Yea but, that's the way they do it. They did the same with unleaded, separate pumps to start. Then it got harder and harder to find regular leaded until it was no longer available. Did the same with Super Low Sulfur Diesel.

 

Propane is pretty nice. Dad used to have the 74 running on propane (LP). I don't know when or why he took the LP system off, I'd love to put it back on.
Another conversion that I like the idea of, is CNG. The advantage of a CNG system would be the ability refill the system yourself, rather than having to rely on a "trained technican" to do it for you like LP requires. Plus, the fuel cost is (currently) lower with CNG vs LP.
The biggest issue with CNG, very few conversion kits available for use with a carbed system, most are geared for EFI.

 

I am surprised they are still considering going the ethanol route. I know there are more and more people in my area getting fed up with the poor fuel mileage and ruined fuel tanks and carbs from the ethanol fuel. There is a place here that sells fuel with no alcohol in it, and they do a pretty good business, even though it's higher priced. More and more people on the street are recognizing they get much better fuel economy and power from the non-alcohol fuel, and people with boats and other rec vehicles that sit around a lot won't run anything else. The real gas also works better in lawnmowers and weedeaters.

I preached the ethanol was a lousy fuel for years, but now I am getting feedback from others who are realizing it also. Of course there is all the political angles with the subsidized corn production and all that, which mostly is over my head.

 

You're really surprised that our government would do something when the majority of the people are against it?
Nothing they do surprises me anymore.

 

I guess this is something I will just never understand...

We've been using this stuff where I live since the late 1980s and the world hasn't come to an end, the sky hasn't fallen, and engines haven't melted as a result. In fact, in the early 80s when gas rose to over $1/gallon, I was looking at ways of making the stuff at home.

Yeah, performance & mileage go down a bit but it's not a drastic, night-and-day difference. And, my environment is dry enough that I've never seen a rusty gas tank (inside) nor any crap in a tank at all, they've all looked just fine.

IMHO and from my experience, the majority of people really don't care enough to get all up in arms over it cuz it's not really that big of a deal.

 

Much like everything else they do, it doesn't matter what the public wants, but rather how well they can line their pockets that has far more influence on the decisions they make.

They claim that the corn used for making ethanol is not food-grade, and has no impact on the cost of food. Yet, everything else that relies on corn has risen in cost substantially since the nationwide ethanol push began.

I'm not totally against using ethanol for a motor fuel, blended or not. It's the corn-based ethanol that I am against.
Ethanol actually has several advantages over gasoline when used as a motor fuel. The higher octane level and cooler flame tempurature allow for a much higher compression ratio to be used, which can extract far more power from an engine. This is the reason behind a lot of highly modded and/or heavily boosted engines being retuned to run on E85.
Honestly, if E85 was more available in my area, I'd consider building and tuning an engine for running the stuff. The 9.5:1 CR 390 in the 74 would be a decent candidate as it is, though 10.5-12:1 CR would be better.......

The downside of E85 or higher level of ethanol, is the cold weather starting. Which is why "E85" can actually be closer to 70/30 in winter, particularly in the cooler northern regions of the country.

Brazil uses ethanol as the main motor fuel nationwide, but their climate tends to be a bit warmer. This move has allowed them to become independant from oil imports, and they actually export most of the oil they produce. If they can do it, so can the USA, it will just require getting the correct (read: intelligent) people involved. Unfortunately, the really smart folks cannot be elected, due to the crooked system that has been created over the last 100 years or so.