I can only assume that some volatile compounds are evaporating out of the liquid all the time.

I'm also reluctant to use any of this old fuel in my wife's petrol car. I do, however, have a small collection of petrol blowlamps which will probably burn the stuff.

Phil
Nov 11, 2016 at 10:38 PM | Unregistered CommenterPhil G4SPZ

God, I would not dream of firing up a petrol blowlamp. They are dangerous as hell. Stick to paraffin blowlamps.

I imagine that using dodgy petrol in a car (like using paraffin in a petrol engined car) could result in burned exhaust valves.

I read not long ago that a proportion of petrol these days is butane. Presumably it is there dissolved in the heavier fractions. That would explain the bulging plastic cans, and the rapid deterioration of petrol quality with storage.

gc - thanks for asking about the Zephyr.

Petrol blowlamps seem to have been the norm in France. I have a French soldering iron incorporating its own petrol blowlamp but I have never risked firing it up. Probably originally used by a couvreur on a ladder for soldering zinc gutters.

The Zephyr now has its carte grise and is running well. Although it was in very good condition overall when I acquired it, it was still a bit of a project to get it into running order.

The starter ring on the flywheel was knackered and a replacement flywheel turned out to have different geometry, requiring the manufacture of a new mounting for the starter motor. A previous owner had buggered up the clutch, apparently by using the car to tow a caravan. The replacement clutch cover turned out to have come from a Ford Consul - visually and dimensionally identical to a Zephyr clutch, but slipping at full torque due to its weaker springs. So the clutch cover had to be replaced a second time. The brake system had to be completely rebuilt, including most of the parts of the handbrake system.

Until recently the car backfired through the carb unless the choke was kept pulled out a bit. I suspected an inlet manifold air leak but eventually the problem vanished when I swapped the carb for a spare one.

Now it just remains to fine tune the steering caster angles and to get the radio working.

The car runs well, with the torque from its six cylinder engine making up for it having only a three speed gearbox. It was designed and built in pre-motorway era, so its performance is more suitable for bursts of speed and acceleration for overtaking on A-roads than for motorway cruising.

gc - I don't know why Ford changed the design of the Mk I Zephyr's flywheel. It was done late in the life of the model, so it obviously was not solving a major deficiency. Ford made various small but worthwhile improvements during the life of the model. It is just possible (but purely a surmise on my part) that the new flywheel was destined to be used in the Mk II Zephyr, whose engine is similar to that of the Mk I, and Ford did not wish to produce two different flywheels concurrently.

Distributors. I used to have a Ford V8 Pilot - an early post war British car but with essentially the same engine as a pre-war American Ford V8. The distributor was mounted on the front of the engine, driven directly by the engine's single camshaft. The manual (if I remember) told you to remove the grill and the radiator to service the distributor. But it was quicker to remove the distributor, which you could just about do without removing the rad, and then service it on the bench. Even so, it was not an easy job to remove it, and even less easy to replace it, so replacing a faulty condenser was very far from the 5-minute job it would have been had the distributor been accessible.

Did you have any problems registering the Zephyr or was it originally French?
Nov 14, 2016 at 9:50 AM | Unregistered CommenterSandyS

Sandy S - The Zephyr was originally Swedish. The was no difficulty registering it [other than obtaining all the various forms and certificates needed]. It was just like registering a collector's car obtained from the UK for example.

Another time, if it's really of interest, I can spell out the steps involved.

The one difficulty is the French insurance companies won't insure a car without a carte grise. And to get it roadworthy, so that you can get a CT which is needed to get the carte grise, it's difficult if you can't have it on the road because of lack of insurance. I don't know how people with valuable cars (eg racing cars) with no carte grise get them insured but obviously there must be a way.

golf charlie, SandyS.

I don't know if things have changed but I swapped my UK driving licence for a French one a few years ago. No appointment was needed. I simply turned up at the Orne prefecture half an hour before opening time. The whole process, once the doors were open, took about 15 minutes.

Carte Grise is an old system?
"Carte Grise" is no longer the official name. it's now Certificat d'Immatriculation. But everybody still calls it the Carte Grise. The notes below are for the current system.

I have had no problems getting French registration for imported collectors cars. Any car 30 or more years old can qualify as a collectors car, although there is no obligation for it to be classified as such. Here are my notes on what is involved.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

How to obtain a French Carte Grise for a collectors car imported into France. (For a modern car, the procedure is different.)

[1] Go to the local tax centre and obtain a certificate (certificat des services fiscaux N° 1993 REC) that no tax is owed on the car. You take along :
- sales document transferring ownership.
- registration document from the country of origin.

[2] Obtain (download) and complete the FFVE (Fédération Française des Véhicules d'Epoque) form to apply for a certificate that the car is a collectors car and therefore subject to collectors car rules and regulations. Post to FFVE:

- The completed FFVE application form
- a photograph of the car's manufacturer's serial number plate
- photocopy of certificat des services fiscaux N° 1993 REC
- Copy of the registration document of the car
- Sales document
- Two photographs of the car in its current condition
- A cheque for €60
- Six postage stamps

After a delay of around six weeks the FFVE certificate arrives.

[3] Take the car to a CT centre, taking along the FFVE certificate, to obtain a test certificate, under "véhicule de collection" rules. One way to do this is to get the local garage to drive it to the CT centre on the garage's insurance and "W" number plates.

[4] Obtain (download) and complete form CERFA 13750*5 [carte grise application]
Go to the Prefecture of the department (get there before opening time to avoid too long a wait). This has to be done in person - it cannot be done by mail. You take along:

- Completed application form CERFA 13750*5 (download it)
- FFVE certificate (copy it beforehand - the prefecture will not return it to you)
- Controle Techique (roadworthiness test) certificate
- Certificat des services fiscaux N° 1993 REC)
- Cheque book (the tax to pay is determined by a complicated formula depending on various things and will be stated at the time.)

The Carte Grise should arrive within about one week via the post

[5] Apply for insurance, quoting the car's Carte Grise number and wait for certificate to arrive. Install the certificate on the windscreen.

You are now free to drive the car in France and in other countries.

NOTE: None of the information above should be relied on or taken as authoritative.