I have a problem with the carburetor on my sbc in my '32 sedan. If I don't drive it every day the gas seems to leak down to the point that I have to pump the living daylights out of the accelerator pedal just to get the car to crank. It's a Edelbrock carburetor and exactly the same carburetor I have on the wagon and the pickup and I never have had a problem with them. I'm lost,, HRP
I have a Edelbrock carb on a sbc in my 55 Chevy truck was sick and left it set for about 8 weeks the carb did that rebuilt it. But I think it was the ethanol in the fuel. You might try some seafoam.
Hello HRP... Do you have a choke set up (ie: Edelbrock 1405/manual choke)? Do all of your vehicles have the same type of fuel pump? Are you running a fuel filter at the carb? Just trying to get an idea what set up for sure? ...robber
"If I don't drive it every day the gas seems to leak down to the point that I have to pump the living daylights out of the accelerator pedal just to get the car to crank." The devil is in the details, when you say "just to get the car to crank", 1. you mean that the engine turns over yet does not fire? or, 2. the motor doesn't run at all.. suspecting the first awaiting your reply before I present a questionable solution. Dale Cleveland OH
It sounds to me like the gas is evaporating from the fuel bowls, and the fuel pump needs to get some gas up there before you can get fuel to the engine. It could be the bad stuff in gas causing most of this, as Alcohol evaporates even at low temps. Sea Foam might help, but you would likely need to add it at every fill. Rebuilding would work until the addatives got into the new gaskets. Not always the right solution, but I fixed mine with the addition of the electric fuel pump. Not so easy a fix on your hotrod, but something to consider.
^^ My thoughts........ Only Edelbrock i've ever had was a Q-jet replacement,which was a great carb. I also have a stock Q,and it evaporates like no tommorow. Just can't let em sit for too long. Holley's are a lil more forgiving,but in time,do the same. So,what i've found/had to do,was figure out when evaporation was too much,and get a crank,but tough start. I have to fire up more periodically,then it starts the clock all over again..... An electric pump will solve the problem,but might not be in the cards for you. P.I.A to deal with,but real world experience to concider.
Before you start it up, pull the air cleaner. then open the throttle and see if the choke goes shut. That's if you have an electric choke. If it does go shut, hold it open and pump the throttle and watch for fuel squirting from the pump discharge squirters. If the choke does't close and or the accelerator pump isn't working, that is likely your problem. There really isn't any way the fuel should run out of the Edelbrock carb overnight. If those things seem to be working then try a new fuel pump.
Both the '32's have Holley fuel pumps and yes I have a filter at the carburetor on both cars. The '54 Wagon with a sbf uses a Ford fuel pump and it too has a filter at the carburetor. I run ethanol free gas. Turns over fine,,,it's like it doesn't have any gas. I'm thinking the accelerator pump may be the problem. If I don't fire it off at least every other day I have to prime the carburetor to get the sedan to run.
I had this problem with a quadrajunk and stock mechanical fuel pump. If it set for more than a day had to prime to fire. Replaced fuel pump,it can set for more than a week now no problems. Don't fuel pumps have some kinda check ball type system in them to prevent drain back? Maybe this is the problem.
Seems like it doesn't have gas - Probably doesn't , some how the fuel is leaving the bowl. Could be a leak or evaporation. 24-48 hrs seem sort of fast for evaporation but it depends on the temp, fuel blend, and vent holes.
could contact Edelbrock Tech. modern fuel will vaporize pretty quick. try this-don't pump gas pedal while cranking engine, just sends fuel into engine. try cranking engine 15-20 seconds without pumping gas pedal. then stop cranking and pump pedal 3-4 times. stop pumping and try to start. even if fuel pump had internal problem gas should be in line. and there should be gas in fuel bowls, unless possibly vaporizing.
