116 Giulietta vs Unleaded

Can these old ships run unleaded petrol?

My uncle is having trouble getting the LRP petrol he's used to.

a) Can he just use unleaded instead, with the car as it is?

b) Can he use unleaded if he just retards the timing (and by how much)?

or

c) Can he only use unleaded if he had hardened valve seats fitted?

Ta.

Ralf S.

Ralf is the 116, the later giuliletta ie the later Alfetta based one?.
If it is I would be suprised if you can't just use Super-unleaded. The 105 Series Cars, like my 1750GTV are happy running on it. Alloy Engines, with Alloy heads allready have hardened valve seats, the Exhaust valves are sodium cooled as well.

Or does the 116 range use different engines??

My understanding is that the 116 series of Alfas had cast iron valve inserts in the Alloy head and theoreticallywould be prone to valve recesion.
Of course how long it takes to cause a problem is another matter.
In fact it will probably take several years before it becomes a problem.
The alternative is to use 98 ron and put in an additive. (assuming available)
You do not really have to put it in every fill ,so if he forgets it doesn't really matter. But if you do use an additive it should be the same type as what was in the petrol he was normally buying as mixing additve types (not brands) can increase valve recession.

By type I mean chemical type as there are several different types of additives used.

The 116 is the unfashionable square jobbie from 1981-86 (square headlights, square body, square Alfa badges... etc.) but looks pretty cute now.

It has a longitudinal 4-pot 1.8 that looks like the regular 105 twin cam (but it has square cam covers).


Ralf S.

Originally Posted by Ralf S.

The 116 is the unfashionable square jobbie from 1981-86 (square headlights, square body, square Alfa badges... etc.) but looks pretty cute now.

It has a longitudinal 4-pot 1.8 that looks like the regular 105 twin cam (but it has square cam covers).


Ralf S.

The 116 series included this gorgeous car as well as the Alfetta sedan and the Guilietta etc
The picture shows my car just before I sold it after owning it for about 18 years .
And yes these cars had the the traditional all alloy Alfa engine that were used in the 105 series