1950 Buick falling on its face when driving.

Hey all need some ideas from the guys who know alot more about this stuff than myself. I was driving my 50 Buick the other day when it decided to start sputtering and almost cutting out. I was able to feather the throttle and limp it home. When I pulled in the driveway it died. I got it restarted and it seemed to run great. Well long story short, I'm replacing all the parts that could be the issue. I wanna take it up to the street rod nats next weekend, but I"m a little nervous now.

So far I have put a new fuel filter, new air filter, checked the accelerator pump for proper operation. I was thinking about a new condenser, cap, rotor and cleaning up the points. I just put a new diaphram in the fuel pump. It starts and runs alright in my yard.....????? Any more ideas???? Maybe vapor lock??? Thanks all in advance.

 

is the gas tank clean?

 

I believe the tank is clean....I checked to see if there was any small particles in the old fuel filter.....didnt see any. Another thing I was thinking about was the filter on my stromberg. Do I even need that thing????

 

Agreed, sounds like fuel starvation. Rust in the tank, clogged pickup sock, clogged line, dirt in the carb, etc. Pull the line from the carb and run the engine with the line feeding a gas can, should have plenty of fuel coming out. If the fuel is ok I would be checking the carb for dirt.

 

potential bad fuel pump? Check the lines first. The soft line from the frame to the block on mine was original from 53. I replaced the fuel pump and it did not fix the issue... When I looked at the line it disintegrated in my hands.. It was sucking air and dropping pressure that was needed when hot causing vapor lock type symptoms.

 

My '47 mopar had a flexible line between the hard fuel line and the fuel pump. At some point had been replaced with regular rubber line and after a while it would suck shut. It's top speed was 35mph. Just a thought.

 

Check the soft line between the steel fuel
line and the fuel pump. Today's gasoline
may have rotted it. Same goes for the
new diaphram in the fuel pump. Love
today's gas. (not)
Matt

 

Thanks for the info.....I just put a new diaphram in the fuel pump a couple weeks ago. I had fuel spitting out the overflow like crazy. I did however find a very small hole where a hose clamp had worn through right at the intake of my fuel filter. Still wondering about the filter on my stromberg.....can I just take that baby off, or should I replace it?

 

Spitting out the overflow? Are your floats sticking? When was the last time you rebuilt your carb? Can I ask a question? When she started acting up....was she dropping rpms and were you getting any white smoke out the exhaust? Personally I would replace the filter with a new one or clean it out. With all the crap floating in gas these days that filter is cheap insurance. Before I rebuilt my carb I was having flooding issues due to a sticky float. I would rap on the carb bowls with the handle of a screwdriver to knock em loose.
It bought me time til I could get at the carb.

 

I would agree with Mike with checking the floats, but in that case you might as well just rebuild the carb and freshen it up. I woould also seriously think about re-building the fuel pump and checking the lines.

When I got my 50 on the road I got that same problem when taking it out for a shakedown run. Once I rebuilt the fuel pump and carb it fixed the problem. How is your temp by the way? Mine will trip and fall on it's face at about 210deg.

Chuck

 

Could be crud in your tank, could be the fuel pump going out, could be the fuel line collapsing. (I've had each of those problems on three different old cars.)

Do you have a fuel filter between the tank and the fuel pump? If not, consider adding one. I've done it on all my cars for years and years after trashing a couple fuel pumps with tank debris.

 

By spitting out the overflow, I meant on the fuel pump itself. There was a large hole in the diaphram and fuel was just blowing past it. I will disconnect the lines and blow them out with some air. Not sure about the temp, my gauges are stock, but they don't indicate that I'm running hot. Im gonna take it out tonight for a quick jaunt and see if I can make it act up again. Thanks for all the help with this....I will keep ya posted.

 

Hey Bagged, I would get yourself a cheap autometer temp gauge and get it installed to keep an eye on the temp. These str8's hate, HATE getting hot.
Chuck

 

Mine gets to be a cranky bitch when it's hot. IF it sits for a bit all that cast iron builds up heat, when you start her up she runs like crap and cackles til the fan cools things off. Maybe even wrap the exhaust to prevent heat build up? Maybe even time for an electric pump and re-route the fuel lines to avoid vapor lock issues?

 

So my fuel pressure sucks.....I either have an obstruction, or the new (been on the shelf for years) diaphram is junking out already. I am not even getting enough gas to fill the fiter housing. guess I'm gonna have to get an electric fuel pump.

 

Bobs automobilia, they carry stock pumps if u go stock.

 

Thanks mike and Chuck.....I appreciate the help. I think I'm gonna re-line the car and put in an electric pump. Thanks again.

 

Not a problem man. I have one as a dd, they can be pretty cool.
Remember if you go electric you will want to install an electric wiper motor too as the wipers run off the vacuum pump on your fuel pump. Are you 12v or still 6v?

 

Still 6v.. did you make a block off plate or can you buy em? Still not sold on the pump being bad yet. Is it normal for the pump to only fill the clear fuel filter housing about 1/4 full??? Seems to run ok like this,,,,just seems odd.

 

Sounds weird. Can u get a flow meter on it? I would check all the lines.

 

"Is it normal for the pump to only fill the clear fuel filter housing about 1/4 full???"

Yes, as long as it runs ok. Have you checked the fuel pump pressure yet?
The suction flex line between the main line in the frame and the fuel pump may have gone bad. We had one that had a pin hole in it and it would suck air through that hole and not suck enough gas to run the car properly. Pull the line off and pressure test it with a little soap on the outside and look for bubbles.

Dave.

 

I had this issue as well

 

Thanks all....UPDATE......Took the car out the other day and it ran really good????? Not sure what to think. All I changed was the fuel and air filters. They didn't seem that bad but thats the first place to start. Anyways....I'm back on the road.....WATCH OUT!!!

 

my last ytears car did almost the same thing and it was a worn out ignition switch. wierd but true.

 

Ah the haunted world of vintage Buicks..... They are quirky cars.