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How many petrol brands can you remember?
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1386
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 11:42 pm    Post subject: How many petrol brands can you remember? Reply with quote

These days, supermarkets excepted, there appear to be few petrol brands.

In the 1960's I can remember many and at one time even in my small village of around 750 population there were no less than 5 places you could buy petrol.
Now there is only one.

[[URL=http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/EWG204/media/images24_zps691bdc8e.jpg.html][/URL



My father preferred one brand of petrol - National Benzole - and would drive to a nearby village to fill up from an assistant manned hand cranked pump.

The one brand he would not buy was Fina.

Which other ones can you remember or name?[/img]
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Peter_L



Joined: 10 Apr 2008
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 5:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

AGIP. A family member ran an AGIP station in the 60's.
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roverdriver



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
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Location: 100 miles from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There have been many petrol companies in Oz. Golden Fleece (H.C. Sleigh Ltd) was a very early one. Here is a list of those that I can remember, not necessarily in any order.

Ampol, Amaco, Atlantic, B.P., Caltex, C.O.R., Esso, Fina, Golden Fleece, Kookaburra, Mobil, Neptune, Plume, Shell, Total, Vacuum.

There are probably other short-lived ones.

Here is a timeline covering a lot of the history-

http://www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au/petrol_oil_timeline.htm
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pigtin



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 12:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember Cleveland Discol coming out in the 50s (or it might have been re-appearing after the war.) It was said to have alcohol in it. I used it on my AJS 16m but couldn't tell any difference.
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alanb



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi
Clevland discol was available into the sixties it vas said to have 25% alcohol (ethanol). See the thread for ethanol problems.
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ukdave2002



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 1:04 pm    Post subject: Re: How many petrol brands can you remember? Reply with quote

Ellis wrote:

My father preferred one brand of petrol - National Benzole -


I believe National Benzole was the brand with 10% ethanol, presumably he didn't experience any adverse effects from using it?

Dave
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baconsdozen



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 2:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm cheating here because I was looking through a very old (1952) copy of Autocar a few minutes ago. There was a full page advert in it for "Power" petrol. Anyone remember them?.
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Rick
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 6:51 pm    Post subject: Re: How many petrol brands can you remember? Reply with quote

ukdave2002 wrote:
Ellis wrote:

My father preferred one brand of petrol - National Benzole -


I believe National Benzole was the brand with 10% ethanol, presumably he didn't experience any adverse effects from using it?

Dave


Wasn't it National Benzole that gave away free Smurf toys in the 1970s?

Others that I don't remember as such, but that have long gone, include Regent, Pratts, and Redline.

RJ
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:05 pm    Post subject: Re: How many petrol brands can you remember? Reply with quote

ukdave2002 wrote:
Ellis wrote:

My father preferred one brand of petrol - National Benzole -


I believe National Benzole was the brand with 10% ethanol, presumably he didn't experience any adverse effects from using it?

Dave


I don't remember him complaining but what I do recall is the tinkling sound when the engine of the 1965 Volvo 121 was under load or accelerating.
I didn't know it then but that was the sound of "pinking" so presumably Volvo engines didn't like National Benzol petrol.

As to Rick's question whether "Smurfs" were given out with NB petrol, I don't know but a licensee of a local public house had an big collection of Smurfs in the early 1980's. He displayed these prominently around the bar.
He was thereafter known as "Smurf" himself - much to his annoyance!
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just remembered that I had an old photograph of my father's chemist shop in the early 1920's when it was owned by an old Betws y Coed family.
As a family we still own the building but in the early 1900's and through to the 1930's, I believe, petrol was sold "loose" or in cans from the place as well as paraffin. I still have a 1950's "Esso Blue" sign somewhere.

I wish I had the "Pratt's Aviation Spirit" one today.

The holding tanks were kept in the cellar entered by a big trap door below where you can see the paraffin and hurricane lamps and they were only removed in the 1986 when I had some work done to the building.

The 1950's Esso Blue tank was only disposed of last year.

[]

[/img]

I lived in Liverpool for a time in 1977/78 and I recall that there was a petrol station near Lime Street Railway Station which sold ICI petrol.
I was warned by many NOTto buy it.
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V8 Nutter



Joined: 27 Aug 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I was little I had a toy petrol tanker with Pool Petrol written on it. I think it was grey with black and white writing.

I think National Benzole didn't have lead, instead it used benzole and alcohol to raise the octane rating.

VIP and Nafta were two old brands popular round here they were always a bit cheaper than the more well known brands. They were supposed to be from Russia
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:08 pm    Post subject: Re: How many petrol brands can you remember? Reply with quote

Ellis wrote:
ukdave2002 wrote:
Ellis wrote:

My father preferred one brand of petrol - National Benzole -


I believe National Benzole was the brand with 10% ethanol, presumably he didn't experience any adverse effects from using it?

Dave


I don't remember him complaining but what I do recall is the tinkling sound when the engine of the 1965 Volvo 121 was under load or accelerating.
I didn't know it then but that was the sound of "pinking" so presumably Volvo engines didn't like National Benzol petrol.


Unlikely , as ethanol will up the Octane rating, re ICI petrol, it was produced by Burmah, (now part of BP) just down the road from Liverpool at Staney , same place that Shell operate from.

Dave
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MVPeters



Joined: 28 Aug 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 3:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

JET

My very first tank-full was JET at 4/11d per gallon. Never again at that price!

Mike - MVPeters at Comcast.net
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JohnDale



Joined: 19 Mar 2008
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I lived in Liverpool for a time in 1977/78 and I recall that there was a petrol station near Lime Street Railway Station which sold ICI petrol.
I was warned by many NOTto buy it.[/quote]

Hi Ellis, ICI synthetic petrol was made at Billingham & available from 1946.
It gave car exhausts a strange smell,so much so that you could tell if the car in front was using ICI petrol. It was made by extracting gas from coal & then other chemicals added - my father used it for many years without problems.
There was a plant built in the Liverpool area which used the same process
under licence from ICI. Cheers,JD.
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Sun Dec 29, 2013 1:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MVPeters wrote:
JET

My very first tank-full was JET at 4/11d per gallon. Never again at that price!

Mike - MVPeters at Comcast.net


The cheapest I remember petrol was 28p per gallon in 1971. It crept up to 33p by 1972, 35p in August 1973, 38p in October, 45p in November and 50p by December 1973.

And the price spiralled to 55p in March 1974, 62p in September and 70p by the start of 1975.

It was £1 per gallon after the first Geoffrey Howe budget in May 1979.
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