On Mar 10, 6:00pm, HMENTZEN@aol.com wrote:
> Subject: Re: Spit gas mileage
> I have a 79 Spit with the downdraft weber and am averaging 26-30 around town
> this winter. I'll admit a heavy foot hurts the fuel economy. I have an
> unrelated question that someone out there might be able to answer. I went to
> change my oil last Saturday and discovered , what looked like white cream
> under the valve cover cap. Could this be condensation from not driving the
> car much this winter about 10-12 daily (round trip)? Or are there more
> serious forces at work here? The car has 56k on it. I've been driving it for
> 9 months now. It spent the last 9 years up on blocks in a field. Thanks <in
> advance< for any advice .
>-- End of excerpt from HMENTZEN@aol.com
Although someone else wrote that they thought it might be a head
gasket, I think that you'll find that if you take the car out and
warm it up completely, the foam will go away. One of the by-products
of the combustion process is water. If the engine doesn't warm up
entirely, (a run of 5-6 miles one way doesn't warm the engine up),
you will have condensation form in the oil. For years, I had people
tell me that I must have a blown head gasket on my Spit because I
had foam on the filler. When I finally pulled the head, for an
unrelated problem, I found that it was in fine shape.
Take the car out once a week or so, and run it for an hour or so.
You'll find the foam should go away. If it doesn't, then replace
the head gasket.
Doug Mitchell
dmitchel@ismi.net
dmitchel@ford.com
'73 Spitfire 1500
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