Due to my solid block, I want to change over from gasoline to keep the temps down. I'm going to convert my carbs, and run through a belt drive pump. I'm looking for advantages and disadvantages of using any of the ethanol or methanol fuels available. Any fuel I use will be more than likely purchased from VP, so yes, sealed containers to eliminate fuel quality deteriorations.

Methanol can run really rich without penalty (about 250% of gas volume, jetting accuracy need not be spot on, will run well near 5:1), most corrosive (can't leave fuel in the car), most power, tolerates high static and dynamic CR. Doesn't like to start cold, needs big pump, lines, regulator, filter etc. Very hygroscopic - every time the container is opened, air containing water vapor enters. Always use the smallest container you have. I've heard of using an inflatable bladder to fill the air space, but material?
It eats aluminum, brass, Buna-n, calcium, copper, galvanized steel, lead, magnesium, neoprene, Nitrile, plastics, Plexiglas, potassium, rubber, shellac, varnish, zinc, and many paints.
How about using CO2 or Argon (I think Nitrogen still has some water vapor?) to expel meth from the container?
You may get away with a smaller (lighter, weight off the nose) radiator.
Alcohol flames are nearly invisible, be sure your car has warnings for the safety crew.

Poly, all of the fuels will require some kind of flushing sequence figured into the maintenance program. Some of the new methanol fuels have anticorrosive lubricants added already to help slow down corrosion. (ie: VP's M3 fuel). A 5 gallon pail will probably be the right amount for 1 day of thrashing at the track, so no old fuel lying around. I did forget about the flame visibility problem. Good point. Warning stickers on the car look to be in order.

Man I can’t wait to read some of the responses from this post. Lol. Since I just had a post about alcohol recently I will butt out and enjoy.

I don't remember that post. But then again, I don't remember what I had for dinner last night. Lol! I hope I don't get slammed, beaten and tossed aside, and told to read a book.

I run methanol, use Klotz fuel lube, and apparantly am blessed by the fuel gods because i top off the tank, plug the vents, and leave it even over winter that way. I have had to rebuild my fuel system once,a year ago. First time for some of the parts since 1998. The big deal with methanol as i understand it is it will suck moisture out of the air, which allows oxygen to attack what ever it can. So if the fuel is not allowed access to air, and has Klotz in it, I personally have had good fortune. I like methanol for the extra power and tuning window, better than ethanol, MUCH better than gas. I did buy a primer plus system this year. I bought the plus system with a one gallon tank since i fully intend to use th system at all times but the run. If you run water through your heads i believe you can get by with a fairly small cooling system. Just off the top of my head i am thinking you might want to ask about heat buildup between the center two exhaust valves? I understand some motors get water plumbed into the heads below the center ports in circle track apps. It might not be a big deal in a drag motor
Since i have been kept away from the track A LOT in the last few years, i have some jugs of methanol dated three years old that check ok, no significant water in them. Keep em capped and in a cool place.

I switch to E85 four years ago and still use it
My bracket current car has two very small oil coolers for the radiator due to it being a blown methanol burning car that was towed all over at the race track except for the burn out and run before I bought it
It runs very consistently from early morning to late afternoons and cools down quickly, I have to drive it around a lot more than I would on gasoline to get the coolant and oil temps up in the morning
I do use the local pump E85 so your fuel deal will probably by be more consistent than my fuel supply

if i was wanting to "keep temps down", I would run methanol because it has a 30% higher latent heat of vaporization.

for those of you that skipped or don't remember your HS science class, latent heat of vaporization is the amount of heat required to convert a unit mass of a liquid into vapor without a change in temperature.

Methanol has to remove more heat to change to a vapor.

Joe

I've read the other alky posts and don't recall if anyone has stipulated the ideal compression ratio for its use. Iron vs aluminum head? On some recent builds, pump gas motors were pretty close in power to the high compression brothers(11:1 and +). With the 25% + use with alcohol and the procedures required, pump gas was cost effective and simple to use since we all started out using it. My BB injected altered from 40 + years ago ran a heater core as a radiator. At 13:1 with an aluminum head, the motor always wanted more heat. With zoomies, the fumes were not so appealing with a slow staging opponent. I did have some cylinder wall wash issues. Had to send the injectors to Ronco in Blue Bell PA every year to have the lines replaced. They seem to develop cracks. I assume that fuel line quality has increased since then. Without changing the direction of original question, I met 2 guys that were big bracket racers that ran in the 9.50-10.50 range. Pretty consistent. Both used a methanol injection system with their race gas.

