[QUOTE=wjwolfe82;17969246]"...vary in different parts of this country,..." Maybe gas was formulated then a bit differently than it is these days? I've also got a stock 360 that's never been opened up. I put 87 and lead additive in her and she runs just fine.QUOTE]

I'm thinking that the book is referring to the Research Octane Number. It is higher than that listed on the Pumps today and higher than the Motor Octane Number.
Anyone know when they began posting the average Octane, (RON+MON)/2, rating?

But that 360 should run fine on 87. If you are having ping and knock problems it just may be carbon build-up in the cylinders.

 

that is a little confusing to read .
Grade of fuel recommended = Regular
"factory ADJ'D fuel octane req' ments ??? wtf does that mean ???

 

Good info here... http://www.stevesnovasite.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-164646.html
It seems they rated it differently back then.

 

RON is one method of testing the point of detonation of fuel. But it does not test octane in a Real-World environment and is not really relevant to our needs.
RON tests in a slow speed controlled environment. Kinda like idling your engine wherever you go.
The MON tests the octane rating in a more relevant methodology.
MON tests octane in a high RPM hot engine similar to driving at WOT.
So RON will always be a higher number than MON.
But the powers that be chose to use the average of the two.
The octane number on the pump may be 94RON added to an 80MON divided by 2 giving an 87 Pump Octane. ( Numbers chosen somewhat randomly and may not represent actual values)
Factory adjusted? Probably something made up similar to global warming data and not reflective of real world data.

 

Some of those comments really bring back memories.
I would get gasoline on Wednesday afternoon. The fuel truck came in at around 07:00.
Give the gasoline a few hours to settle the sediment...
About 15 gallons of unleaded premium and 5 gallons of leaded regular for the TEL and my car ran great.
But then the EPA over-stepped it's authority and banned *all* leaded fuels. "Premium" unleaded just couldn't prevent the knock in my 12.5:1 engine so I had to start using Blue Max additive. (Blue Max? Can't remember)
Which contained something like 1% nitro-methane. When I went racing I filled my water injection tank with 1 qt. of Methanol and 12oz. Blue Max.
After the EPA screwed things up I would drive to the airport to get 110(?) octane and mix the octane *down* with premium unleaded.
Now-a-days I have to go to a special station that sells 100 octane unleaded for ~$8/gal or 110 octane for ~$9/gal. But since I removed the SC from my Vette I don't need the high octane stuff.

 

ALL the octane ratings were higher back in the 60's and 70's. Before emissions control parts added to vehicles and the gasoline had different octane rating methods.. You guys ever heard of Sunoco 260? I believe it was rated at 104 octane. Sunoco's pumps custom blended the gas you bought. So their pumps had more choices than the 3 we have today. Below is a pic of the kind I remember in Toledo Ohio where I grew up back in the late 60's and later.

 

I remember the Sunoco 260 . It was all over the Carolina's. Along with Amaco "white gas". No pinging with either of those. Back then I had a Mercury Comet (same as the Maverick) that had a Boss 302. I added a turbo kit- from Accell-, and high pressure oil pump (to help lube the turbo bearings) . It had a dual point dist and one of those giant yellow Accell super coils. I don't know if it was the gas octane or the car wash- but that car would fly. Lost it in the divorce.

 

That beoch.
If it hasn't already, Karma will create Justice.

 

Gasoline was sort of reddish colored and smelled wonderful I thought. Now it looks like **** and stinks.

Fresh coffee, worms, outboard motor gas, and Minnesota lake water mixes together (around 5 AM) into the best smells ever.

 

I remember the Sunco pumps , My dad had a 65 lite blue Lincoln continental 4dr that needed the good stuff . even as a kid I loved that suicide door car .

 

Yeah, I remember the good Hi Test from the Sunoco pumps........but my favorite was the Gulf station about 3 miles from me. Little pumps but the best thing was the the three little ***** going round and round when getting gas. Nice heavy pink color....smelled fantastic!

 

Back up to the truck operator manual. The first sentence under the "Use the Right Fuel" heading says: "Under most conditions, your engine will operate satisfactorily on "regular" gasoline. The fact that the "Factory adjusted Fuel Octane Requirements called out 94.0 just tells you that back in 1968, the octane ratings were calculated differently than today. Basically these engines were designed to run on regular (today's 87 octane) gas with the exception of the lack of lead in the gas. I too use lead substitute in my gas, but have been told it's not really necessary given today's fuel additives that go into unleaded gas. BTW my truck is a 1968 F350 with 360 engine and 20K original miles. I found it in a barn in Gilroy 10 years ago.

 

On the west coast Standard stations had white pump gas that was 101 octane that I used to run in my drag bike. This was in the late 60s.