Fuel vaporization fix
When I say it helped, the stumbling/dying, falling on its face, not taking throttle of any kind, however you want to describe it, no longer happens when the car has been stopped at a light or idling around in slow traffic.
It does still happen when I park, shut it off for a few minutes, then go drive again.
Are you sure your choke is opening all the way?
It happens a minute or two after getting out of the parking lot and I get on the gas a bit.
I left off, it clears up, and drives fine.
That timing is not what I would expect, whether from a vapor-lock or "boiling fuel" perspective, or a from a fuel-starvation aspect.
Vapor-lock should make it hard, or impossible, to start, but once it gets going, it should be fine. 2 minutes after getting started really doesn't fit here.
Fuel starvation that shows up 2 minutes into driving would also be expected to affect any or every higher-throttle situation, such as passing, driving uphill, etc.
If you had air or fuel vapor or whatever in the lines initially, it should be 100% gone after 2 minutes.
Which brings up my favorite diagnosis adage:
"All fuel problems are actually electrical.
All electrical problems are actually the fuel system."
If you can establish with certainty that you are getting neither too much nor too little fuel, then look at your ignition system. I think you said it was electronic, didn't you?
But first, I'd take a good look at the carburetor.
I'm aware a fuel filter doesn't need to always be full, but do you agree this empty (first pic) is a problem?
View attachment 1716381100
No that looks fine to me.
For an experiment, you can reorient it so that the fuel comes in at the top and exits at the bottom. The car will run, and there will always be a little fuel at the bottom, but it won't fill up.
This was with the mechanical pump, and after it cooled down slightly with the hood open and running. It would start pumping tons of bubbling fuel into it then the bubbles would clear out.
It shouldn't be pumping air. If you have a pinhole (or three) in your fuel lines, or an equivalent leak in any of your other fuel connections,
on the suction side, it can break the vacuum, your pump will suck air, and you will have all sorts of running and starting problems.
(If the hole is on the pressure side, you will have leaks).
Did the electric pump, closer to the gas tank, help this problem?
I look at it this way:
Too little fuel will cause fuel starvation and will usually be worse the more power you try to get. The one exception to this is a suction-side pinhole, which will often break the suction enough to cause hard starting (lots of cranking to first get fuel up to the carburetor), but once it has gotten fuel up, the hole will not prevent fuel from flowing, and it will run fairly well.
Other things that cause fuel starvation include any kind of restriction, such as a gummed-up pickup sock, a pinched line, dirt in the line, broken-down hose rubber in the line, or a piece of crud in the needle seat, as well as things that reduce pump function, such as a hole in a diaphragm or a leaky valve.
Too much fuel will cause rich running and loading up. When serious it will cause black smoke.
Things that cause too much fuel, aside from blatant things like wrong carburetor or wrong jetting, are a leaky needle and seat (ALSO sometimes caused by a piece of crud between the needle and seat, or, usually, by wear), a misadjusted float, a "heavy" float (saturated or filled with fuel), or a choke that doesn't open all the way.
If your fuel level is slightly high, or your choke is a bit closed, you may experience the same symptoms you are having now, where it starts rich, but once the excess fuel is cleared, it will run passably, but not as well as it would if all was well, and usually with poor fuel economy.
You DO have a factory manual, right?
If not, you NEED to get one. It's two volumes.
There's one
here. $30 with $10 shipping. Buy it now.
– Eric