I started to work, get to the end of the block, and my car just dies. First thought, FUEL PUMP! Well, after playing around with it, I get it restarted, but it took holding it WOT to do it. Someone said the seats might be stuck open, so I take the carb apart last night, but still getting the same results. My problem is this: When I kill the engine, the fuel line loses pressure from the carb. The guage drops to 0 in about 30 secs. At first, like mentioned before, I had to go WOT to start the car. Well, it starts without doing that now, but it's starting to get a hesitation on take-off. I thought taking the carb apart would free up the part, but it seems to be getting worse.
Questions: What should I look for now that the carb has been eliminated, or has it ??? Would a pin hole in the line cause it to lose pressure that fast??? This just came out of the blue, no indication that anything was wrong before this. Thanks for the time and info.

 

Standard fuel pumps do not hold pressure. yeah, when they are new they will hold it for a while, but it's not necessary. It's not like fuel injection where it takes pressure in the rail to start the car. There is plenty enough in the fuel bowl to start it and run it long enough to get fuel to the carb.

Sounds like you may have cleaned out the float needle and seat, but caused yourself another issue. Or you may just need to pull the plugs and clean them. Maybe just a little carbon buildup that is allowing spark to go down the side instead of jumping the gap under pressure.

I'd clean the plugs first, then see what happens. If it still hesitates look to see what kind of squirt you are getting from the accelerator pump.

 

Thanks Scott[8D], I did re-adjust the rod from the hole that it came out of, so as soon as it cools off enough to stand being outside, I'll re-re-adjust it back to where it was. Thanks again for the reply.

 

No more hesitation! Thanks Scott, you are a Gentleman and a Scholar![8D]

 

[:@] It's going down hill, FAST! Now, it takes it for ever to get the Volt meter back up to 14+ the way it should be. If the alt is bad, and the Pertronix is not getting it's normal juice, then it's gonna run like crap till it reaches 14+ on the guage, RIGHT??? It's weird, it just died theother day, and now it runs like crap. Any comments or suggestions ANYONE???

 

Charging voltage is in direct relation to battery condition. The closer your battery comes to full charge the higher the voltage goes due to internal resistance (in the battery). If your specific gravity is low enough you may not see over 13.6 for a while. Charging system should be between 13.8V and 14.8V dependent on battery condition and state of charge. Fully charged battery should read 13.6V (2.1V per cell).

If you go to a local Autozone, or Kragen, Checker, etc. they will probably check your battery and charging system for free.
Start there to see where you are at.

If the resistor wire has been bypassed in the ignition circuit you should see basically full battery voltage. You really need better than 10V at the distributor to run well.

You could probably do a 1 hour minimum at a local shop to have them throw it on a scope. Get a good look at the pattern and have the tech explain what it means. This will tell you right where to go. Either ignition or Carburetion. It would be money well spent.

Good luck,

 

Thanks Scott. The battery is a red top Optima, less than 6 mos old. The alt is more than not the original, carrying the inst cluster, aftermarket rad fan, tach, and a set of triple guages. I'm debating a 5 psi elec fuel pump, because I think this mech one has seen better days too. I want to go with a 100 amp 1 wite alt, and I think it should be able to carry everything I just mentioned just fine. What do you think of that for a fix??? Thanks again for the time and info.[8D]

 

Well, the 100 amp alt. is better than the 70 amp if you are adding a lot of electronic equipment, but why not just slap on a 200 amp alt.? It sounds like you aren't getting enough spark at the plugs. Check the battery to make sure it is up to snuff. Then check to see what voltage is getting to the battery from the present alternator. Make sure your regulator is new.

 

OK, if I go 200 amp, isn't there a bigger possibility to fry the old wiring??? I don't want to be chaseing down something thru the body because some wire fried somewhere. The stuff I got hooked up, plus the elec fuel pump, is probably everything I will ever have hooked up. I'm not going to have tunes, I like the sound of the engine better that Godsmack in the Mustang. I was thinking just a 100 amp, 1 wire should handle ALL that with no sweat.

 

If it was me I'd start by finding the problem through proper diagnostics. Then figure out how I want to spend my hard earned money.