Percolation? Heat soak? Don't drive during summer??

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What is the fuel pressure at the carb?
May be a weak fuel pump when it gets hot

I have no clue... whats your guess its probably as good as mine lol :poke::D ... I don't have a fuel pressure tester either. I have had thought about it being the fp too.
 
Carbs are tricky.
Quick strange story.
I had a brand new Edelbrock carb installed on my most recent BB build.
I was sure I needed the Cool Carb spacer and was all set to get one becsuse It coughed a lot when I jumped on it and the engine ran too hot.
Tried adjusting etc.
Finally brought it to an elder performance mechanic. He said Im sending your carb to my guy to rebuild it, eventhough its "new", he felt it was too lean and couldnt adjust it out.
Great results.
Since then, the car never ran better, no coughing, runs cool, and much more power than before.
So, "new" really doesn't matter.
(I never installed the cool carb spacer).

I've seen people advertise rebuilding carbs before, dang those guys charge big bucks to rebuild and adjust them. Talk about the dentist needing to pay for his vacation home, I'd love to see that guys vacation house lol.
 
What carburetor gasket do you have under it?
 
I had this carb on the past year, and never had a problem until I redid the engine and engine bay.

You had manifolds at that time too, right? Headers were installed when you did the engine bay, if I remember correctly.
 
Here are the lines from the tank. I don't know if they have ever been replaced.
I don't see anything too close to the fuel lines, by the time the exhost gets to the kick up over the rear end it is pretty cool.

The photo you have the red circle on might be an issue but you drove it this way for a year and no issue.



My fuel guage works just fine, so that shouldn't be a fuel sending unit problem right?

The fuel sender to the fuel gauge will not tell you if you have plugged lines ( which I doubt you have) in the sender / pickup. The gunk in the old fuel filter is troublesome but not overly concerning for its age.



I dont know if my fuel pump has ever been replaced and if it was I don't know when. I have a rubber line that feeds from the metal stock line to the fuel pump, where the line crosses from the frame rail over to the pump
.

That's normal you could change that cheap and easy, but if it is soft and supple probably not the issue.

The only thing in the photos that is troubling to me is the photo that shows your fuel sender and the wires and shock. Maybe it is the photo but it looks like the fuel line and sender wire are touching the shock. If so that could over time rub through causing issues.
 
None of those are anywhere near me. :(

Nevermind. I see he beat me to it. I don't know what to tell you. I drive three old carbureted vehicles in the HOT HUMID GEORGIA summer and they don't do anything stupid. So I guess you can whine about something not being near you, OR you can take a drive, get some non ethanol gas and TRY it and see if it makes a difference. I have non ethanol gas all around me, but I don't use it. All my junk runs good on 10% ethanol. That's another thing to consider. What % of ethanol does the gas out there have? Different locations can have different amounts. Here, we have a maximum of 10%. My slant six Valiant runs dang good on it. If there was a car that'd exhibit vapor lock, that'd be it. The fuel line runs right up against the bottom radiator hose, around in front of the engine, then turns parallel with the vehicle center line to the carburetor. It runs right over the intake and exhaust manifolds where it;s subjected to some HOT temperatures and I have ZERO issues. I also am runnin the THICK (over 1/4") base plate insulator gasket.
 
Nevermind. I see he beat me to it. I don't know what to tell you. I drive three old carbureted vehicles in the HOT HUMID GEORGIA summer and they don't do anything stupid. So I guess you can whine about something not being near you, OR you can take a drive, get some non ethanol gas and TRY it and see if it makes a difference. I have non ethanol gas all around me, but I don't use it. All my junk runs good on 10% ethanol. That's another thing to consider. What % of ethanol does the gas out there have? Different locations can have different amounts. Here, we have a maximum of 10%. My slant six Valiant runs dang good on it. If there was a car that'd exhibit vapor lock, that'd be it. The fuel line runs right up against the bottom radiator hose, around in front of the engine, then turns parallel with the vehicle center line to the carburetor. It runs right over the intake and exhaust manifolds where it;s subjected to some HOT temperatures and I have ZERO issues. I also am runnin the THICK (over 1/4") base plate insulator gasket.

