NEW FUEL PUMP LABELLING:

LATEST STATEMENT FROM FBHVC

2 September 2021 For immediate release
FBHVC clarification on E10 fuel usage and labelling for historic vehicles
After an extensive consultation process, the Department for Transport has introduced legislation to mandate E10 petrol as the standard 95-octane petrol grade from 1 September 2021 and in Northern Ireland, this will happen in early 2022. They will also require the higher-octane 97+ ‘Super’ grades to remain E5 to provide protection for owners of older vehicles. This product will be designated as the ‘Protection’ grade. The change in fuel applies to petrol only. Diesel fuel will not be changing.
Petrol pumps now show new labels designating the grade, the maximum ethanol content and an advisory cautionary notice. Other information regarding the introduction of E10 petrol may also be provided by fuel retailers such as the ‘Know your Fuel’ sticker (shown at the foot of this article).
For some time, service station pumps have had E5 and B7 labels consistent with the BS EN16942 standard that has been adopted across Europe. This standard also sets out the labelling requirements for other renewable fuel grades such as E85, B20, B30, etc. that can be found across Europe either on service station forecourts or for captive fleet use.

At the filling station
At the petrol station, a circular ‘E10’ or ‘E5’ label will be clearly visible on both the petrol dispenser and nozzle, making it easy for you to identify the correct petrol to use together with the warning text “Suitable for most petrol vehicles: check before use” The ‘E10’ and ‘E5’ labels look like this:

Labels on modern vehicles
New vehicles manufactured from 2019 onwards should have an ‘E10’ and ‘E5’ label close to the filler cap showing the fuel(s) they can use.

What fuel should I use?
Almost all (95%) petrol-powered vehicles on the road today can use E10 petrol and all cars built since 2011 were required to be compatible. If your petrol vehicle or equipment is not compatible with E10 fuel, you will still be able to use E5 by purchasing the ‘super’ grade (97+ octane) petrol from most filling stations.

Our recommendation
The Federation recommends that all vehicles produced before 2000 and some vehicles from the early 2000s that are considered non-compatible with E10 - should use the Super E5 Protection grade where the Ethanol content is limited to a maximum of 5%. To check compatibility of vehicles produced since 2000, we recommend using the new online E10 compatibility checker: https://www.gov.uk/check-vehicle-e10-petrol however, please note that many manufacturers are missing and there are some discrepancies regarding particular models. Additional information on vehicle compatibility issues is available on the FBHVC website https://fbhvc.co.uk/fuels.

What is ethanol?
Ethanol is an alcohol derived from plants, including sugar beet and wheat. Increasingly, waste products such as wood are also being used to manufacture ethanol. Therefore, it is renewable and not derived from fossil fuels.

Why are we using it?
Principally ethanol is being added to fuel in order to reduce carbon emissions as Britain heads towards its target of net zero emissions by 2050. According to Government experts, this will reduce greenhouse gases by 750,000 tonnes per year which, they say, is the equivalent output of 350,000 cars. The move will bring the UK in line with many European countries which have been using E10 fuels for a number of years already. In some parts of the world, such as South America much higher levels of bioethanol have been in use since as early as the 1970s.

What might happen?
1. Corrosion / Tarnishing of metal components
2. Elastomer compatibility - swelling, shrinking and cracking of elastomers (seals and flexible
pipes) and other unsuitable gasket materials
3. Air/fuel ratio enleanment
Some historic vehicles use materials in the fuel systems that are damaged by ethanol. These include some cork, shellac, epoxy resins, nylon, polyurethane and glass-fibre reinforced polyesters. In later cars these have largely been replaced with paper gaskets, Teflon, polyethylene and polypropylene which are all unaffected by ethanol. Very old leather gaskets and seals are also resistant to ethanol. As the ethanol molecule is smaller and more polar than conventional petrol components, there is a lower energy barrier for ethanol to diffuse into elastomer materials. When exposed to petrol/ethanol blends these materials will swell and soften, resulting in a weakening of the elastomer structure. On drying out they can shrink and crack resulting in fuel leaks.
If your fuel system has old hoses or any degradation of components, then ethanol may appear to advance these problems very quickly. You may experience leaks or fuel “sweating” from fuel lines. Some fuel tank repair coatings have been found to breakdown and clog fuel systems, although there are plenty of ethanol resistant products on the market.

