What was Regular fuel back in the day?

[Charlie]

I still have all the paperwork and leaflets that were with the owner's manual bag from my parents' 71 Charger. I was looking thru there, and noticed this "fuel statement" on a single page card.  I found it interesting that the "regular" gasoline was 91 octane... according to this card.

I started driving in 1985.  Typically, I bought gas at Gulf stations back then.  I used "Good Gulf" that was regular leaded 87 octane.  I remember that super-unleaded at those stations was "Gulf Crest" 92 octane.  When I was much younger, I remember my grandmother was very insistent on using "Gulf No-Nox" in her '68 Mercury... although I do not remember the octane rating of that one.

So if "regular" gasoline was 91 octane back when our cars came out, when did octane ratings drop to a funky 87?

See card here---> photos.app.goo.gl/4nq8FqSdZBvBz1qk8

[Nacho-RT74]

I remember in Vzla the octanes scale was 81, 83, 85, 87 89 and i think the highest was 91 ( or maybe 93, can't recall ) my dad used to fill his cars with 83 or 85 as far I recall.

Nowdays the only ones available are 91 and 95... when there is fuel of course.

[DynoDave]

I started driving in 1980, and regular for my '70 Duster was 87 octane (and often under $1 a gallon!). $5 got me a quarter of a tank of gas to cruise with on Saturday nights. That was a little more than 2 hours of work at that time.

For a short time, a station in Jacksonville, IL had 95 octane premium with 10% ethanol. That would have have been in fall '86 to spring of '87, because I put a tank of that in my 400/4 powered '78 Cordoba, and I only had that car for one year, sadly.

[71se3834v]

Speaking of gas under $1, anyone remember when gas was priced at a half gallon cause the pump only had 2 digits? Hence when it went over .99 it then had to be sold for .51 per half gallon until new pumps were installed.

[DynoDave]

I do not recall that. Been too many years I guess.

When did it first, commonly, get over a $1 a gallon? Did it get that high during the first embargo in '73?

[Charlie]

I remember in the late-80's when gas got real cheap. Typically, I paid about 1.00 to 1.10, and then it started to slowly drop... around 1988 or 89 I guess. I would get a pocket full of tips at work (5 to 10 dollars) and would fill up my 72 Duster at the previously mentioned Gulf station... which later became Chevron. The cheapest price I paid was 59 cents a gallon... that was CRAZY even for those days! It got to the point to where the Duster never had less than 3/4 tank of gas.

Gas has typically always been cheaper along the Texas Gulf Coast compared to many other places. Gas was 1.45 just a couple of days ago when I filled up about 20 miles south of my house.

Back to the octane ratings... I drove a 67 Galaxie 500 2-door from 1998 to 2003. Had a 289 under the hood. Was pretty impressed with how well that small V8 hauled that big car around so well. In the owner's manual, I remember it talking about octane ratings. While I can't recall right now how much the suggested octane ratings for the 6 cyl, 289, and 390, I DO recall it specifically saying that the higher performance engines required 105 octane. Wow... 105? That was what premium was back in 67?

[brigond]

I remember there were some gas stations that had Cam 2 . I dont recall the octane but it was like 4 dollars a gallon back in the 80s. I believe certain Sunoco staions had it.
I think it was jet fuel.
Anyone have this in their town?
I was on Long Island, NY at the time

[71se3834v]

Apr 10, 2020 21:32:14 GMT -5 DynoDave said:

I do not recall that. Been too many years I guess.

When did it first, commonly, get over a $1 a gallon? Did it get that high during the first embargo in '73?

Here's what I remember. 1) There was a gas station that closed early in my driving career (late '70's) and the price of .57 remained posted on the sign for the longest time when the actual price was much higher. 2) The talk of the price of gas being so high, as if $1 is high, and how everyone was concerned about gas mileage factored in my decision to stick with the standard offering of the turbo 2.3 engine when I ordered a new 1980 Mustang Cobra in the spring of 1980. It was gonna be my daily driver and I had a '64 Cutlass with a high compression 330 ci for fun driving.

The only thing I remember about octane is being able to still get leaded premium at one station for my dune buggy (high comp engine) from '79 on into the early '80's. Think it was 94. Use to fill a couple of Jerry cans with it when I headed to the sand dunes.

[Charlie]

When I was in high school, there was a gas station/fisher-hunt shop near the city limits that sold aviation gas... mostly for guys taking their air boats out in Taylor's Bayou I suppose... as the nearest airport was at least ten miles away... so it wasn't for planes! Seems I recall it being about 105 octane... give or take. A lot of guys with hopped-up engines would go put a few gallons of the av-gas in their tanks on weekend nights... in preparation just in case they ended up in a race with someone. Back then (mid-80's), this gas was about 3 or 4 dollars a gallon. I never ran it in my car... I doubt it would benefit a 318-Duster a whole lot. Although, I do remember beating Brandon Gary in his 350 Camaro... just once. I think it hurt him pretty bad... being beat by a Chrysler product.

[commodore]

i know that doesent matter for you,but i recall very well when the Gas Price hit the 1 Swiss Franc per Liter in my area 

that was around 1990.