Pickles_99

Had the car a couple months, so just getting hands dirty with it. Been running relatively well after sitting 17 years in a garage. Just this weekend I ran into an issue of keeping it running. I was driving it and it stalled out at a stop sign. I can get it started again only after seriously feathering the gas pedal, which I never had to do before. Can only keep it running (in park) if I continue to give it gas, but after about 10-15 seconds it will cut out. Before I start tearing things apart, looking for suggestions. I just cleaned out the fuel bowl last week, was going to start there again and put a new fuel filter on. Who knows how much sediment/debris is in the tank after 17 years of sitting. A couple notes below that may help potential diagnosis and causes. . .any feedback you have would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

- I do not think choke is adjusted properly. Could it cause this?

- Distributor was loose. I could move it freely back and forth, tightened the bolt/clamp. Could this have thrown the timing off enough to cause it to act this way?

- Could a bad coil cause this problem?

jlg2002

Most likely fuel related. you need to do a fuel pump pressure and volume test. now to your questions:

-the choke is very easy to adjust set it at 1 notch rich.
-timing will cause idle speed issues. need to set to 8deg BTDC with vac hose off.
-most likely not a bad coil when they go bad the fail outright to a no-start

Pickles_99

Thanks. Going to grab a few fuel filters at autozone today and work on tonight. The filter on there is new as well, but I ran the tank low last week and I think it kicked up some serious debris. Any suggestions on how to solve the debris problem other then removing the tank?

Will set the timing as you suggested once I get it running again.

jlg2002

If you got debris in the tank it is almost impossible to get it out, especially if its from the inside of the tank (wall delamination). time to buy another tank $130 or so. they do have a coating you can put in to stabilize the tank wall coatings -not sure it works very well or not.

Pickles_99

OK, thanks. Will check it out and worst case I replace the tank.

Pickles_99

OK, so new fuel filter, full tank of gas, new distributor hold down clamp and timing is set. Sounds great at idle, best it's sounded in the 2 months I have owned it. When I put it in drive, still a nice idle. When I give it gas and try to accelerate, bogs down, no power, can barely get it above 30mph. Seems like it's getting too much fuel. Could the new timing settings be causing this? I haven't played around with mixture screws yet. Wanted to get a few opinions before I go down that road.

c3dsutton

I am thinking JLG is still on the mark. I had an issue like this in my 65. The tank was so bad it junked the filter in 5 miles on the road. It could have caused you float issues. Try starting it up with the air filter off to make sure under load that it is not dumping fuel from sticking open. The engine will pull more fuel when under load than just pressing the pedal, so to rev the engine does not really tell the story.

jlg2002

Classic symptom of lack of fuel. Check your fuel filter for plugging and also check to see that you get a squirt of fuel into the carb throat (accelerator pump) when you open it. if you have the fuel squirt, time to do a pressure volume check on the fuel pump. you mat also have clogged line between the tank and the FP.

Pickles_99

Thanks for the feedback. I have never had to do a pressure volume check before. What type of equipment/tools do I need for this?

jlg2002

Just a simple fuel pressure gauge (see link below for a typical sample), a length of fuel hose and a container to pump gas into (like a coke bottle)