Pre-60s vehicles can burn ethanol if system rebuilt

Eric Lai

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Q: There has been quite a lot of dialogue over the effect ethanol in gasoline could have on the fuel system of pre-1960 vehicles. A professional view on the matter would be appreciated.

A: AutoKnow forwarded your question to the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, which provided this response from Brian Kenney of Suncor Energy:

“On balance, most of the material compatibility (problems) of old vehicles are solved once the fuel system is rebuilt. Fuel components of cars don’t last forever and, therefore, most critical parts get replaced over time.

“Replacement parts for old cars are typically upgraded to new materials (as they become available) and fuel lines, if bought to new specifications, would be fully compatible with ethanol.

“The risk of fuel leakage is present in old cars, but from multiple causes. Old gum in gas tanks may dissolve and flow with rust to the fuel filter, which may plug it. This usually doesn’t happen, but may occur once or twice in unusual circumstances.

“Fiberglas gas tanks, made from polyester resin, are definitely not compatible with ethanol and need to be replaced or protected internally. Even some relatively new motorcycles have had this problem.

“Operational problems can usually be corrected with the tuning options available on that generation of cars to richen the air-fuel ratio. For example, the Ford Model T had an adjustable main fuel jet so it could run on ethanol blends — and that was back in the 1920s.”

Q: Is a handicap sticker assigned to the vehicle of the disabled driver, or can it be used in another vehicle the disabled person is travelling in?

I’ve heard that a VIN is assigned to the permit. Is this correct?

Also, are license plates with the wheelchair logo still issued?

A: Allan Cairns of the Ontario Ministry of Government Services replies:

For an individual, the Accessible Parking Permit is assigned to the person with the accessibility restriction, not to their vehicle.

The permit can be used for any vehicle the disabled person is travelling in. That is the purpose of having the permit assigned to the person and not the vehicle.

The registered user must be in the vehicle for the permit to be used to access a designated parking spot.

The only time a vehicle identification number (VIN) is required is for a Company Accessible Parking Permit, used for a company-owned vehicle specifically designated for transporting disabled persons (e.g. wheelchair taxi).

Eric Lai adds:

Back in the 1980s, number plates bearing the wheelchair logo were issued by the Ministry of Transportation to identify vehicles that could use disabled parking spots. These plates were later replaced with the accessible permit system.

As a bit of trivia, how would the wheelchair logo appear on your vehicle registration?

The answer is “QQ”. For example, if the plate was registered as QQJ-465, it was actually “wheelchair logo” J-465.

With the phasing out of wheelchair logo plates, this is no longer a reserved letter combination and may actually appear on number plates.

Q: Why are the police turning a blind eye to unreadable licence plates? Unless someone is driving daily in the sea (heavy rust blotches) or in desert sandstorms (worn white lettering on a white background), there is no way other than tampering that the useless status is achieved.

Even if it’s a natural degeneration, is it not the law to turn in unreadable or compromised plates? These drivers are getting a free ride on the 407 ETR, and how does anyone report a virtually unreadable plate number?

A: Police and Transportation Ministry officials have noted in past that motorists are expected to turn in worn or faded number plates to the MTO and get new plates when necessary.

Numerous charges exist for illegible plates or if plates are obscured by a coloured plastic cover or any object. And, don’t touch up old plates yourself as “altered or defaced plate” charges could result.

Any charge would be at police discretion and subject to interpretation by the courts.

Part of the blame for faded plates lies with the MTO, which has issued batches of defective plates in recent years. Additionally, I suspect the popularity of high-pressure no-touch car washes and home pressure washers, combined with bad plates, may also be a large contributing factor to this problem.

You can send your non-mechanical questions to Eric Lai at wheels@thestar.ca. Include year, make, model and kilometres of autos cited, plus your name, address and telephone number. Personal replies cannot be handled due to volume.

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