Took the Vette out on one of these rare occasions and as always it runs great for a while and inevitably something happens!!!! Rodae around for about 15 minutes in light traffic and about 85 degree weather. Stopped at a buddies house and stayed there for about 20 minutes. Headed for home about 10 milles away. Halfway home the engine starts to symble and chug. Pushing on the pedal seemed to kill it faster. dropping it down in 2nd and putting it under a load would let the engine come back a little. This went on for about a mile with a max speed of 10mph. It then got so bad that it finally cut off. It would fire right back up but when I gave it throttle it was like there as no gas. Now I am moving about 100ft and dying, 100 more and dying just trying to limp it home. Finally dies and I get out and go under the hood. Pump the throttle linkage and the squirter spits a little then nothing. I am getting a full squirt from the secondaries. I crank the car up and it runs rough. Watchung the squirters in the front I am seeing no fuel. manually opening the throttle I am getting spits again. Now I am thinking maybe stuck float. Having no tools I pull the rear veiw mirror out of the floorboard where it fell off earlier:hissyfit: and tap all over the front bowl. At this point the car has been sitting for a coupe opf minutes with the fans running. I get back in the car and it cranks so I take off. It stumbles a little but then cleans out. I am thinking ok it was a stuck float. Make it about 1 miles and 200 yards from home and it starts doing it again!!!!!!

This is an 850 Mighty Demon on a solid cam 454. I pulled theEarl's filter and it was clean. Pulled the float bowl and the float appeared to be fine. So is it vapor lock???? If so what can I do to help this? I am running a heat sheild under the carb and a full K&N extreme air filter and lid settup. Some one had suggested that I might have the fuel going through to much metal with the braided line going to a AN elbow to coupler to earl's filter to coupler to dual feed line.

Help please!!!!

 

be sure too ck fuel pressure if you can I had a simular problem on my s/b and found bad fuel pump just not enough preasure to run under load but would idle

 

bust out the ohm meter and go through the coil and module checks in the service manual. could have a bad coil or something in the distributor.

 

good advice both ways........

 

Thanks guys I will check the fuel pressure tomorrow. The electrical system is MSD, dist, coil and 6AL box.

Another member asked if I was running a return line on my mechanical fuel pump. I am not so I guess maybe that would help????

 

That's the first thing that I would do. I had the same intermittent problem and it was hard to find because as soon as I'd open the hood the coil would get cooler. That's what I'd suggest.

 

for sure run a return line. a buddy of mine had horrible problems with his modified TA. hooked the return line back up and that fixed it....

 

What fuel pump? Are there any filter on the inlet side? If so...remove them.

JIM

 

Hey Jim!! It is a Holley Mechanical pump. Not sure about the filters. I just know about the one inline EARL's filter I am running. It was clean.


Thanks
Wade

 

Now you know why GM put a return line on the fuel system..............

 

I had very similar issue last summer after replacing motor and going with a returnless fuel pump. After driving and letting it set for 30 minutes or so i would go out start it up and take off may be 1/2 mile to mile and it would start losing power it until i finally coast to a stop. Mine would not start back up, it would crank and sputter. After sitting along side the road with hood up for 30-45 minutes it would start right up and away i go.

I replaced fuel pump with one that uses a return line and hasn't happened since.

 

Maybe try a vented gas cap. I had similar issue and have no return line -- someone suggest vented gas cap and I've never had another issue.

 

I have never had the problem, but I remember reading somewhere others (C2's I believe), that used laundry pins as a temp fix.

I seem to remember seeing a picture of about 6 in a row, acting as a heat sink, on the fuel line shortly before the carb.

Not really a good solution, but it would get them where they were going. If this problem always occurs, then I guess you could throw some on and see if it fixes the problem. The only thing I think this could possibly effect would be vapor lock - so it could tell you that that is definatly the problem that you have.