Other forums have brought this up and one of the fixes was replacing the fuel pump,there is a check valve in fuel pumps that is supposed to close off when the engine is shut down.If the check valve is defective it causes the fuel to be sucked back to the tank by vacuum pressure which gives you an empty Carb.Has that happened with a new or fairly new pump? Yep it has,new doesn't always mean good,if you are using a heat insulator like on your '54 I would not suspect evaporation issues.Some cars used a non-vented gas cap and some were vented caps the wrong cap can cause a problem also,not real common but it has happened.
I dont think it's even possible to suck the fuel from these bowls from the feed side. You would need a straw or tube to drain it
I second the fuel pump check valves are not checking like they are supposed to. New fuel pump should fix it. Even if the fuel evaporates out of the carb, the fuel in the line from the pump should stay full of fuel. A few cranks and there's gas in the carb again. If the fuel is flowing back, the pump may actually be dry by the time you go to start it and it's just sucking air until it can get fuel to the pump.
Danny I had the same problem with my sedan. Put a 1" spacer under the carb and it solved 90% of the problem.
well i dont think thats his problem since he says he doesnt run it. but i can tell you i had a holley do the same thing.if it sat for a week it would run dry and i had electric pump. i took the bowl off to see if they were dry before i tried to start it and they were past dry...but on the ops problem im thinkin fuel pump. but ive been wrong a bunch of times..lol.. i have 2 cars that run 2 edelbrock 600s one with a tunnelram and the other is a low profile 2x4 intake. the tunnelram car sits for a few days and you got to let the pump run for awhile before you try to start it.the low profile one i pull the choke and fires right up and thats the one with the manuel pump...
I didn't see if you have electric or manual pump, if you have manual pump then the fuel is boiling off in the carb. The edelbrock is cast mysterymetal and the fuelbowls are 'internal', all the engine heat goes right to the fuel bowl and boils the fuel. To test what i am saying you can put a fuel pressure gage in line and run the engine until it is hot then shut it off. The fuel pressure will be trapped between the needle & seat and the check valve at about 5 1/2lbs. It'll remain there for a little bit and then drop to 5lbs, then 4 1/2etc as the fuel boils off in the bowls the float drops and allows more fuel into the bowls anr repats the cycle until the fuel is gone. If you put a temp gun on the bowl while this is ocurring it'll read under 150degrees. If you want to wath it you can prep the carb by removing all but a couple screws from the top and when it get to temp just finish pulling the top off - you can see it happening. It don't happen to most holleys because the bowls are hung out in space. Like another said, put a wooden spacer under it or Mr Gasket sells a nice multilayer heat isolator that works good too.
I have a AFB and Edelbrock that do the same,I just crank it over until I see oil pressure then hit the gas when it sits longer then a few days.
This seems to be a modern problem that we never had before. I have no idea what is in my gas. I buy the cheapest shit on the block. I do know that it seems to evaporate a lot quicker than it did in the 60s. I start my P/U up about every 2 weeks in the winter time to prevent me from burning out my starter motor over time. When right my engines start in less than a revolution. If it sits for several weeks it has to crank to get the fuel up to the carbs (97s). I hate that. I got spoiled with electric fuel pumps on earlier rods. Wait for the clicking to slow down, pump the gas and boom it's running.Right or wrong it feels like I'm wearing out the motor with all that cranking. I'd start all your engines and let them sit the exact same amount of time and see if one is worse than the other. My problem is not heat related.
I would open it up & check the in bowls. That's easy on these carbs. You can set the floats (height & travel). I also recommend the spring dampened needle & seat assembly, especially if it's a rough riding car. See p/n 31-730 on the link below. The float height will be different if you install the spring loaded ones. They sell the gaskets kits & accel pumps as well http://www.carburetion.com/Carter4.htm
Danny ... I had the same issue on a 40 Ford ( SBC power with a Edelbrock carb ) I put a electric pump on it and cured that issue. I do not really like electric pumps ( I dislike electric gizmos and such ) but it did fix the problem.
I, too, had this problem. It was on an OT car (inheritance) with exactly the same symptoms. New fuel pump solved it. Cosmo
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