What can we do?
The most important thing is to ensure your fuel system components are regularly inspected and renewed as part of a routine maintenance programme for your historic vehicles. Ultimately owners should look to renew fuel system components such as hoses, seals and gaskets with ethanol safe versions as a long – term solution and more of these are entering the market through specialists every day. If you should decide to make the necessary vehicle fuel system modifications together with the addition of an aftermarket additive to operate your classic or historic vehicle on E10 petrol. The FBHVC strongly recommends that you regularly check the condition of the vehicle fuel system for elastomer and gasket material deterioration and metallic components such as fuel tanks, fuel lines and carburettors for corrosion. Some plastic components such as carburettor floats and fuel filter housings may be become discoloured over time. Plastic carburettor float buoyancy can also be affected by ethanol and carburettors should be checked to ensure that float levels are not adversely affected causing flooding and fuel leaks.
Ethanol is a good solvent and can remove historic fuel system deposits from fuel tanks and lines and it is advisable to check fuel filters regularly after the switch to E10 petrol as they may become blocked or restricted. If your vehicle is to be laid up for an extended period of time, it is recommended that the E10 petrol be replaced with ethanol free petrol which is available from some fuel suppliers. Do not leave fuel systems dry when storing, as this can result corrosion and the shrinking and cracking of elastomers and gaskets as they dry out.

Engine tuning.
Ethanol contains approximately 35% oxygen by weight and will therefore result in fuel mixture enleanment when blended into petrol. Petrol containing 10% ethanol for example, would result in a mixture-leaning effect equivalent to approximately 2.6%, which may be felt as a power loss, driveability issues (hesitations, flat spots, stalling), but also could contribute to slightly hotter running. Adjusting mixture strength (enrichment) to counter this problem is advised to maintain performance, driveability and protect the engine from overheating and knock at high loads.
Modern 3-way catalyst equipped vehicles do not require mixture adjustment to operate on E10 petrol because they are equipped with oxygen (lambda) sensors that detect lean operation and the engine management system automatically corrects the fuel mixture for optimum catalyst and vehicle operation.

Additives and vehicle storage.
Ethanol has increased acidity, conductivity and inorganic chloride content when compared to conventional petrol which is typically pH neutral. Ethanol can cause corrosion and tarnishing of metal components under certain conditions. These characteristics are controlled in the ethanol used to blend E5 and E10 European and UK petrol by the ethanol fuel specification BS EN15376 in order to help limit corrosion.
Some aftermarket ethanol compatibility additives claim complete protection for operating historic and classic vehicles on E10 petrol. The FBHVC is not aware of, or has tested any additives that claim complete fuel system protection with respect to elastomer and gasket materials for use with E10 petrol. The FBHVC therefore recommends that elastomer and gasket materials are replaced with ethanol compatible materials before operation on E10 petrol. However, corrosion inhibitor additives can be very effective in controlling ethanol derived corrosion and are recommended to be added to ethanol in the BS EN15376 standard. It is not clear if corrosion inhibitors are universally added to ethanol for E5 and E10 blending so as an additional precaution it is recommended that aftermarket corrosion inhibitor additives are added to E5 and E10 petrol. These aftermarket ethanol corrosion inhibitor additives often called ethanol compatibility additives are usually combined with a metallic valve recession additive (VSR) and sometimes an octane booster and have been found to provide good protection against metal corrosion in historic and classic vehicle fuel systems.

What happens if I fill up with E10 by accident?
Don’t panic – your car will continue to run, just fill up with E5 at the next opportunity and avoid storing your vehicle for long periods with E10 fuel.

E5 Petrol
E5 petrol can contain between 0 and 5% by volume ethanol. Other oxygenated blend components may also be used up to a maximum petrol oxygen content of 2.7%. There is a variation at the pumps, not just between brands but also between different areas of the country, some will contain a lot less but the absolute maximum is capped at 5%.