Humid air wont evaporate gas as quickly (so saturated with water, it can't hold much else). Nevada air is a natural dessicant.
 
My money is on electronics.

Get a can of starter fluid. Next time it does this give it a squirt if it fires then look at fuel if it does not fire look at electrical.

Also check the grounds at the ECU, and any other thing you removed to paint.
 
Humid air wont evaporate gas as quickly (so saturated with water, it can't hold much else). Nevada air is a natural dessicant.

My point is, he's gotta START somewhere, agreed? Whether it's fuel, electronic, or "whathehellever", he's gotta get outta the forums and TRY something, right? Going to get a 5 gallon can of gas filled is a pretty easy thing to do. Whether he drains the tank, or feeds it from the remote tank, that will tell him real quick if the gas is the problem. It may not be, because as you say, the weather is different....and you're right. But what if his gas has say 20% ethanol? That levels the playing field, doesn't it? The fact is, WE don't know, because we're trying to diagnose over the internet. So he HAS to start somewhere.
 
I can't believe how many utterly nonsense, nincompoop answers you've gotten... While unbelievable still believable...
Let me expel some of these phenomenally incompetent responses...
First it has nothing to do with if it's a Holley carburetor and Edelbrock carburetor or anything like that... And buying a $2,000 EFI kit to solve this problem is utter nonsense..
Anybody who has to have an Edelbrock installed.. then take it to a mechanic who can't make it leaner by changing metering rods or jets has the wrong mechanic especially if that mechanic has to send it to a carburetor Guru...
What kind of gas you put in there whether it's ethanol or non ethanol ain't going to make a flying scrap of difference...
If your carburetor was emptying out when you hit the throttle and that steam comes out of there that's like said vapor from there being fuel in the carburetor and the accelerator pump squirting it out onto the hot manifold creating vapor type steam.
If it's a clogged fuel line or fuel pump that's not working you should be able to throw a little splash of gas in the carburetor after it dies and it should fire right back up at least momentarily while that little bit of gas you put in there is burning...
If all that settled its electrical... and definitely not your plugs or wires unless your plugs got totally fouled and your wires got burnt through... Which is still electrical..
I'm liking the ballast resistor theory because at worst case scenario it's only five or six bucks and you should have a spare in your glove box anyways... Cheaper than two spark plugs...
 
You had manifolds at that time too, right? Headers were installed when you did the engine bay, if I remember correctly.

Nope, have had the headers on since i got the car. The car came with a 2.5 exhaust and headers that were old but not installed. So my daughter and I cleaned them up, painted them and installed them. I did add some heat shield wrap to the passenger side, which I think traps more heat that they let leave the engine bay. Idk, my engine bay is always so damn hot both before and after.
 
What carburetor gasket do you have under it?

A 1/2 inch wood phenolic spacer. The one a friend here on FABO recommend to me when he helped me rebuild and install everything. Ive been so dang busy with school I havent even been able to go over to his place and see him lately.
 
A 1/2 inch wood phenolic spacer. The one a friend here on FABO recommend to me when he helped me rebuild and install everything. Ive been so dang busy with school I havent even been able to go over to his place and see him lately.

That should be a good piece. Do you have a shield of any type?
 
Nevermind. I see he beat me to it. I don't know what to tell you. I drive three old carbureted vehicles in the HOT HUMID GEORGIA summer and they don't do anything stupid. So I guess you can whine about something not being near you, OR you can take a drive, get some non ethanol gas and TRY it and see if it makes a difference. I have non ethanol gas all around me, but I don't use it. All my junk runs good on 10% ethanol. That's another thing to consider. What % of ethanol does the gas out there have? Different locations can have different amounts. Here, we have a maximum of 10%. My slant six Valiant runs dang good on it. If there was a car that'd exhibit vapor lock, that'd be it. The fuel line runs right up against the bottom radiator hose, around in front of the engine, then turns parallel with the vehicle center line to the carburetor. It runs right over the intake and exhaust manifolds where it;s subjected to some HOT temperatures and I have ZERO issues. I also am runnin the THICK (over 1/4") base plate insulator gasket.

