No start condition when warmed up...Carb?

I doubt it's the fuel formula. If it were, we'd all be having the same problem.

 

Always a rush to blame the fuel. If it were the fuel formulation, this issue would not be isolated to a few individuals. California, alone, has 32,000,000 vehicles on the road, and burns through 20,000,000,000 gallons of motor fuel a year. No riots in the streets here.

 

Picked this up from summit.....i'll report back after install/trial

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRD-2447

 

Wow, that ain't cheap. I got my phenolic plastic one from the swap meet for $2.00.

 

Maybe not all but I have seen a few older carbureted vehicles around here have problems in the summer. Usually running borderline hot with closed engine compartments. Also keep in mind, the vast majority of most vehicles on the road today are fuel injected.

 

If it has points and condenser, replace the condenser. That will fix it.

 

Modern fuel injected cars adjust for changing fuels, altitude changes, and temperature changes seamlessly. My carburated car? I have to change the ignition timing, and adjust the carb several times in the fall and spring, when they change the mixtures. Have been for the past 12yrs that i've owned it.

 

It's the ones that sit for extended periods of time.
Not the ones that see a tank go from full to empty twice a month or less.

 

The OP's isn't starting, warm.

 

And I am still not having any trouble with my SBC powered A, my Falcon, or my '65 BMW motorcycle, all, with at least one carburetor. Come to think of it, none of my customers are having any trouble either. Guess we must all be lucky.

 

Might be more related to ambient temperature and extremes. I'm pretty sure San Francisco isn't known for scorching temps. Possible the two states use different formulations too? Can't find much online.

 

Make sure you are getting a full 12 volts at the distributor.Voltage drops as they get hot. hope it helps.

 

All of my vehicles see regular duty in the Central Valley, the Mojave, Lake Tahoe, Death Valley, and everywhere in-between. I am an pansy, and won't ride the bike under 35º, but everything else has seen 0º-118º(Girlach, NV, at about 4000-ft.)

We have winter and summer blends here, but, yes, California has its own gas. We're a bit screwed, since we can't import from other state's refineries.

 

Not saying fuel is for sure the problem but my Nova cruises at 190 and never gets hot enough to boil over, yet the fuel does. Very audible after a few minutes of sitting once you shut it off. Fenderwell headers might have something to do with it.

Another car that kicked my ass was a friends '59 or '60 Caddy with a big chunk of cast iron 390 that seemed to vapor lock no matter what. I think I finally remedied it with a bypass line or electric pump. Was a few years ago and can't remember exactly what did the trick.

 

Yeah my truck typically runs between 180-190 degrees. About 205 is the hottest Ive seen it get at a standstill on hot pavement.


at any rate, spacer was sitting at my door when I came home from work and slapped it on the intake. Didn't have a chance to go for a long ride but let it get warm in the driveway, shut her down and fired it up after a couple different intervals and she fired right up. I'll still report back after I go for a cruise and get it to temp for a longer duration

 

Cali uses ETBE or TAME in its fuels more than ethanol as ethanol forms Formaldehyde when its burned in a ICE which creates photo smog , before EBTE they used MBTE which was made from methanol which was a by product of refining when they outlawed it (due to ground water contamination ) then they made the switch and you gas prices went up as EBTE OR TAME is more expensive to make as its made from ethanol . but its superior to ethanol due to not asorbing water and has a higher vapor/boiling point ( makes it more stable in warm weather ) and doesn't contribute to the photosmog problem when it vaporizes . but it makes your gas smell like a garbage dump .. ( someone will eventually complain about that and your gas will come in fruit flavor or flower smells )

one good thing to know is your gas is a better quality than most of the nation too because of this and you have less problems .

 

oh in the midwest we get California style gas its BP Gold , as it used ETBE as the oxygenate and has no ethanol mix to it , but it smells like wet socks or a garbage dump ... and its 20-40 cents more a gallon than regular with ethanol ..

 

Pulling a vacuum on the fuel will allow it to boil at a lower temp. Make sure there is no fuel restriction from your tank to the pump. Fuel pumps don't like pumping vapor

Try running it on an outboard portable tank, run the fuel line right to the inlet side of the pump. If it solves your problem go find the restriction

We run into this a lot at the marina

Just my 2 cents!


Jake

 

Well....the spacer didn't help. I went for a 20 minute cruise....shut it down......let it sit for about 20 minutes.....And had a hell of a time getting it to catch.

 

Did you ever do an actual spark check when it is doing this? The ether test is not sufficient to rule this out. Ether, especially in a hot engine, will compression ignite, without a spark. It will auto ignite at 320º, at sea level, with no compression present. Compress it with air, and it will auto ignite, even more easily.

 

I chased the same problem this summer. Kept thinking fuel....ended up being the "new" aftermarket ignition coil heat soaking....would act flooded, run poorly when hot, and start hard, if at all.....would fire with ether.....

Changed out the accel coil and runs like a new truck...
Tom

 

Ok i had the same thing going on. My truck would fire and run fine shut it down after driving it would not catch or run. So here is what I did. Adding a new starter and cables and battery up it to 1000 cca. Also ditched my q-jet for a edlbrock 1405 600cfm. I drove all around town the other night no problems truck runs tops right now.

My truck is a mild 350 with edlebrock dual plane manifold and performance cam 305 heads bored .60 with hugger headers. I am running a large body starter and no spacer between carb and mainfold. Truck runs at 185 going down the and maybe 205 at a light on a hot day.

Go have your starter tested it may be drawing down the system.

 

This won't help stop the carb from boiling its fuel; but it will reduce the amount of fuel that's available to boil.
Get a 3 line, in-line fuel filter and install it between the pump and carb. It'll mean running a return line back to the tank; but this will relieve the trapped fuel pressure in the line and not push this gas into the carb as the float drops.
The filter you'd need is one where the return spigot has a .050" restriction in it; this small of a restriction will not compromise fuel delivery to the carb, when running.
Most all of GM's last carb-ed engines had three line fuel pumps just for this reason.
I still remember the last carburetor-ed Camaro Z28 even had a thermostatically controlled fan and duct work that would blow cool air at the carb's float bowl.

Ethanol fuel also enhances this problem; try and find an ethanol free gas station near you.
Here's a link to a map showing different locations.

http://www.historicvehicle.org/Resources/Resources/US-Hobby-Law-Maps/Pure-Gas-Map/North


Dan.

 

Great ideas guys...heres the latest.....I still have not put different gas in the truck....and I've been putting fuel in the truck from the same station for over a year(its right by my house). Noticed today that the station, which was once a sunoco is now a no-brand station.....also

notice my ignition coil was resting on my intake, thus getting pretty damn hot.....moved that tonight and will get back after I take her for a spin. So the no-spark/poor spark condition may have some merit.

 

I still say it is NOT a fuel issue. I think it is electrical. Since it is an electronic dizzy (no points & condensor), I bet it is the coil.

 

I have always heard that most fuel problems are electrical.......give it a try

 

This thread can now be put to bed. Getting the bottom of coil from resting on the top of the intake did help....it ran better but still had a hard starting condition when hot/warmed up. New MSD coil came in from Summit yesterday, installed it, ran it, restarted it multiple times with no issues.....

It was indeed an electrical issue....thanks all!!!!

....and now I'm off to the Big-E

 

I actually had a similar issue with my '34 Chevy. 350 crate motor.....turned out, it was with the starter and solenoid. The headers got hot and the starter was so close to the header pipes the solenoid overheated and had to cool to work properly. I solved it with a smaller high output starter. Never had the issue again.