I think the hotter the engine got, the better it ran on diesel. Weird. E-85 was a real surprise. Science!!

My dad had an old Plymouth truck with a flathead 6 engine that he ran only on diesel. 2 Cylinders were configured as an air compressor, and another 2 were just disabled... When I bought my first vehicle a 1946 Ford Jailbar I ran that on diesel too 18 years and never missed a beat. Also my jailbar only had 3 working cylinders.

Paul, the old farm tractors used to run on kerosene or distillates which is about the same as diesel fuel. They had a small tank for gasoline used to start the tractor. Once started on gasoline, they would run the engine till hot and switch to kerosene. Before shutting it down they would switch back to gasoline and then shut it down. Some of the tractors also had a water tank to inject water into the intake manifold. This would increase the economy of operation. 👍 I love your’s and Model T’s videos, keep up the great stuff!

My father was in high school during World War II and ran his Model A on kerosene. He had a shut-off valve in the full line and started the car on gasoline poured into the carb. Then slowly opened the valve to wean the engine onto the kerosene. Also mentioned that he ran two head gaskets to lower the compression. He and his buddy had to remove the head to chip out the carbon every ten days or so. Stumbled onto your site a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoy. Thanks.

My dad was also a teen during WWII, he also used kerosene when he couldn’t get gas. My dad lived at the top of 10th Ave. in San Francisco it’s a long steep hill. Dad said his Model A wouldn’t start by turning the key with the kerosene so he’d roll down the hill in hopes it would start (it wasn’t always successful), he said it didn’t run great but got him around.

Thanks for the demo.. FYI you would have had a better chance with a higher proof mystery fuel like everclear.

OK, so I know that Paul knows this, but for folks watching: "moonshine," or any other hard liquor like vodka, is about 50/50 alcohol and water. Water has a very high specific heat, meaning that it absorbs lots of energy. When you atomize the moonshine, suck it into the combustion chamber, and spark it, even assuming the alcohol ignites, the water in the mixture will absorb most of the combustion energy, leaving little to power the piston. That's why it won't run on moonshine. Too much water.

I saw an old ad for a wood gas contraption to mount on the back and run your model a off of that.

My friend Bob said during WW2 as a teenager he worked at a paint shop in Denver and he used waste paint thinner to drive his Model A up the hill to Golden, Colorado and he would coast to work downhill the next morning. 🙂

Excellent video! Thanks for trying out the different fuels. I once knew a fellow from Tennessee, who he replaced his spark plugs with corn cobs. How he did this was to run thick wires through the corn cob(electrodes) and shove the corn cob into the cylinder head. The car idled fine. But when he accelerated, the corn cobs flew out and dented his hood.

Paul, I have a jar of pure Harlen Co. Kentucky moon shine, 100proof. That should get you going lol. Stay safe Terry. 😊

Diesel has about twice the BTU content of gasoline while alcohol has about half. I ran my race cars on straight alcohol and the fuel air mixture has to be really rich. One time while towing to a race, I ran my tow vehicle out of fuel. I had a lot of alcohol available so I dumped about 5 gallons in the tow truck. It started, but wouldn't pull. I stopped and adjusted the carburetor choke to where is was almost closed. It then started and ran pretty well. It was at least enough to go about 5 miles to a filling station.

That moonshine has been "proofed" meaning diluted with water.

I was wondering as you drove with the diesel, if it would actually start without the bit of residual gasoline, but you covered even that. That was an enjoyable experiment to watch. Thanks for doing it!

Hi Paul , good to see you up and at em. I love those cars. Especially the smooth sound.

Wow! I was so scared when you put that diesel in there...never would have done that myself, but now I know in a pinch its ok. Thanks, that's science! 😁

I had my doubts when you started this Paul...but this turned out to be a really fun video!

I would imagine that one had to use shine straight from the still, around 95% ethanol. What you used was approx. 50% water.

I Love looking out over the Hood as you drive

Excellent test!!!! Funny thing in a recent video you were talking about how you wanted a Model A because it has no electronics and I commented that my wife and I wanted a duece an a half for the same reason. But, the duece and a halfs are actually labeled as multifuel engines! They can run on anything that goes bang including used motor oil and vegetable oil! There are warnings about running straight gas due to the lack of lubrication, but it will do in a pinch. Thank you for today's science lesson!

