Octane Rating of Canadian WWII vehicles

[Alastair Thomas]

After the war was over, my Father mounted an expedition to visit Ain Dalla. This uninhabited oasis is NE of Farafra oasis to the East of the Great Sand Sea. It was a jumping off base for the LRDG and there were reputed to be stores dumps still there. And so it proved. There were boxes of flimseys and some jerry cans. Some of the flimseys still had petrol in them and my Father drove back to Cairo on it in his Jeep, some 370 miles. When he got the chance he sent a sample to the Shell offices and they analysed it for him. They pronounced it to be 53 octane and "should not be used in a motor vehicle"!
Having said that he also fitted a second fuel tank to his Jeep and would run on paraffin when the Police were not in evidence.
We still have his desert equipment including his bubble sextant and Cole sun compass. In a burst of enthusiasm I have just finished making a small batch of replica Bagnold sun compasses.
Alastair
F60S
Lynx I MkIII*