light on the banana and it did not fit.
Later ones are different. I would suggest you speak to Hell Driver
as he has found a mk1 breaker.
Cheers Mark.

Thanks for checking Mark.

John

Adam takes the credit for finding the car and posting it up on here. Sorry, I should have got the light for you when I went down. I'm going back so will get it and post it if you like, I think it's still there.

volvodspec wrote:yes, you can alter the ignition so that it will run on RON95, in practice you will nearly even out on the cost of Ron98 as Ron95 will consume a bit more fuel; you do still need to add lead additive for all cilinder heads other than B14.3 or B14.4.

I'd have to use quite a bit more fuel though. The difference in price between unleaded E10 (OK, that's E10, but I wouldn't be surprised if they phased out the more expensive E5 out soon) and super plus unleaded is ten Eurocents. That's 4.50€ a fill up more for the 343 and 5.70€ more for the DLS. You can buy a few more litres of petrol for that money.

volvodspec wrote:espescially for you Tom it's more interesting to find a .4E head for your 343 wich has a .1E engine; it's only a matter of drilling 1 hole for the coolant system, the rest is all bolting on parts. it's a conversion that can easaly be done in a day's work and you won't need lead additive anymore

It does sound like a nice idea, not having to worry about that extra bottle of lead additive, but price-wise it doesn't make all that much of a difference. A bottle of the stuff costs about 5.50€ for 250ml which amounts to about 0.75€ per fill-up for the 343.

Would retarding the ignition increase the fuel consumption by that much?

thebear54 wrote:Lead substitute as well as an Ethanol neutralizer are used for those "french motors".
The Ethanol count here currently is between 13-15% and have noticed a decrease in mileage (I burn 89 Octane, which is a mid grade available here).

What is "ethanol neutraliser"? Sounds interesting ...

Originally, Volvo recommended super leaded petrol (4 star) for the B14 340, which was 97 RON IIRC. Once they introduced the catalyser version, they recommended super unleaded (95 RON). On paper at least, the power stayed the same, and performance / fuel consumption (I only compared the 86 and 88 brochures though).

BTW sorry for hijacking your thread, John!

Cheers

Tom

trabitom99 wrote:

thebear54 wrote:(I burn 89 Octane, which is a mid grade available here).

Originally, Volvo recommended super leaded petrol (4 star) for the B14 340, which was 97 RON IIRC. Once they introduced the catalyser version, they recommended super unleaded (95 RON). On paper at least, the power stayed the same, and performance / fuel consumption (I only compared the 86 and 88 brochures though).

Do take note Tom of the apples 'n' oranges (It's a bit like comparing proper Imperial gallons against inferior minuscule US ones ). The "Octane" I think John refers to (and John can confirm/deny this) is the average of the RON and the MON, (R+M)/2 aka the "AKI".

Confirmed Rich.

@Tom,
"Ethanol Killer" (what I call it) neutralizes the corn ethanol which turns into a brown sludge if any water or moisture is present and clogs everything....If you Google "Sta-Bil Ethanol Treatment" you will find two products I use and swear by.
Once it has been converted the motor runs much cooler and mileage per gallon returns to normal.
I'm not sure how many of you know this but Ethanol petrol degrades after only two weeks in the tank....

John

I've had a fairly in depth phone chat with Millers Oils about the ethanol problem, they seem to be properly on top of things.

I keep a bottle of VSPe Super Duper Whiz Bang stuff in Fake at all times, as she is mapped for 97Octanes and you often find a station that has run out or just doesn't carry it so I can throw in a bottle with a tank of semi skimmed petrol. It's not exactly free with cornflakes, but for the sake of not screwing an engine I'm happy to carry it. They tell me (and have now put on their website) they have solved the ethanol issue. Price wise works out at just a bit more expensive than putting in Shell or BP full fat petrol.
http://www.millersoils.co.uk/automotive ... r=Classics

They also do a purely de ethanoling treatment, http://www.millersoils.co.uk/automotive ... r=Classics

Worth looking into at least.

I had an amazing ride over the weekend. I and "Marilyn" attended the Rhinebeck, New York car show on Sunday 5,May and she performed like a champ. 360+ mile round trip was her first real test after many electrical repairs as well as her new roof.


I averaged an amazing 36 miles per (U.S.) gallon at between 50 to 60 MPH...I was very pleased with her performance.

John

Superb What kind of comments did you get?

Cheers

Tom

Hi John.
Yes mate, what coments did you get. As 300 weren't sold in the US, it would be
interesting to here what others thought of the car.
Cheers Mark.