tdelph

As many of you probably already know...I have replaced just about everything you can think of on my 67...so when my car died last night driving around the City I was baffled. It seems as though the gas I last put in it has caused issues. I assume the gas tank is the culprit. Everything else is brand new and has been replaced. The tank looked fairly new when I bought the car in 1999 so I figured it was in pretty good shape. I always keep plenty of gas in it and only buy the best gas I can find. When I went to pick it up about a week ago, my mechanic had left about a 1/4 tank of gas in it... at least according to the gauge in the car. So the nearest gas station in about 20 miles was a WAWA...I put about 1/2 tank in it because I didnt want to run much of that gas in it. I assume this is where my trouble started. I had so much planned for this weekend...such is life.

anyone been through this? We are starting with the gas tank. I am going to yank it out and have it dipped at a local radiator shop. Then we will go through the lines, filters and carb...any tips that we may be over looking?

Tim

C2BOB

What a pain. Could you please describe exactly how it acts when it quits.

tdelph

it started to hesitate and spit a little when I turned into a friends neighborhood last night. When I was going straight down the road it was fine. After it actually sputtered and died...I could get it restarted again with the pedal to the floor...it would only go a few feet and die out again. It started right away this morning.... started sputtering again and died out. I saw some black smoke out of the pipes when I was trying to get it going. It didnt give any warning at all last night. It was running great...it felt so strong and then after I turned the corner it started with the sputter and died.

ctjackster

You may have gotten some bad gas, and by that I mean water in the gas, but that usually presents itself in the wintertime.

the last time my 65 "up and died" in the middle of a drive was in the middle of stop and go traffic on a warm summer evening on I-95, Car sputtered, died, started for a sec and died - would not start again although it cranked over and over. After the trip home on a roll back (the ride of shame) it started up in my driveway, like all should be forgiven. That had happened once before, again during a drive, and again it started up again afterwards (after I walked home and shamfully asked the wife to drive back and give me a tow). What I didn't realize then was that the car was "returning to normal" because it was cooling down.

ps - it was a bad coil, only failing when hot.

SJW

Sounds like a stuck needle valve or a sunk carb float. I sure wouldn't yank the tank on this car yet...

Be well,

SJW

tdelph

It just seemed strange that it started when I made the sharp turn. The carb is brand new too. less than 200 miles...Demon 850...it could have some troubles...we will try that first.

C2BOB

I agree the black smoke tends to make me want to believe it's flooding. If you're ever in a situation and think the car is stopping for a fuel problem (no fuel) don't crank the motor, pull the air cleaner and work the throttle to see if the accelerator pump squirts. You've now confirmed or eliminated one thing. And when you're having a run out of gas problem that sitting seems to correct it's almost always vent related.

tdelph

I am thinking the carb needs to be looked at first. Because I had to keep the pedal to the floor to start it sounds like it was flooding. This would be better news than the other stuff I may have to do.

67vetteal

Start at the Carb. and work backwards. Flooding would be your easiest find. Fuel smell, pedal to the floor starting etc. Check the flow out of the fuel line. Also replace the fuel filter. Take compressed air and blow out the fuel line front to rear using very low pressure with the cap removed. Is the fuel line badly rusted? Drain some fuel or the entire tank by pressurizing the tank and catching the fuel at the Fuel pump connection, again low pressure. Is the fuel visably dirty or cloudy. Good Luck! Al W.

64vettegal

I have a 76 Chevy truck that did the same thing a while back. Would sputter and cut off when going around sharp curves. After checking everything I could think of I pulled the tank. With a flashlight I saw a small leaf near the gas pickup tube. When the truck would sit a while the leaf would slowly migrate away from the tube (no suction to keep it there).

I'd spend a couple of minutes with a flashlight and see if there is any debris or rust in the tank.

Bob Schaefer

It seems to me if the engine quits during a "cruise" condition, the accelerator pump (50 cc??) on the Demon will still have some squirts left even if the float bowl runs dry.....you may have to work the throttle a number of times to confirm whether fuel starvation is the problem.

Best Regards,
Bob S.

Johns_65Vette

BTDT

Formula Outlaw

Yep.....

Grey Ghost

I agree. Drain the tank, blow out the lines and then take a flashlight and look into the tank. Replace fuel filter, take the old one and see if you can find any debris in it. How old is your fuel pump ? It may be giving up the ghost...slowly. You can run one of the clear filters, just for a short time to see if any trash is coming through the lines. Then get rid of it - they are a fire hazzard. But, probably okay for a short time use.

Subfixer

Go to the coil first... It's cheap and as others, it's happened to me. Same symptoms. Acts like the carb is loading up.

Hitch

Tim don't bother getting the tank dipped go to Zip tomorrow and get a new one. They are only 200 bucks and with the hassle of dropping the tank you don't want to do it twice... Do it like everything else.. Once and right... Dave..

tdelph

If it leads to that I probably will just buy a new one and not worry with it. If its only 200.00. Keep in mind I have to hold the pedal to the floor to get it running so its flooding up. I hope its something sticking in the carb. The fuel pump, carb, filters are all new too.

Hitch

FWIW I doubt that your tank is the cause of your problem. Lets start with the basics before tearing the car apart.. Check for spark. Check for Gas if you are getting those lets talk again..

The reason you are getting black smoke out of the pipes is that the carb is loading up and you have a way rich condition when the engine first starts up. Dave

buns

tdelph...lets start at the beginning. You said you bought some gas at a Wawa? I'm assuming this is a 'discount' gas station that sells for less than anyone else. If this is the case I would drain the tank and put some fresh fuel in. I say this because I was a victim of cheap diesel fuel at a California truck stop.

Johns_65Vette

Before draining the tank, you could always just drop the inlet from the fuel pump into a gas can with fresh gas, and see if it straightens out.