E10 Petrol
E10 petrol contains between 5.5 – 10% ethanol by volume. Other oxygenated blend components may also be used up to a maximum petrol oxygen content of 3.7%. Again, there is a variation at the pumps, not just between brands but also between different areas of the country, some will contain a lot less but the absolute maximum is capped at 10%. It should be noted that some Super E5 Protection grade fuels do not contain Ethanol as the E5 designation is for fuels containing up to 5% Ethanol. To re-iterate, product availability varies by manufacturer and geographical location.

Diesel labelling
The renewable content of diesel fuel will not be changing and service station fuel pumps will continue to be labelled as B7, designating a biodiesel, Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) content of between 0 and 7% by volume. New vehicles manufactured from 2019 onwards should have a ‘B7’ and or higher content label close to the filler cap showing the fuel they can use. The ‘B7’ label looks like this:
 

DoT: Vehicle Of Historic Interest MOT Exemption 

The following is a statement of the effect of recent legal changes to requirements for MOT testing of vehicles at least 40 years old.
On 20 May 2018 the Motor Vehicle (Tests) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 came into force. Regulation 7 sets out that any car, van (under 3.5t) or motorcycle which is being used on a public road is to be considered a vehicle of historic interest and therefore no longer required to hold a valid MOT certificate if it: 
a)    was manufactured or registered for the first time at least 40 years previously
b)    is of a type no longer in production, and
c)    has been historically preserved or maintained in its original state and has not undergone substantial changes in the technical characteristic of its main components.

This amended the previous exemption from MOT testing for cars, light vans or motorcycles manufactured in 1960 or before.

V5C CLASS: if your Austin Seven is due an MOT, you will need to declare it as a Vehicle of Historical Interest when you renew your Road Tax.  The responsibility to ensure the declared vehicle is a VHI and meets the criteria, rests with the vehicle keeper as part of their due diligence. If a vehicle keeper is not sure of the status of a vehicle, they can consult a marque or historic vehicles expert, a list of whom will be available on the website of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs.  Click here for an advisory paper with more details.

MOT CHANGES: The Substantial Change which is still draft but may impact on your car. “Most vehicles first registered over 40 years ago will as of 20 May 2018 be exempt from periodic testing, unless they have been substantially changed. The Ministry of Transport has recently (January 2019) has issued a letter of clarification which can be read and/or downloaded here.  The FBHVC suggest that drivers of "Historic Class" vehicles carry a copy of this letter in their cars in case they are stopped by the Police for not having a current MOT.

MOT UPDATE (06/08/20): Restarting MOT Testing
Mandatory MOT testing has been reintroduced as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly lifted. 
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, drivers were granted a 6-month exemption from MOT testing in March to help slow the spread of the virus. However, as restrictions are eased when safe to do so, all drivers whose car, motorcycle or van is due for an MOT test from 1 August will be required to get a test certificate to continue driving their vehicle. Click here for the full government announcement

LICENSING VEHICLES WITHOUT AN MOT:  According to the DVLA, if you tax your A7 online, the system should recognise we don't need an MOT but if you tax it at a post office then you will have to fill in another, new form V112 "Exemption From MOT Testing".

MOTS & INSURANCE: An Important Message from Richard Hosken:
We have no intention of requesting an annual condition check as we are using our risk selection to ensure that we have the true enthusiast who will do this as a matter of course anyway rather than the people who get bored with an older car and let it wither and die. With the line being drawn at pre 1960 I’m confident that we won’t see people buying them as a means of cheap transport to get round the annual condition checks as they are just too old for everyday transport.
With  regard to going abroad this is fine as long as you comply with the individual traffic regulations in each country and the vehicle condition rules of their home state.  If you are moving or leaving your vehicle abroad then it will need to be re-registered and will then come under that state’s rules for vehicle upkeep.
The unknown factor will be the effect it has on values in the market place between one that has the yearly upkeep history against those that don’t.  Personally I think this will end up ensuring that people continue to MoT their classics, they just won’t get the official government certificate.