Oh I could drive my daily out to one of those stations and get gas that's not a big deal. Its just the car that would need ethenol free gas (if that was the problem) wouldn't make it out there as it is right now to get the gas, and it would be a 30-45 minute drive everytime I needed to fill it up. By the time I'm home the tank would be darn near empty again haha.
 
That should be a good piece. Do you have a shield of any type?

No i dont have one on there now, just the spacer. The carb doesnt get very hot, but I could add a shield. Sucks that aluminum wouldn't be a good heat shield or I could try to make one.
 
Oh I could drive my daily out to one of those stations and get gas that's not a big deal. Its just the car that would need ethenol free gas (if that was the problem) wouldn't make it out there as it is right now to get the gas, and it would be a 30-45 minute drive everytime I needed to fill it up. By the time I'm home the tank would be darn near empty again haha.

I wasn't talkin about driving "that one" as I've been reading and comprehending. LOL
 
No i dont have one on there now, just the spacer. The carb doesnt get very hot, but I could add a shield. Sucks that aluminum wouldn't be a good heat shield or I could try to make one.

It might help to try one. I don't care what goofus says up there ^^^^^ LOL Ethanol can certainly haven an effect.
 
I can't believe how many utterly nonsense, nincompoop answers you've gotten... While unbelievable still believable...
Let me expel some of these phenomenally incompetent responses...
First it has nothing to do with if it's a Holley carburetor and Edelbrock carburetor or anything like that... And buying a $2,000 EFI kit to solve this problem is utter nonsense..
Anybody who has to have an Edelbrock installed.. then take it to a mechanic who can't make it leaner by changing metering rods or jets has the wrong mechanic especially if that mechanic has to send it to a carburetor Guru...
What kind of gas you put in there whether it's ethanol or non ethanol ain't going to make a flying scrap of difference...
If your carburetor was emptying out when you hit the throttle and that steam comes out of there that's like said vapor from there being fuel in the carburetor and the accelerator pump squirting it out onto the hot manifold creating vapor type steam.
If it's a clogged fuel line or fuel pump that's not working you should be able to throw a little splash of gas in the carburetor after it dies and it should fire right back up at least momentarily while that little bit of gas you put in there is burning...
If all that settled its electrical... and definitely not your plugs or wires unless your plugs got totally fouled and your wires got burnt through... Which is still electrical..
I'm liking the ballast resistor theory because at worst case scenario it's only five or six bucks and you should have a spare in your glove box anyways... Cheaper than two spark plugs...

I'll go and get a resistor and try that out as well. Ive seen guys on the car shows (rust valley restoration is my favorite one :thumbsup:) pour gas in the carbs, but ive never done it. I always worry I'm going to **** something up, like pour to much and cause a fire... i guess if that happened I'd be glad I trippled the insured value on it haha.

I also will get some spare 90 boots, and redo my 5/7 plugs as I have burnt through one of mine before. Luckily I have 2 sets of plugs, thats why they are mismatched on the engine currently.
 
I'll go and get a resistor and try that out as well. Ive seen guys on the car shows (rust valley restoration is my favorite one :thumbsup:) pour gas in the carbs, but ive never done it. I always worry I'm going to **** something up, like pour to much and cause a fire... i guess if that happened I'd be glad I trippled the insured value on it haha.

I also will get some spare 90 boots, and redo my 5/7 plugs as I have burnt through one of mine before. Luckily I have 2 sets of plugs, thats why they are mismatched on the engine currently.

