Avanti Cork!

[mfg]

Ethanol fuels slowly attack an Avanti's cork fuel sender float, causing it to fall apart.....True?

[R2Andy]

False. Ethanol attacks the varnish that seals the cork. The cork will then absorb the fuel.

[lschuc]

And ethanol fuel will also slowly attack the plastic floats in replacement sending units. A replacement sending unit I installed in the mid-1990s failed last year when the alcohol in our modern gasoline wore away at the edges where the float pivots on the sending unit arm. When the hole got big enough, fuel filled the inside of the float and began sending wrong fuel level readings to the gauge.

If your sending unit fails, and the electronic parts at the top of the sending unit check out in good shape, you can remove the old float and solder a brass carburetor float to the sending unit arm.

[mfg]

True Ischuc, and ethanol WILL deteriorate a cork float, causing fuel cotamination.