Where else in the world do we get to tag along with this kind of experiment. Thanks Shinn this just made 2024 much cooler! PS great work Model T!

Hello Paul. Thank you so much for the videos. You could make anyone fall in love with the Ford Model A. I’m a classic muscle car person but saw a Model A for sell a few weeks ago and purchased it. Took possession of it today and drove it for the first time ❤amazing. So much fun. I am so happy and thankful to your videos I know how to get it started and how to drive it because of you. Great job!

Amazing test Paul! Here in Brasil we have a poor gasoline and etanol too....and Diesel of course! It made me want to buy one more after testing it!

Sometimes I think you are reading my mind. All the discussions lately remind me of stories my dad told. Prior to his service in WWII, he told me of people (including him) even running their cars on dry cleaning fluid (he had a 33 Ford Tudor). Yes, there was significant pinging, etc but it beat walking. Rationing gasoline caused a lot of creative solutions. I was completely surprised by the diesel. And I was in hysterics with the moonshine segment. 😂. Thank you as always, hopefully this helps settle some of the debate. Have a great week ~ Chuck P.S. Should have tried RC Cola, I know I run better since you turned me on to that.

What about a Flathead V8? Also, you should make a follow up video, and take it to a dyno, and test it with each different fuel. Also Kerosene.

Great video Paul! Very interesting

Very interesting video. Was also curious! Have a good week.

I ran out of gas in a 1985 Ford Ranger. I bought 2 quarts of rubbing alcohol and 3 cans of gas dryer. I made it to the gas station 1/2 mile away. I would not reccomend it, but it worked.

Now this is quality reality television. A clearly loving couple having fun enjoying a hobby together. And I learned something. Bonus. First time I have heard model A and snappy in the same sentence.

I've always been curious about this!

This video reminded me of an article I read many years ago about a man who lived in Cuba that had a heavily modified 1957 Chevrolet that he used as a Cuban Taxi. In a country where most of the cars are old 1950s American cars this man modified this old Chevrolet to be a dual fuel vehicle with two fuel systems. One fuel system was gasoline, the other for when gasoline was scarce was heating oil fuel. According to the article he had to start the car on gasoline. After the car was running on gasoline he could switch over to heating oil. The car engine would make a lot less power and considerably more smoke when running on heating oil.

Coil a copper diesel line two turn around the exaust manifold before feeding it to the carb

Ver interesting video like always Paul. There are some moonshine and other hard liquor that are 3/4 alcohol or 151 proof that I believe might make the engine run. Thank you and model T for your great videos! Saludos, Ricardo from Mexico City

I was surprised to see that the Model A would run on diesel fuel, and it likely would have run well on alcohol if it was more pure instead of a diluted form, however it would have been detrimental to the gaskets, and the spark gap would have to have been adjusted to compensate for the flash point of the alcohol. This was an interesting experiment. Thank you for sharing your experience with us all, and posting this video! Please have an excellent and awesome day! ☀️✨🏎️

Thank you. I really enjoyed this episode.

Hi guys. That was very interesting. This is not a criticism, but I think if you had NO alternative to running Kerosene or diesel or moonshine and you spent more time fiddling with timing and mixture that there may be a way to have a model a run reliably on an alternative fuel. I remember that in the 70s the Offenhauser Indianapolis cars ran alcohol as their fuel., so running on alcohol is possible just don't know what was involved in making that happen. Your moonshine sip made me laugh. Thanks for an entertaining and educational morning!

Thank-you for being braver than almost all of your viewers. Very interesting results and commentary. Now, I have some leftover kerosene and I’ve been wondering about how I’m going to dispose of it . . .

Excellent video. If you make a part 2, put it on a Dyno and see what torque readings you get at different rpm’s. In a side note, the rumor down here in the South is to put a gallon of diesel in a full tank to prevent vapor lock. Seeing it run in diesel, then it seems like a gallon mixed into a full tank shouldn’t be a problem at all. It seems that the diesel would have a slower evaporation rate, and would help prevent vapor lock.

E85 is highly corrosive though. You got a new sub! Great videos 😁👍

Great video. So much fun.

