I've searched high and low, and tried lots of things, but I can't find anything.... I'm not sure if I'm vapor locking or not, but... 1965 Chev 283 in a 47 Willys CJ2A (I know it's not true hamb material) but you guys may be able to help me... I'm running a stock mechanical pump with the extra capacity, no fuel lines are near the exhaust, it's 3/8 from the tank to the carb. QJet with Aluminum Q Jet intake. 7PSI of fuel. I'm running at idle 210* and in motion 200*. When I hit half throttle or so, I run completly out of fuel. It surges, sputters, dies. Pull over, crank it over until fuel gets back into the carb, it will start and run fine at idle, crack the throttle and it bogs down, hesitates and dies. Not only that, when I watch the injector pump work and squirt fuel into the primary's, I can see the fuel vaporize and smoke out the top. I heard that there were several different fuel pumps and length of stroke on the pump, can this be the issue for me? I don't know how a mild 283 can drain a QJet.... But, any ideas would be perfect. Thanks
Could have the float level set too low. The bowl capacity is not very big when all is correct. Also check the 'rock' filter in the Q-jet inlet for blockage.
The carb was just rebuilt locally by a reputable carb shop...The guy who did it is about 60 or so and knows his stuff. I know it's running a little rich right now. How can I check the float level?
I had a problem like this on my 41 chevy, 425 olds 2bbl, I added a electric pump and still it would run out of gas. pull over run the pump for a few minutes then go for a little longer, then run out again. drove me crazy, pulled the original tank and when i disconnected the fuel line i found a piece of twine in it. removed twine, cleaned tank and replaced, no problem. check your fuel line and tank if it hasn't been done
New fuel tank, new pickup, new lines, new filter element....Everything in the fuel system was gone through when I did the motor swap. I did run it out of gas in the tank once, but that was 1 gallon it in it to set timing and eveyrthing....Now I keep it full. 3/8 from the pickup to the carb, and 1/4" return line.
Float either needs setright,could be needle and seat sticking ,just because everything is new doesn"t mean it automatically works right.Get you a manual out to see how to set the float ,the Quadrajet isn"t that hard to take the top off of.Before tearing into carb I would make sure you have a steady supply of fuel going to it.
If you got a electric fuelpump around, get a jerry can of gas hook the can up to the electric pump and the carburator, this way you can narrow down your problem.
I recently added a new carb, intake to my 283 and new gas tank. Ran great for 2 weeks and then this happened to me. It would idle good but when I pressed the pedal, it would die. I had a see through fuel filter and when I gave it gas, the gas stopped intering the filter and the motor would die. Not thinking it had anything to do with the carb, I changed the fuel pump and a few other things. Baffled me. I had a new carb but I took it apart anyhow. Finally fixed! A small amount of debris was in the main carb screen and it would idle fine but pressing the throttle got that debris moving and it would clogg the screen, kill the engine and the fuel would leave the filter. Sometimes something so simple can be so important! Been running great ever since. Good luck
Any 2-line fuel pump (Lester # 40987) for a small block is the same output, with the exception of a 1955-56 265 which has slightly less output. Look elsewhere for the problem. You say you have 7 psi of fuel pressure, so you obviously have a pressure guage. "T" it into the line from pump to carb and take a spin. Driving it with no fuel cap is another good suggestion. Lastly, and most obscurely, just because you have pressure doesn't mean you have volume. We used to put a sheet of Saran Wrap in idiot customers' cars. It would float like a jellyfish until it got sucked up by the fuel intake. Once the car would die, the plastic would float to the bottom of the tank and the car would run fine. Not too likely, but possible.
Drove it with no gas cap, again worked perfect at idle and low speed, and for a short period at WOT (better than the other day) but again would hesitate, sputter and die even at 6000 rpm. Crank it over until I get pressure again, and it would go. I was wondering if my gas was sloshing around in the tank, nope....Fuel is all aroudn the pickup, stand on it, about 5 seconds later it would hesitate and die. Fuel lines don't feel warm to the touch at all either.
As mentioned earlier, check the internal filter. The rebuilder may have forgot to change it or the original looked clean and he left it in. I had one do the same thing to me and even though the filter looked clean, it had old varnished fuel on it that restricted flow.
He showed me the new filter he was putting in, it didn't have one originally when I got the carb. Good idea on pinching the return line.
I wonder if the return line is sending fuel back to the tank and it's causing air to the pick-up ? Why are you using a return line in the first place ?
You probably have new hose on yours, but I have had problems before with the fuel hose from the tank to the metal line. A break from dry rot is not always readily visible, but if you are sucking air you won't run worth a darn. Seems to happen more with the current fuel.
Had the exact problem in my 348 chevy. Turns out the pushrod that actuates the pump was so worn down at higher rpm the pump would hesitate. Electric pump and a block off fixed that.
check the fuel pressure when your having the problem, i think the fuel pump is bad. if so get one from a 1968 and older, then ditch the return line.
After crawling around under it, I noticed something odd, the fuel pump thought it was the bump stop and nailed the front diff...HARD. Crushed it. Swapped in a standard size pump with a return line, ran a bit better, no dice. Put vice grips on the return line, runs like a raped ape. So I reckon i'm onto my 3rd fuel pump now, or cap off the return. There's no sock on the pickup either... Just an AC Delco canister style filter in line. How would the fuel pump have been pushing all the gas back to the tank instead of to the carb, in 2 pumps now??
Think I'd isolate the return line or install FI---the two likely don't mix. Path of least resistance or some such nonsense.
it sounds like it is just dropping pressure not volume. get a non return line one from '70 and older.