MOT INFORMATION ONLINE For sometime you have been able to check to see if a car has an MOT and the Mot history, your car or any car you know. Recent updates to the on line service means you no longer need to enter the make just the registration number.  In the case of some Austin Sevens the make is mis-recorded as say “AUSTINRUBYDELUXE ”. Now just enter the car registration and all the details are there for you. Click here  You can also check the MOT history of any vehicle: click here

 

MOT EXEMPTION WHEN DRIVING ABROAD

Members have encountered some difficulty when driving abroad being stopped by Police and asked for their MOT certificate. The official government form V112 (click here) covers it as A7s are in category R (on the back of the form) which, albeit a self-declaration form, has the government’s logo on it and the categories for exemption.

 

• USE OF LEDs IN A7s: Click here for a statement by the FBHVC

• TYRE DISPOSAL - For those who change tyres at home Councils are changing their policy re disposal of tyres.  Dorset from the 1 September 2016 charge £5; Hampshire will no longer dispose of tyres; Wiltshire appear to still dispose of tyres for free. The general advice isto take old tyres to a reputable tyre fitter who will probably ask for a small charge.

• DVLA Updates on vehicle registration - click here.

• Consequences of Discontinuance of the Tax Disc.  DVLA, accurately in the vast majority of cases, has been referring to the tax ending on ‘sale’. But actually the tax ends on change of keeper. Not all changes of keeper are the result of a sale.  To take one instance, if you pass on your treasured historic vehicle to your son or daughter you probably will not think of that as a sale. You will more likely think of it as a gift. But to make it work you will have to complete the relevant parts of the V5C to provide notification of change of keeper to DVLA. When you do that, the tax ceases. It is automatic so there are no exceptions. So don’t be caught out. Simply, whenever you change the keeper you need to renew the tax. 

• Viewing Your Driving Licence Information:  From 8 June 2015, the paper counterpart to the photocard driving licence will not be valid and will no longer be issued by DVLA. The counterpart was introduced to display driving licence details that could not be included on the photocard. These details include some vehicle categories you are entitled to drive and any endorsement/penalty points. View our infographic for information about the driving licence changes. Please note, this does not affect photocardlicences issued by DVA in Northern Ireland. This service replaces the paper counterpart of your licence from 8 June 2015.  
  You can use this service to: view your driving record, eg vehicles you can drive, penalty points and disqualifications & create a licence check code to share your driving record with someone else, eg your employer or a car hire company.  The check code will allow someone to see what vehicles you can drive, any penalty points or disqualifications, your name and the last 8 characters of your driving licence number.  You can’t use this service: if your licence was issued in Northern Ireland; to check the progress of a licence application; to check historical information, e.g. expired penalty points or old driving licence entitlements
  What this means for you:  

• Customers with existing paper counterparts: If you already hold a paper counterpart, after 8 June 2015 it will no longer have any legal status. You should destroy your paper counterpart after this date but you still need to keep your current photocard driving licence.

• Customers with paper driving licences: Paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed. If you need to update your name, address or renew your licence, you will be issued with a photocard only.

• Penalty points (endorsements): From 8 June 2015 new penalty points (endorsements) will only be recorded electronically, and will not be printed or written on either photocard licences or paper driving licences. From this date, if you commit an offence you will still have to pay any applicable fine and submit your licence to the court but the way the court deals with the paperwork will change.  For photocard licences, the court will retain the paper counterpart and only return the photocard to you. For paper licences, the court will return it to you but they won’t have written or printed the offence details on it. This means that from 8 June 2015 neither the photocard driving licence nor the paper licence will provide an accurate account of any driving endorsements you may have. Instead, this information will be held on DVLA’s driver record, and can be viewed online, by phone or post. The courts are unable to respond to queries about the destruction of your paper counterpart. Any concerns about this process should be directed to DVLA.

