Hello - We are new (and excited) owners of a 1966 Fiat 500! We bought it from a seller in Palermo, Italy. We live in California. It has been shipped over from Palermo to CA. We have so many questions, ; but our first question is, what type of gasoline should we use in this 1966 Fiat 500 that just arrived from Italy?

What is available on your side of the pond? I would suggest in a standard 500 engine, 95 octane would be OK

Congrats! I use 91 in mine, but I’m sure it would run fine on “regular” 89. I am in the US too.

Note that the Hobbler and many others chatting here are in the UK or Europe, and they use a different octane rating system than we do in the US. Their rating is RON only, and it’s a higher value than ours (we use avg of RON and MON). 95 octane in the UK is probably equivalent to 89 in the US. The typical US gas station offers something like: “regular” grade at 87, mid grade 88-90, and premium 91-94, depending on the fuel brand.

As a separate matter, I recommend doing some reading on this site regarding use of unleaded, as original 500 engines were built to run on leaded fuel. I don’t think I have hardened valve seats in my rebuilt 1980s 650 cc engine that I transplanted, but I don’t worry much about this, given the limited use of my engine. I throw a lead additive in every so often but that’s probably unnecessary.

Congrats again and enjoy the car (and this forum, which is a treasure).

Can't help you with the gas required but congrats on your new bambino. Enjoy in great health!
R

Welcome to the club! What part of California are you in? I’m living in Missouri at the moment but frequent San Diego a couple times a year!