Thank you again for another informative and entertaining video. Was worrying for you about starting again on diesel. I've walked home before. Funny how Model T knows about other alternative fuels. Listerine. Fingernail polish. 🤪 Ha, Ha! Love your videos! 🙂

Ole Smokey! It does indeed come from Tennessee, I've been to their distillery a couple times to pick things up. Their moonshine pickles, cherries, and other such items are very flavorful and a great way to liven up a sandwich or treat. The flavored shine is far milder and as well as flavorful and pleasantly drinkable. Next test could be a wood gasifier to see how it runs and how much wood you would need to run vs gas.

"Please start, please start, please start." Been there!

Back in the late 70's my dad had a 74 Chevy with a 350 c.i. which he put a tank of diesel in and ran it, to clean the engine, he said. Well it didn't want to run too good, but it did run. I think he just wanted to have a little fun, but I never really knew what the real outcome was. Tina is so funny, doing that chugging bit cracked me up, she's definitely got a good sense of humor. Good test Paul, thanks for sharing the results, have a blessed weekend!

Great video!!

My grandfather had a Minneapolis-Moline tractor from the 40's that started on gasoline then you switched it to distillate. He only ran it with gasoline

That was truly interesting!

I ran a 4 barrel carburetred 84 F-150 on E-85 as an experiment in the early 2000's.... my conclusion was that if it were easily and permanently available in my area I would have considered the mods needed. To function well I think it needed something like low 10:1 range compression ratio minimum and the ability to accurately flow about 15% more fuel at Idle and mid range.... wide open on interstate was fun .... just off idle in traffic was crazy...

As always, Great video! The moonshine that you purchased was half water. with Alcohol made for consumption the "proof" is how much alcohol is in the product for example 80 proof products such as Crown Royal & Black Velvet are 40% alcohol by volume. 100 proof products such as Whistle Pig 10 year old is 50% alcohol by volume. when alcohol is distilled usually at best comes out of the process at about 190 proof or 95% alcohol, then cut with water to the desired proof. The closest thing you can purchase at least here in Nevada to that is Everclear which sold in Nevada is 190 proof and that is something more like the old timers would have used.

Great stuff - educational and funny at the same time. Maybe 1/2 whatever and 1/2 gas would do the trix and be a more realistic setup.

Good video Paul. Thanks!

Gas cans, love the 5 gal army gas cans. hate the new plastic jugs.

I guess when it came to fuel way back when the thought was "any port in a storm". I figured it would not run on the moonshine and I knew what Tina was going to do when she took the funnel from you at the end. I was chanting Chug Chug Chug!!

i literally took one sip of illegal shine one time and said never again it tasted the way that i would imagine rubbing alcohol would taste

I've run diesel I newer vehicles (60's) and found that they will do fair if the engine is hot and don't give them too much throttle all at once.

Popcorn Sutton run his on moonshine .haha

Wow nerve wracking video. You are definitely more brave than me.

I always had the feeling that Tina was a party hgal! LOL - She is so much fun! lots of laughs, great vid

My grandfather mentioned kerosene was sort of ok. A Triumph spitfire could do that too. It might run on fine-filtered rapeseed oil, gas prices are 2.5 times higher than yours you know. Some diesel owners do this, but it must be the clear version, not the yellow stuff with residue. Btw, some years ago the city buses of Goeteborg were tested on pure alcohol. These Swedes found that the most cost-effective way to get alcohol was to distill cheap Italian red wine. Imagine the reaction of the Italian newspapers when they found out that city buses ran on their wine. With the diesel, perhaps there has to be a certain airflow to create small enough drops that the burn gets efficient enough ..

I love the experiment! It is my hypothesis that with California limiting the alcohol content for sale (for consumption) to 120 proof (60% ethanol... and the rest basically water) that was too low of a percentage of combustible fuel. I would also hypothesize that a higher proof spirit, (Say Everclear (R) 190 proof = 95% ethanol, it would run on it similar to the E85.

I thought e85 would work too! I was surprised diesel worked at all because of the low compression. One time, I threw match in a puddle of it and it put the match out.