I played with E-85, and the engine did run cooler. I did not change out my old cellulose fuel filter, and the E-85 caused it to fall apart and get into the carb. I used that as an excuse to install the FiTech EFI, with new high pressure pump and stainless steel screen fuel filter. Currently running gasoline, but I might try out the EFI with the E-85 again. Just need to install the larger Walbro 450 lph pump that is good with E-85.

The VP C85 is a very good compromise between gas, and meth. You get real cooling, but not so much that you can't get heat. Corrosion is negligible compared to meth. Half the cost of race gas, and makes more power than gas because of the O2 in the fuel. The C85 also has MTBE, as a further oxidizer.

Ive ran meth in carbs, and injected, and it is for sure the way to go if you're making big power where that's all that will work. Gas is too hot in the summer, and meth is a pain in winter. E or C85 works great in both.

Since no one read this, I'll just take it down, m'kay?

My goal is to run upwards of 14:1 cr with as close to a flat top piston as possible. It shouldn't be too hard with a 4.560 bore and a 4.625 stroke. Once the heads are done, I'll see how much they can be milled to get the proper chamber cc's to run a flat top. I remember the MTBE additives from years ago. They (Ecology Police) finally figured out that while trying to save the birds and the frogs, they were causing cancer to us mere mortal humans. I'm thinking of starting out with VP M1, and maybe switch over to M3 once I get a handle on how methanol works.

Man you guys run the good stuff. Lol. I like the 145.00-165.00 for 54 gallon stuff.

I have been racing about 7 years I'm on my second BB A body and have never used anything but M1 methanol. Its how my first car came set up and , I have not found any real downsides, although it can be a hassle at times. Something no one has mentioned is you cant just jump in the car and run it for a minutes on a cold engine. You must bring it up to 180 to burn off any condensation from inside the engine. If not you will most likely milk the oil with the moisture. Alky binds with water, and that is the enemy when using alky as a fuel. That said there are ways around it such as a primer plus system as mentioned or something similar to run and warm up on gas, and belt driven vacuum pumps to pull the moisture out. I do none of that. I'm just careful. Also have used 3 year old methanol and didnt notice any difference form fresh. Lots of guys down south run it to both keep the engine cool and for the consistency it provides in high humidity as it doesn't rely on atmospheric oxygen like gas. I think if you want to be a competitive bracket racer, and especially if you are in the south, it's a wise move. That said I am running in the north and see plenty of guys on gas printing time slips. Depending on what your set up is you will probably spend a couple of grand converting over properly and thats with a carb not mech . injection. If you do this dont skimp and do your homework or your going to spend alot of money and have alot of problems.

Our next big block engine will be set for E85

I have heard either a Primer Plus system, or some guys use oil heaters to get some heat in the motor prior to fire up. With a solid block, warm up shouldn't be too hard, even on alky. Lol! Working with a close friend and expert on fuel systems to help with the carburetion calibrations.

I really appreciate everyones input on this. This is unknown territory for me, and I'm really looking forward to the challenge.

it doesn't rely on atmospheric oxygen like gas
How does that work?

Sorry if I wasn't exact with my statement. Methanol is an oxygenate, meaning it has oxygen in it. Changes in the atmosphere, don't effect like gasoline.

Well, why not really put some compression in it if you're going meth? 16:1 is just dandy.

Bought a pair of Quick Fuel E-85 metering blocks at the March Indy cyl. head swap meet in 2017. Calculated a 30% increase in area for all the fuel flowing holes in my carb. and enlarged/jetted them up. Bought local E-85 at the nearby B.P. station. Runs great. No detonation at 9.9 C.R. and 13 lbs. of boost at 20 deg. timing. The only real problem I have is if you let it sit for weeks, the accelerator pump check valve weights under the shooter get "sticky" and the pumps won't work until I remove the shooter and wiggle them while pushing the pump arm. I do drain the system and flush it with gasoline at the end of the year. I am running bare aluminum fuel lines, bare aluminum fuel cell, regular A/N line and fittings. After a cruise/beating session the intake manifold feels to be about room temperature upon arriving back home. For me the benefits more than outweigh the liabilities.

We ain't like that

At this point I was planning on running as close to 15:1 as possible. I want to maintain as minimal a dome as possible while keeping maximum compression. Still waiting on my heads to come back before making any hard decisions. At any rate, I don't feel that there would be much to gain trying to increase compression beyond 15:1.

X2, you're in the zone of diminishing returns for more static CR.

I was told years ago by a pretty sharp engine builder that at about 15.5 compression gains become vitually zero, and more compression just takes more fuel to bandaid problems. That is why my motor is at 15.1/1

That would be true if you had a cylinder head that could actually fill the cylinder. That doesn't really exist in the mopar aftermarket save a Pro stock head. So higher statics always help.