  Hiring a vehicle: how to prove your driving record after 8 June 2015: From 8 June 2015, you may wish to check with the hire company what they need to see when you hire a vehicle. If you’re asked for evidence of what vehicles you can drive or confirmation of any penalty points, you can request a unique code from GOV.UK which allows you to share your driving licence details or you can download a summary of your driving licence record. The code lasts for up to 72 hours and will allow the hire companies to make any necessary checks. If you cannot generate a code online then you can call 0300 083 0013 and DVLA will provide you with a code.  Alternatively, you can call DVLA on 0300 790 6801 and leave permission for your driving record to be checked verbally by a nominated hire company. This also applies if you have a paper licence that was issued before 1998.  Not all vehicle hire companies will ask for this information and we advise that you check with your hire company.  Click here to download a Word Document full description.

  PHOTOCARD DRIVING LICENCES EXPIRY: 

  It would appear that some motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of PHOTOCARD DRIVING LICENCES expire because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence. They have failed to spot that their photocard licence automatically expires after ten years and has to be renewed. Motoring organisations said most drivers believed, wrongly, that their new-style licence was for life and blamed the Government for the fiasco. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photocards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b' They said officials had failed to publicise the fact that photocard licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and must be renewed. Drivers have to pay £17.50 to renew their card, which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437 million over 25 years. The first batch of ten-year photo licences was issued in July 1998, and the confusion has come to light as they start to expire. DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding. With another 300,000 photocard licences due to expire over the coming year, the number of invalid licences could soar. A total of 25 million have been issued. At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the credit card size photo licence. Just below the driver's name is a numbered series of dates and details. 4b: The small print on the back of the driving licence is easy to miss. Number '4b' features a date in tiny writing but the significance is explained only if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'. Even more confusingly, a table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until their 70th birthday. Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving but the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine. Thanks to Ron Kentish of the A7OC for this timely warning

• SORN DECLARATION:  There is one detail that emerged from the recent DVLA changes which may be of interest and relevance to Club members, which may not be common knowledge:  It is no longer necessary to make a SORN declaration annually. Consequently, reminder notices are no longer being sent to owners. The only time that a vehicle already with a SORN declaration must be re-registered is when it changes ownership. The SORN status of a vehicle can be verified on the DVLA website using the 11 digit reference number on the V5C log book and the registration number.

  PETROL WITH ETHANOL IN IT ABSORBS WATER which results in phase separation with the pink petrol floating on top of the milky looking ethanol/water slurry. The product life of petrol is only 30-45 days in our open petrol tanks which means that at this time of year with the infrequent use of our cars, combined with the high levels of humidity in the atmosphere, we need to be particularly concerned about rusting of the petrol tank and damage to everything down-stream, as well as the lowered octane and the ethanol/water mix causing problems with the running of the car. Ethanolmate may help to overcome some of the problems with ethanol in petrol, but there is no better solution than regular use of the car.
• Failure to be a member of a recognised Austin 7 Club may invalidate your insurance with Footman James or Richard HoskEn.

• Richard HoskEn's emergency breakdown numbers .  They are:  for the UK: 01277-720763 or 0800-783-3280. If you break down in Europe the number has been changed recently to 00-44-1277-235999.  They have also added:  Accident, Fire, Vandalism Damage: 0844-8797429; and Windscreen Damage: 0844-5611934.

  • DATA PROTECTION NEW LAW 
    DA7C PRIVACY and DATA PROTECTION POLICY

    General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) - May 2018 

    1. DA7C will record Members’ and spouse’s names, postal and email addresses, phone numbers and details of their Austin Seven (s). This data will only be used for the purposes of communicating with Members regarding the business and activities of the Club, and for distributing the DA7C Magazine (names and addresses will be provided to the Club Magazine distribution company for those members who receive a paper copy). Car details will be submitted to A7CA for the Chassis Registers.
    2. This data will be held by members of the Committee on computers protected by anti-virus programmes or, where necessary, in paper form kept in a secure location.
    3. This data will be kept current by means of the Data Agreement and the Subscription Renewal Form.
    4. Members have the right and opportunity to: (a) unsubscribe from mailings, (b) request sight of their own data held by the Club, and (c) request that their data is removed from Club records. With the exception of item (e), data that is out-of-date or no longer required will be destroyed or deleted from Club records.
    5. Items and photographs published in the Magazine may also appear on the club website, and past issues of the Magazine may subsequently be archived and be accessible on the website.