HI Friends!: REALLY interesting experiments! Would have been interesting to see what it might have done on Camp Fuel! I bet it would run better than on either E85 or Diesel. Kerosene would have also been interesting, but probably would have been similar to Diesel. It is possible that rejetting the carb might improbe performance on either alcohol or diesel/kerosene. Thanks for a really cool and interesting video!

Paul, I wish you had thought about Coleman camp fuel. It's actually white gas from what I understand, although Wikipedia says it's closer to naptha. Smells more like gasoline to me though. It's got an octane of about 60. I think that low compression A would do pretty good on it.

Hey Paul, you sure are look 👀 good. Guy in our club last year tried E85 with the same results as you got. When doing these types of experiments you need to stay close to home just in case.😜

I remember "dual-fuel" tractors ... starting on normal gasoline and once warm you had to change to kerosene. (was a lot cheaper than gasoline) I suppose that, if you could warm-up the diesel-fuel just enough to "vaporise" better, the engine will run more or less OK even if you'll have to make the mixture "richer" (maybe). Another test that you could do is using "thinner" (for paint) or "White-spirit" but I think that especially with that last one, you'll have the same result as with kerosene.

Have to admit those are tough engines.

I want to hook a leaf blower to my Model A pickup carburetor and see if I can get some turbo action!

it takes compression and heat for alcohol to work and that shine was probably 50 50 alky and water. alcohaol racers usually start on gas unless the eng is warm.

I think the problem with the "moonshine" was that it didn't actually have enough alcohol versus the totally incombustible ingredients It is probably half alcohol and half water. Everclear might have a much better chance. The thing about E85 is that it is 100% combustible, with the other 15% being actual gasoline. But alcohol requires a very different air to fuel ratio than gasoline, and it needs more volume of air and fuel as well. My "flex fuel" F150 ran great on E85, but got truly half the mileage that it did on regular gasoline. Alcohol has less energy than gasoline. You can get more power with E85 than on gasoline alone, but you have to get more air and alcohol into the cylinders than for an equivalent amount of power with gasoline. So, I'm not surprised that it ran, but not well, on E85 and didn't want to run at all on that moonshine. The surprise to me was how well it ran on diesel. I figured it would run, but that it was actually driveable was nice. Of course, if gasoline were scarce, diesel would be as well for all the same reasons, so it would not be a very realistic alternative.

I would have been interested in a gas diesel 50/50 mix attempt. Accidently pumped gas onto a fiesel rig once, drained, added to partial tank of gas in my 59 f100. Ran fine, started good. Didnt yry to haul loads till diesel was gone though, prob would have burned pistons...

The ford model T was built for farmers I mind the fuel mixture and timing can be adjusted for high alcohol fuel like e85 but not on alcohol alone. Now did he carry it to the model A I don’t know. There was Ethel fuel ( leaded gasoline) that was high octane gas. And alcohol additives was to expensive. There is a video on leaded gasoline and how and who made it. It is a must watch.

That is a beautiful Model A.

Great experiments. I am not an expert not even an internet one. Alcohol/methanol fueled engines use more fuel (30% ish?) in the ratio and more timing advance than gasoline will tolerate. E-85 gasohol is sumthin like 130 octane equivalent. Your mileage per gallon will be less.

Model A Guy words of wisdom - “I’m never doing that again.” I didn’t think your car was going to run on any of the fuels and was amazed when the diesel fuel fired and idled. Model T is the real hero to save the Moonshine!

I ran my Model A in high school in the 1960's on 5 gallons of Napha soap which was free and 4 gallons of gasoline @23.9 cents per gallon it would run all evening for $1, but needed eyther to start

I didn’t think it would run on 50/50 moonshine, because of the 50% water. In Hawaii most gas stations only have E85. So what do you use in your Model A? I’m just surprised that you used your coupe instead of Stella. Great video!!

I was thinking when he put the shine in it was going to be like back to the future III when Doc put booze in the DeLorean. 😂

I run the same gas that I put in my daily. Runs great every time.

