Racing Fuel Blues?

I will float a recent experience out there about hard starting, feel free to comment.

Done. The test drive that day revealed NO popping out the carb. I thought I had fixed the problem. But as I push the engine harder, like I did the following weekend. It still backfires through the carb under harder acceleration. When this thing stops popping, it is going to accelerate like mad money. Notice the 340 decal - this air cleaner assembly was from my Challenger T/A when I first bought it. It was the wrong assembly for a small block, but correct for a big block. I sold the T/A a few years ago, it was completely restored with the correct small block T/A air cleaner. I may keep this decal on just as a remembrance of the old car and to mess with people's minds.

Sucks when you’re ready to jump in the Challenger and take it to work and then you can’t start it. By the way, there’s a story behind the “340 six pack” decal when it’s actually a 440. It’s off my old 340 T?A and I kept it for the memory.

A few weeks ago went to the local 76 Station that carries Racing Fuel and decided to put in a mix of Premium and Racing Gas.

After sitting for a few weeks and after some hot weather, not sure if that had anything to do with it, I tried starting the Challenger in the morning and could not start it. I got some starting fluid and nothing.

Sort of suspecting the engine was flooded, after I came back from work in the late afternoon and tried to start the car and, it started immediately.

A week later, still with the same mix of gas, the same thing happens. Exactly the same thing happens, down to the late afternoon immediate starting.

So the second time I drove out to the nearest gas station and put some regular low octane in the tank to neutralize the racing gas. Since then, knock wood, I haven’t had the problem and I’ve driven the Challenger several times this week.

(By the way, even in 90 degree weather in rush hour traffic, the engine runs cool as a cucumber).

I’m not sure if the racing gas, which burns more slowly than regular or premium, was the culprit, but I’m thinking it was.

I’m speculating with the particular setup in my engine, from the carb jets, compression, and type of ignition and timing, it is just not liking racing fuel.

I know that it’s best to run the lowest octane gas your engine can run safely on, without pinging, since lower octane gas actually contains more power and the additives commonly added to higher octane fuel have nothing to do with producing power, rather they are mainly to control preignition problems.

What do you think is going on?

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