So what I do is get a water bottle just a cheap throw away water bottle. I put just the little bit of a splash of gas in it and swish it around and shake it and pour it out to get any water out of it. I take the lid of it and poke or drill a small little quarter inch hole in it. then fill the bottle of quarter of the way up with gas and you have a little gas quarter bottle and of course take a sharpie and write gas on it so nobody thinks it's pee and tries to drink it....lol
A good way to check your wires is to check them in the night. Or in the dark. You'll see the little spark that it's leaking out... That would cause more of a miss or something like that...
And I don't care what pencil pecker says up there.. your car might not run great but it ain't going to stop for 2 hours because you put ethanol gas in it...
 
My point is, he's gotta START somewhere, agreed? Whether it's fuel, electronic, or "whathehellever", he's gotta get outta the forums and TRY something, right? Going to get a 5 gallon can of gas filled is a pretty easy thing to do. Whether he drains the tank, or feeds it from the remote tank, that will tell him real quick if the gas is the problem. It may not be, because as you say, the weather is different....and you're right. But what if his gas has say 20% ethanol? That levels the playing field, doesn't it? The fact is, WE don't know, because we're trying to diagnose over the internet. So he HAS to start somewhere.

Oh, I agree he has to try some stuff! Just seems odd that the same gas that many run gives some of us no end of trouble. Maybe it's not the gas? There's other "stuff" can be tried, like removing the hood and driving it that way for a bit, LOL.

I just sympathize with doc because I lived there too, and it sounds easy enough to go fill a gas can, but it can be a daunting treck to go even 10 miles across that city. I know that in his shoes, I'd make it run corn oil before heading to the truck stops to fill a gas can (plus, then he's got to burn what fuel he has first, otherwise it's just going to dilute that epa methanol cocktail and not necessarily give a good indication right away if it is definitely a fuel issue)..

To me, the odd part is that it quit while idling at home this time. That's different from other times when it had been driven farther and THEN idled for an extended period. Which to me is suggesting electronics more and more. The gas vapors from. The carb when warm/hot is normal, so that's not necessarily a symptom but does indicate there's some gas in the bowls. So I'd start with an ecm and see what happens after. A fuel pressure gauge would go a long way to helping rule fuel issues in/out.
 
I can't believe how many utterly nonsense, nincompoop answers you've gotten... While unbelievable still believable...
Let me expel some of these phenomenally incompetent responses...
First it has nothing to do with if it's a Holley carburetor and Edelbrock carburetor or anything like that... And buying a $2,000 EFI kit to solve this problem is utter nonsense..
Anybody who has to have an Edelbrock installed.. then take it to a mechanic who can't make it leaner by changing metering rods or jets has the wrong mechanic especially if that mechanic has to send it to a carburetor Guru...
What kind of gas you put in there whether it's ethanol or non ethanol ain't going to make a flying scrap of difference...
If your carburetor was emptying out when you hit the throttle and that steam comes out of there that's like said vapor from there being fuel in the carburetor and the accelerator pump squirting it out onto the hot manifold creating vapor type steam.
If it's a clogged fuel line or fuel pump that's not working you should be able to throw a little splash of gas in the carburetor after it dies and it should fire right back up at least momentarily while that little bit of gas you put in there is burning...
If all that settled its electrical... and definitely not your plugs or wires unless your plugs got totally fouled and your wires got burnt through... Which is still electrical..
I'm liking the ballast resistor theory because at worst case scenario it's only five or six bucks and you should have a spare in your glove box anyways... Cheaper than two spark plugs...

I had a 318 with headers, cam, similar carb and lived in his same city and had very similar issues. No manner of metering rod, jet, or fuel pump changes ever fixed it either. Efi with high pressure fuel delivery did. I found the Edelbrock carbs to quite temperature sensitive and tracked everything with a wbo2 and ir thermometer. I'm not recommending doc go to efi, I'm fact I recommend against it (and said as much), but no matter what I did I could never get rid of the heat related issues with that damn Edelbrock carb. My buddy who's into e bodies always ran holley and never had a single issue... So that's where my experience comes from.

Living with a hot rod in the southwest is a completely different animal than in most places. Hard to believe but true.
 
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