Our gasoline doesn't have much ethanol in it. In Nova Scotia the low test and mid grade may contain up to 10% ethanol but high test doesn't contain any. So with low test or regular or mid grade which is half regular and half high test there is no noticeable difference in performance. High test will eventually have ethanol. Our cars here are E85 engines but there's not any E85 fuel here. With the A Fords there's no problem with gas lines or carburetors as they are all steel and brass and cast iron construction. The aftermarket Tillotson and others can be a problem. I never use them Zenith only.Ethanol gas gives poorer gas milage. There is a good article a year or two ago in the Model T Times the official journal of the Model T Ford Club International . It's really worth a read. I see no advantage in ethanol gas as it lowers gas milage. How can you burn more and pollute less. Makes no sense. It's really bad for any seasonally used engine or little used engine with a white metal carburetor as it collects moisture and can ruin them very quickly. Water in gasoline if left dissolves white metal if not drained before storage. The small engine equipment dealers here recommend using high test only.

I grew up in north/west North Carolina bordering Wilkes County, I’ve heard it called “moonshine capitol of the world”. No idea if that’s true but I do know growing up there that if you wanted some moonshine all you had to do was ask. I had so many friends over the years say “taste this, it’s like water”, yeah water with gasoline in it!! I never developed a taste for it until,,,,,, my father in law said “taste this, it’s like drinking water” . It was peach flavored moonshine and was the best I’ve ever tried, the only I could ever drink!!!! Unfortunately the old timer who made it passed shortly after and I never was able to buy a “case” of it.😉. Paul if you ever get out this way let me know,,,,,,,,

I wonder if you could use used vegetable oil, Trans fluid ect like some diesels can run on?

I think it would have ran on Tina's nail polish remover which is acetone with a little lanolin in it. It might not have been real happy though.

Now I had always heard that it would run on other things. What I always heard was if you had a broken spark plug and didn't have a replacement that a small length of broom stick and a nail could get you there in place of the broken plug I think that was just bunk! After thinking about it over the years I think that was bunk also because you wouldn't have a way to create a gap, right!?

If it smells like French fries, it is not “diesel”. It is recycled, vegetable oil.

Thank you. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. And Yes I thought E-85 would have worked just fine. Diesel was interesting too. No need to waste moonshine on a car anyway lol.

I am pretty sure it will run on Benzene since this was during the time that Henry Ford was advocating replacing gasoline with Benzene. He even opened a bunch of Benzene fuel stations

Love your channel, been watching for a few years now....Your lucky that diesel don't blow that motor...But...It's all for Science.

Can I ask you a question on my model AA on why it’s not running right?

It probably would have ran ok on kerosene. We had a tractor when I was a kid that started on gas and you switched to kerosene. We always ran it on gas but the old Farmall M had the provisions to switch fuel.

Old John Deere two cylinders had all fuels, start on gas, get the heat up and switch to diesel. Be sure to switch back to gasoline before you shut it off.

From what i understand, alcohol likes compression. A model a at 4.2 to 1 probably isn't the optimum. Some street rodders running e85 are running 11 to 1. Alcohol compesates for poorer breathing as it has a high oxygen content. That's why less btus

LOL I didn't know your wife had a drinking problem..😂😂😂😂. Great video good to know GB🙏

You need to run Bacardi 151 rum. 50% is too much water. With the 151 it will run like the E85. I tried it in my '29 Model A just for grins...

Old men have told me that Model A's ran okay on Kerosene. It was cheaper than gas back then and/or you could use some of your mom's stove fuel

Am I correct in saying the fuel water separator is also called a sediment bowl?

I wonder if substances such as Everclear (basically 200 proof alcohol) or rubbing alcohol would work?

Here’s what I think is going to happen in the future for classic cars: A- classic cars will be exempted from switching to EV B- instead of gas, it’ll be a cleaner fuel source C- classic cars will still use gas

Contrary to popular opinion, gasoline doesn't come from dinosaurs. It actually comes from ancient ocean plankton, that died and settled on the ocean bottom in an anaerobic (lacking oxygen) environment and covered with silt. There's a lot more that has to happen before it becomes petroleum, but dinosaurs were not involved...

Hola Paul y Tyna, por favor, trata de poner opción de subtitulos en español para todos los fan's del Ford modelo A,, de Sud América.Saludos desde CHILE. / Victor

The experiment was worth it. But I'm not as positive about the results as you are. While the diesel was a qualified success, I wouldn't have said even that much for the E85, and the white lightning was a decided failure. But I wonder about the water content of the booze.