this is my first go at this stuff...anyway im trying to get this 54 chevy running. it turns over, but i can see that no fuel is heading to the carb(nothing showing up in the filter). so bought a new fuel pump to start, no change. so i have this picture and there is what appears to be a vacuum thats not connected at one end(has yellow sticky in pic)....anyone have any help with where this should go?
That is the vacuum line that goes to your windshield wipers. The end is sitting on your oil filter...hopefully not connected to it. My guess is that you have a plugged fuel line. That is very common in these old Chevys. You can check it by disconnecting the fuel line at the pump and running a line into a container with some fuel. This will tell you if everything from the pump to the carb is working or not. If it is, blow out the fuel line and make sure that the inevitable scale in the gas tank is cleared out. Replace the fuel filter also if the line is crapped up.
Not to be patronizing but, I assume you've checked for spark, points gap, mabee even a static time on the thing. As my dear old dad used to say 'Captain Obvious always starts with the basics'
1931av8 is correct, start with the carb and work your way backwards. Had some of the same problems with my 54. I ended up running an electric pump, but make sure you mount it in the back away from heat. They are pushers not pullers and will vapor lock around heat. Good Luck and wished i was closer... be fun working on an ol 54 again
on the spark question...it had no wires when i bought it, so i bought new plugs and wires.... thanks for the info, i'll pull the old lines and make sure they arent plugged
wires/spark won't affect the fuel getting to the carb/filter, but it would keep it from igniting and running. Run a line from a can of gas to your pump. Push the start button, or crank it by hand. You should see gas getting sucked up. If so, you'll know the problem is between your fuel filler and the pump... most likely crap in the tank plugging a line. Ummm... you DO have gas in the tank, don't you?
There are no stupid newbie questions, just stupid newbies...Just kidding... I sometimes put LOW pressure from my airline into the gas tank to see if I can force fuel to the pump to get it to prime. This will also let you know if the line is clogged. Not too much, you don't want to damage anything. You can blow it from the front to the rear and see if it is clogged, you will hear the tank bubble if you have enough fuel in it.
A touch of ether (Starting fluid) into the carb will verify the electriclas are working. Unhook the fuel pump and turn the car over. If the line dumps fuel into a can the tank and fuel pump are ok. OR Put a fitting on a small can with gas in it and hold it higher than the carb. Run a rugbber hose from it going to the Carb fuel intake. This will eliminate the fuel pump back from the equation.
I would definitely check the fuel lines to make sure they are not clogged. You may also want to check the tank fitting and see if it isn't gunked up too.
I had a '54 that had sat up for a couple of years with those symptoms. It turned out to be rust & scale in the gas tank. I took it out to have it boiled out at a radiator shop and then they "sloshed" a sealer around the inside. As it turned out, they did not "rod out" the fuel pickup line in the tank before they sloshed the sealer in it, so it still had flaking rust inside the tube which formed a great "plug" in the line after they finished! No fuel delivery! After I "rodded out" the pickup tube, it worked OK.
A possible malfunction that aggravated me for quite some time once: If there is any rubber line toward the rear of the car, check it for cracks. If the line is cracked, the pump can pull air in substantially easier than it can pull fuel from the tank.
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