The end of ethanol-free gas by the end of this year

[PICTUP]

I got the following by email today. It is not good news. Are you going to write your MP about it?
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TO Classic and vintage car owners in Canada:
If you do not know yet -

To those of you in the classic and vintage car hobby, the Canadian federal government has mandated that all blends of Gasoline sold at the pumps in Canada must contain an Ethanol blend by the end of 2023. As I write this, there are NO stations anywhere in the greater Victoria, BC area that have any pure gas left in their pumps. That includes Chevron 94 Octane and CO-OP 91 Octane, which I have been personally using for years. This was mandated under the radar without letting the general public know about it.

Also, the NAACC did not even know about this, but they are now trying to fight it. Please write your local MP as soon as possible and let them know that this is absolutely uncalled for and that we need ethanol free gas for not only classic cars, but classic boats and a lot of other older gasoline engines. Ethanol is destructive to older fuel systems and can undergo phase separation, which causes the ethanol and water (which it absorbs) mix to separate from the gasoline after sitting for several months. I have attached the latest newsletter from the NAACC President John Carlson outlining the issue and what we need to do to try and reverse this ridiculous legislation, or whatever it was that they did to bring this into effect.

This link takes you to the contact information for all of the local Members or Parliament - so you can write to the correct MP in your constituency.
www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/search Click on the member you want to write to, and the contact info will come up. It is imperative that the federal government knows that this will negatively impact many thousands upon thousands of classic car and boat owners in Canada. Please write in as soon as possible. You can also send your MP a copy of the NAACC report with your letter.

Best Regards,
Ian Smale, president of the WPC Club, Vancouver Island Region (Chrysler Products)

[owdlvr]

I'm not at all convinced of the sky-is-falling ethanol issues. Every single one of my cars has run ethanol-blended fuel for over 10 years. I store everything without fuel stabilizer, usually because I'm sure I'll have it out within a couple of months. The Falcon? A year plus before firing it up again. Rally Bug? 5 years. That fuel was a little stinky, so I will admit to mixing in some fresh premium once I had moved it from the house garage to the shop. The MGB still has the regular ethanol fuel in it from 7 years ago, and still fires right up when I need to move it. On vehicles with license plates, rubber fuel lines are replaced every two years, unless they are specifically stated to be ethanol safe.

I've got 60's and 70's original carburetors, 60's and 70's original fuel senders and tanks, chinese carburetors, and complicated fuel injection systems. All are running, and storing for months or years at a time, just absolutely fine with ethanol fuels.

If you're really concerned about it pickup some Star-Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment. www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/starbrite-star-tron-enzyme-fuel-treatment-gasoline-additive-16-oz-0606412p.0606412.html?&&&&ds_rl=1283573&ds_rl=1283573&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJKqBhCaARIsAN_yS_m3WUIbutz-YaVUppSWHfWDSoS5W5p2gg9zKfZKTIOAvI-et528QFEaAs0nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#store=350 It's specifically designed for Ethanol fuels, and to prevent phase separation.

-Dave

[PICTUP]

Nov 3, 2023 8:45:56 GMT -8 owdlvr said:

I'm not at all convinced of the sky-is-falling ethanol issues. Every single one of my cars has run ethanol-blended fuel for over 10 years. I store everything without fuel stabilizer, usually because I'm sure I'll have it out within a couple of months. The Falcon? A year plus before firing it up again. Rally Bug? 5 years. That fuel was a little stinky, so I will admit to mixing in some fresh premium once I had moved it from the house garage to the shop. The MGB still has the regular ethanol fuel in it from 7 years ago, and still fires right up when I need to move it. On vehicles with license plates, rubber fuel lines are replaced every two years, unless they are specifically stated to be ethanol safe.

I've got 60's and 70's original carburetors, 60's and 70's original fuel senders and tanks, chinese carburetors, and complicated fuel injection systems. All are running, and storing for months or years at a time, just absolutely fine with ethanol fuels.

If you're really concerned about it pickup some Star-Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment. www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/starbrite-star-tron-enzyme-fuel-treatment-gasoline-additive-16-oz-0606412p.0606412.html?&&&&ds_rl=1283573&ds_rl=1283573&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJKqBhCaARIsAN_yS_m3WUIbutz-YaVUppSWHfWDSoS5W5p2gg9zKfZKTIOAvI-et528QFEaAs0nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds#store=350 It's specifically designed for Ethanol fuels, and to prevent phase separation.

