vettejunk

Yesterday took my '61 out for a 30 minute drive after redoing my brakes. Car ran fine. Brakes were great! Pulled in my street and stopped at a neighbor that wanted to see the car. Engine was off for half-hour while we talked. Started fine, then drove to my house & pulled in the driveway, Engine stalled. Wouldn't start or sputter. Tried starter fluid, adding gas to the tank, checked the lines, but realized it wasn't getting gas. It was 92 degrees out so though maybe vapor lock or heat related. Waited over a full hour but still wouldn't start.
Left the car until the evening, seven hours later when car, outside & me were cooler. Wouldn't start so, Pulled the fuel line off the carb and cranked the engine, not even a drop of gas.
This morning I pulled the fuel line, cranked the engine and plenty of fuel came out! Hooked the line back and drove the car on my street, running fine again.

I'm stumped! Could the fuel pump be starting to go bad? I've only ever had mechanical pumps work or not at all. Never intermittent. Also would have thought, anything heat related would have resolved in seven hours. Now the distance from my neighbor to my driveway is a very short distance so its possible the car just used the gas left in the float bowl, and the pump was not working already.
Any suggestions? Thanks.

solidaxel

Un do the rubber fuel line at the fuel pump and see if you can get some fuel to run out.
May have to use a "small" bit of pressure at the filler
I am sure your fuel gauge is working!!!!

emdoller

Sure sounds like a bad fuel pump to me. As far as intermittent, I’m not sure.

Ed

vettejunk

You might have missed it (sorry if my post was too long) but this morning its running fine and gas is pumping. So I am sure I will get fuel at the line since today it is pumping to the carb.

Not sure what your reference to my fuel gauge means?

vettejunk

Thanks Ed. Well the fuel was pumping (still not sure if its the fuel pump, which is why I posted here) & engine ran for a 30 minute drive; then it didn't run, no fuel to carb; then this morning it ran again fine. So to me that is an intermittent problem.
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Duck916

It seems unlikely to me that the fuel pump would fail intermittently. If it did so, I'd think you wouldn't see absolutely zero output, but would see a reduced output.

I tend to think you had a blockage of some sort in the line leading to the pump that got cleared out. Vapor lock seems unlikely given your description, but it's possible, I suppose.

I'd watch to see if this happens again. I don't know how you can diagnose it now that it's no longer doing what it did.

Frankie the Fink

The pumps can indeed act intermittent if the pin in the actuator arm is "walking" out....something to check on.
You may have just had a stuck float...if it happens again rap the side of the carb with the plastic handle of a screwdriver 2-3 good licks and try to start the car. If you are running a original WCFB, those float positions in the fuel bowls are tight and critical.

solidaxel

Fuel gauge reading fuel in the tank...... and tank empty!

MikeM

Rubber fuel hoses have been known to collapse internally and block the flow. same as brake hoses. Check/replace the one at the tank and the pump.

If you replace, use SAE 30r9 hose and it'll outlast you.

vettejunk

I replaced the hose by the tank a month ago. Do that about every two years.
Could a collapsed hose fix itself? Since everything seems to be working fine today with no changes.

vettejunk

I will check the pin. Forgot about that. Thanks.

Was not a carb or float problem. No gas was even coming out of the line yesterday to reach the carb.

vettejunk

What kind of blockage do you think? Dirt would not think would completely block. Someone else suggested a collapsed hose or line but would that "fix itself?"

MikeM

To answer your question, yes.

What SAE spec hose did you use?

I once had a Pinto that would stall about once a week. Symptoms similar to yours. Yes, I changed the fuel pump. Blew the fuel line back to the tank out. No help. Did a few other things chasing my tail as well. FInally, it dawned on me, the car would stall when the tank got low on fuel. I don't remember why I did this but I fished a stiff wire down the filler neck and pulled out the remains of 3-4 of those blue paper towels you find in the window washer cabinet at the gas station.

No more problems. If I had to guess, someone must have lost their gas cap so they shoved that paper in the hole and away it went. I'd also guess that's the reason I was able to buy the car cheap.

AZDoug

Something blocking teh inlet in the tank. Either lots of little pieces, or maybe one large piece, like plastic bag. As time went by, it disengaged itself, as the suction went away.

You often see fuel starvation at the carb from clogged filters, but if the pump isn't pumping, it is blockage on the inlet side.

Doug

Duck916

I think it could. If the hose has a fairly sharp bend in it, then expansion of the hose with heat could be enough to cause a kink. Then, when the hose cooled off, the kink could come out.

As someone else noted above, there could be a blockage at the tank as well. Either way, it seems likely to me that the problem was on the inlet side of the pump. If/when this happens again, that's where I'd start looking.

Dreaming60’s

Is the gas cap vented or non-vented. Not sure if this has been mentioned, but a non-vented gas cap can cause this kind of issue, if the rubber vent hose from the tank to the filler neck is block. If cap is vented, then that shouldn't be the problem. If it does it again remove the gas cap and see if it will start and you should hear a loud whoosh if there is a big vacuum in the tank.

Butch

MikeM

Hoses can de-laminate internally. When the suction/pressure drops, the hose opens up.

Next time it quits, blow the line back to the tank and see if that clears it. Carry a short section of hose with you to hook to the pump inlet hose and use oral pressure..

vettejunk

Thanks everyone!

I replaced the tank myself though it was a long time ago. I replaced the fuel sender a year or two ago and did look in the tank when changing it. So doubt there is anything like a plastic bag or garbage like that.

The cap is vented and when I added gas yesterday there was no sound when removing the cap.

The rubber hose I used says SAE30R6

I'm thinking about disconnecting the line between the tank & pump and trying to blow it out anyway.

AZDoug

You want SAE J30 R9, fuel injection hose. It won't rot like R7 will. I have no idea what R6 is.

The R9 is usually metric, so you will have to find the closest size to what is probably 3/8" on your car. Probably 10 MM.

Doug

Muadi

When you replaced the fuel pickup in the tank... I'm assuming it was a new filter/sock at the pickup point? Possible issue.