ideas on why its starving out for fuel???

[wvcab]

Was out driving the '50 today, and it was running great, until i got on the freeway.. got onto the freeway, accelerated great and i romped it to pass, and it sputtered and choughed and started running real rough... coasted to the median and there was the odor of extreme lean run conditions...
last august it did the same, and i thought i had narrowed it down to the fuel cap, which was non-vented, so i drilled a small hole in it, and it seemed to run fine.

anyhow, I started it up after 5 minuites and drove it off the freeway at the next exit, to the gas station, and filled it (17 gals, the tank is 26gals).

started up and it ran fine for about 10 miles, and started the whole i'm going to act like im outta gas thing. turned around and started for home (maybe 12 miles away) and it took 1.5 hours to get back home because of the whole start, stop, im going to die thing.

Tank is clean, with a new pickup/strainer in the tank, the fuel lines are new 3/8 steel lines, with no radical bends, all rubber lines are less than a year old, the filter has less than 500 miles on it, the fuel pump has less than 1000 miles on it, the steel line to the carb is new, and bent exactly as the orginal, and is insulated, the carb was rebuilt.... has 2 fuel filters, one is between the tank(canister type) and the fuel pump, and the other is the stock ford filter which screws into the carb.

stats on the rig, 1950 F 1 panel, 1977 400 w/C6, Electric fan...
any ideas??

[1FATGMC]

Is the pump elect. or mech.  I would replace the filters even though they are new, especially the carb one.

I've always put the 2nd filter between the pump and carb, not on the suction side.  Don't know if that can make a difference or not.

Another thing to check is make sure the float is working properly and the needle valve doesn't have something stuck in it or is sticking itself.

c ya,

Sum

[wvcab]

the pump is mech.

will change the filters

[40 Chev Coupe]

The same thing happened to me this weekend with my Corvette. Put a new Edelbrock carb on and thought something was wrong with it. Checked everthing out and seemed OK.
When I took it for a run it would cut out on acceleration about 50 on up, and would take a while before it caught up.
So, I checked the timing and my ignition. I replaced my distibutor with a new one I had ordered for it, but never got around to putting it in. Took out for a run and no more problem.
Hope this helps.

[Arnold]

I've had stuff do that.
When it does actually quit..get the a/cl lid off fast and see if there is gas in the carb. squirt from the accel pump a lot.. If there is I have found it is not likely a fuel problem. If there is gas..then you prolly have to get it to quit again.
 This time just as soon as it quits..do a spark voltage test. I like those little rinky dink calibrated spark plug type testers  with the little spring clamp on them. I also like the kind that I can hear "snap" and don't have to actually see them. Yank off a plug lead stuff it into this thing and clip it/ground it. Crank. Cheap way.. ground a spare plug and watch. If there is obviouslly a weak spark..wait till the motor cools and try again. Good spark? Prolly an overheated coil/module. Or you can wait till it quits..hit the coil/module with a cold,wet rag, rag..cool it down and try it again.  Bad Coils,modules can do this when hot.  I have found that by the time they start acting like this...they do  not perform up to snuff on even a cold full load voltage test.  There are also calibrated testers that are cheap..and adjustable ones..and the old..start opening up the gap until the spark gets lousy. Some timing lights.. if you want to test this in your driveway as it is getting hot..if the firing voltage starts dropping they start acting funny.

[Jokester]

Are you sure it's fuel?  Might be ignition.  You didn't indicate what ign you have.  Drive it again and when it quits cover the coil and/or module and/or crank trigger and/or any other component with a bag of ice.  If it starts right back up you've found your problem.  I had a bad condenser act that way on my Vega and same thing with a crank trigger on my V6 Buick.

my 2 cents.

.bjb

[1FATGMC]

Are you sure it's fuel?  Might be ignition.  You didn't indicate what ign you have.  Drive it again and when it quits cover the coil and/or module and/or crank trigger and/or any other component with a bag of ice.  If it starts right back up you've found your problem.  I had a bad condenser act that way on my Vega and same thing with a crank trigger on my V6 Buick.

my 2 cents.

.bjb

Good points.  Going east a couple years ago my truck started acting up like that in New Mexico  and finally quit in the middle of no-where Texas.  I thought it was gas also as I had some spark.  Took the q-jet all apart 10 feet from 80 mph semis  :cry: .   Then put on an older coil I had with me, HEI, and that did it.  The other thing, like you said, is the module in the HEI.  Carry one of those as sooner or later if you put miles on your vehicle you will need it.  A cap, rotor, coil, module doesn't take up that much space and is quick to swap out.

c ya,

Sum

[Carnut]

Course, sometimes it actually is the fuel filter.

http://www.roddingroundtable.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=60996

[wvcab]

running with a stock ford (1977) ignition system, it has a stong smell of "lean" running from the exaust.... been at work all day, and to beat to mess with it till sunday...

[mrloboy]

Does the tank have a vented cap? A customer of mine had a similar problem as yours. We found that the replacement cap was not vented. The tank would reach a vacuum point that the fuel pump could not overcome. Once the car had sat a few minutes, enough air found its way into the tank to temporarily eliminate the condition. Just a thought! Rick

[wvcab]

Does the tank have a vented cap? A customer of mine had a similar problem as yours. We found that the replacement cap was not vented. The tank would reach a vacuum point that the fuel pump could not overcome. Once the car had sat a few minutes, enough air found its way into the tank to temporarily eliminate the condition. Just a thought! Rick

running a 90's buick filler neck, and i drilled a small hole in the cap.. last summer when i first had this problem... it seemed to fix it ... for then.

[40 Chev Coupe]

Inquiring minds would like to know, did you find the problem?

[wvcab]

acutally i had been extremely busy with work, working way too many hours (5 days 12 to 13 hour shifts....) and i just worked on it yesterday,

I found rust particals in the fuel filter on the carb ( it was one of those short filters that ford uses that screws directly into the carb), so i replaced that filter, and the the inline filter back by the tank.

took her for a 12 mile ride ( even on the freeway, and she ran fine..

i dont know where the rust is from, i had the tank out last summer and replaced the pickup tube, the tank seemed clean, no noticable rust..
the fuel lines are 2-3 years old, and it has been garaged, plus we dont salt the roads out here... so i dont know where it came from

[EMSjunkie]

i dont know where the rust is from,

Ohio or Michigan

Vance

[wvcab]

i dont know where the rust is from,

Ohio or Michigan

Vance

long ways to either of them places.....