-Dave

This is great info. It carries weight coming from someone with so much experience. It does allay some fears with the chicken little talk swirling, especially for those of us with much more limited scope of knowledge/experience.

Appreciate the post.

Cheers,
Don

[yrunvs]

Thanks Dave,

An important issue requires a close look at both sides. Your post may save a lot of people from making premature judgements. I don't have your credentials, but I have had similar histories with my vehicles. I look forward to hearing what others have experienced. It seems worthy of discussion. Thanks again.

John

[clay]

Similar to the concerns when leaded gas was dropped from the inventories, although I'm not convinced that being forced to use ethanol gas is going to be "ok" for some of our systems.

[Volktales]

It is especially bad on small engines for some reason. My Dad's old mower would not start at the beginning of the year. A bit of goo in the carb, and he was usually regular fuel with ethanol. Tons of YouTube videos on how bad vehicles that sit with ethanol in them are damaged. The ethics of using a food source for fuel is always up for debate as well. Funny how the government very quietly passed this through...

[clay]

Nov 5, 2023 22:03:46 GMT -8 Volktales said:

Funny how the government very quietly passed this through...

i've seen carbs totally gummed up with gel throughout the carb after years of running regular gas.  Premium seems to do better for them.

Any idea if this was passed as part of a small bill or was it tucked away inside the budget?  That's where governments (all parties) seem to like burying items that aren't actually budget related but wouldn't stand on their own without resistance.

[yrunvs]

Lots of strong evidence on both sides of this issue. Also, lots of strong opinions. So far, I see a number of contrary experiences by smart people who should know. What I'm doing seems to work for me, but I'm still open to change..... Thanks for putting the issue out in the open..

John

[PICTUP]

If one does feel like one wants to do some part in refusing the Ethanol mandate, here is some food for thought along with a petition. Just copied and pasted from an email sent to me, so you might have to copy and paste links....:



To Classic, hot rod, and vintage car owners in Canada:
I sent out a message several weeks ago regarding the non availability of Pure Gas in Canada now. Please don't ignore this.

Here is the latest update:

My name is Ian Smale; I am president of the WPC Club, Vancouver Island Region (Chrysler Products) viwpc.chryslerclub.org/

As you probably know - (and I have found many people who don't know) - the Feds quietly mandated that all grades of Gasoline sold at the pumps in Canada be required to have an Ethanol blend by the end of 2023. No more Chevron 94 Octane pure gas, nor Shell 93, nor CO-OP 91 nor Petro Canada 91 Octane. I discovered this in mid September, and by the middle of October there was NO pure gas left on Vancouver Island. This came as a shock. I contacted the NAACC who are the Lobby group in Canada for this sort of nonsense. At that point they did not know that this had happened. I'm sure you all know the detrimental effects of Ethanol on older carbureted engines, gasoline marine engines and other small gasoline engines.

For the past 10 days I have built an approved petition through the House of Commons Web Site asking that the Federal Government reverse this decision and make pure gas in higher octane grades once again available at the pumps in Canada. This petition is supported by the NAACC who are also sending it out through their network.

Please consider supporting this petition - it only takes a couple of minutes to sign. It went live on Dec 19th, and will be closed on April 17th, 2024. Please post this petition link on your web site, on your Facebook Page if you have one, and if possible email the the link / forward this message to all your members and anyone else you can think of who would potentially support it. As Car Hobbyists we cannot just sit here without fighting back. This petition has the potential to reach 50,000 plus people in Canada for signatures.

Here is the link to the petition www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-4735

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Best Regards – Ian Smale, President & webmaster of the Vancouver Island Region WPC Club. - viwpc.chryslerclub.org

[yrunvs]

I don't presume to know what's best for other people to believe, or what they should do. I require real proof before I would feel justified doing otherwise. There's been some anecdotal evidence here that indicates what other club members have experienced. Nothing has made me mistrust what I'm already doing, however. For me, the jury's still out, and this appeal from Ian Smail says nothing other than "stop this travesty, Sign a petition"!

John