Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

I am planning on a 50 mile trip to a show with the 1956 Esquire this coming weekend. For the past year, my fuel gauge hasn't worked and I have been doing the old fashioned way of keeping the tank topped up whenever any trip is contemplated. Today, just for safety's sake, I topped up the tank and the darn thing took almost 17 gallons! It's been a while, but I don't think I have driven it much more than a 120 miles this year. I'm now going to keep better records of miles driven until that guage get fixed or starts working again.

Has anyone else seen 10% ethanol gasoline disappear or evaporate during periods of non use? My 1967 Corvette might have the same issue. No noted gas smell in the garage with either and certainly no leakage has been spotted. The Corvette has a brand new tank and fittings. I no longer have teen drivers in the house who know how to siphon gas, so I will rule that one out. I do wonder, since similar things don't seem to happen with our more modern cars with non-vented and emission controls with charcoal canister breathers, if the gas is simply evaporating from the little used cars with vented systems. Over the winter months, I do use Stabil in cars when I don't expect to drive them much, but this kind of loss has me wondering. Or is this another symptom of old guy logic going amiss?

Mine always seem to have the same amount of gas when I start them up in the Spring as the had when I put them away 3-4 months earlier. For winter storage I add a small amount of 2 cycle oil rather than StaBil.

You might want to check your carburetor carefully. If you have a Rochester 4-barrel like the one on my car, they can spring leaks around the seal after a few years.

I really doubt that someone would chose to syphon gas from a 62-year-old Packard since these cars stick out like sore thumbs in a parking lot full of Toyotas and Hondas! And unless the gas thieves know anything about our cars, they probably would be unclear as to what kind of fuel is actually in these cars!

I find the title of your subject intriguing. Unfortunately, ethanol in gasoline shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

Also have a problem with my Rochester 4 barrel, using too much fuel, and a lot washes down the cylinders. So check the carburetor.
Now to find a rebuilder for mine.