72 Duster: You can lead a horse to water, but...
The BIL liked the 1969 Valiant grille but I want to go back to a stock 70-72 grille.
The engine bay sure needs a good cleaning.
I pushed it down the hill and behind the shop, then tried to start it.
Nope. Even with a fresh 5 gallons in the tank, the fuel pump barely pushes any fuel. Why?
I pressurized the gas tank with an air hose.....this usually pushes fuel up the line to the filter and carburetor. The filter didn't fill up put it did push some gas in.
I filled the float bowls with gas and started it up. It ran rough and stalled easily. I had to keep it at a fast idle to stay running. I could see fuel dripping past the boosters, then it stalled out. It was flooded, then out of fuel because the pump wasn't working right.
Over the years, I've found that rubber hoses dry out and crack on the cars that sit a lot. My red '70 Charger never seems to have fuel problems but I do go out and start it frequently and I actually drive it a fair amount.
I put a known good Holley 600 from my '67 Dart in the Duster and it ran great....until it ran out of gas. Again, fuel delivery problems.
I'll dig in deeper tomorrow. It could be a dying fuel pump, a rubber fuel line with some cracks in it, (Allowing the pump to suck air instead of fuel) or maybe something clogged up in the sender or fuel line itself.
The carburetor is clean inside but still floods. The floats move freely. The needle valves aren't stuck.
Lesson to be learned here: Ethanol gas eats parts. Old cars using Ethanol can survive as long as they are driven. Fuel stabilizer may work for some people but it hasn't helped me.
I have a rebuilt ThermoQuad that I'm going to swap in. I have to change the intake manifold to do it though. The Thermoquad will have an operational choke so this is actually a nice upgrade.
The BIL liked the 1969 Valiant grille but I want to go back to a stock 70-72 grille.
The engine bay sure needs a good cleaning.
I pushed it down the hill and behind the shop, then tried to start it.
Nope. Even with a fresh 5 gallons in the tank, the fuel pump barely pushes any fuel. Why?
I pressurized the gas tank with an air hose.....this usually pushes fuel up the line to the filter and carburetor. The filter didn't fill up put it did push some gas in.
I filled the float bowls with gas and started it up. It ran rough and stalled easily. I had to keep it at a fast idle to stay running. I could see fuel dripping past the boosters, then it stalled out. It was flooded, then out of fuel because the pump wasn't working right.
Over the years, I've found that rubber hoses dry out and crack on the cars that sit a lot. My red '70 Charger never seems to have fuel problems but I do go out and start it frequently and I actually drive it a fair amount.
I put a known good Holley 600 from my '67 Dart in the Duster and it ran great....until it ran out of gas. Again, fuel delivery problems.
I'll dig in deeper tomorrow. It could be a dying fuel pump, a rubber fuel line with some cracks in it, (Allowing the pump to suck air instead of fuel) or maybe something clogged up in the sender or fuel line itself.
The carburetor is clean inside but still floods. The floats move freely. The needle valves aren't stuck.
Lesson to be learned here: Ethanol gas eats parts. Old cars using Ethanol can survive as long as they are driven. Fuel stabilizer may work for some people but it hasn't helped me.
I have a rebuilt ThermoQuad that I'm going to swap in. I have to change the intake manifold to do it though. The Thermoquad will have an operational choke so this is actually a nice upgrade.