Old Bess doesn't want to get out of bed

[studeclunker]

My old lady ('56 Parkview) doesn't seem willing to get up and go back to work. Can't blame her really. I've been attempting a startup now for a couple of weeks and she is just saying no. Today, I bypassed the original fuel pump and was able to get fuel to the carb (I know... duh) so she really did attempt this time. However ran into a snag as there was gas pouring out the vent on top of the fuel bowl. Shut her down and am scratching my head. The (needle?) valve in the fuel port seems to be right (rubber pointing out?). However, the pump seems to be overloading it and flooding the carb. Searched all over the Tech section and ran out of time before finding anything useful.

Ah well. At least she's turning over and trying to start. That's something.

After she is up and running, I'm going to work on brakes. Bought new flexible lines and kits for the cylinders, both master and brake. Thought I had ordered a kit for the Hill Holder, and seemed to have forgotten it. With my trap-like mind (yup, everything goes in, NOTHING comes out), that isn't a big surprise. Everything else seems to be working. The floor however has gotten a lot worse. So, I'll likely rob the patches out of the '57 and close that up temporarily. Right now however, my focus is just getting her to wake up (start). Kind of a slow process as I don't have a lot of time to work on the car. Going to have to make the time though as I really want to start driving the car again.

[thunderations]

Most likely needs a new needle and seat to stop the flow of fuel into the bowl when it's full. Pretty common for them to go bad from lack of use. The rubber tip gets hard and refuses to seal.
Good luck.

[52-fan]

Most likely needs a new needle and seat to stop the flow of fuel into the bowl when it's full. Pretty common for them to go bad from lack of use. The rubber tip gets hard and refuses to seal.
Good luck.

That was my first thought. It is also possible that the float is stuck or has sunk due to a leak. One of our members recently had issues caused by a float that developed a leak and had partially sunk.

[r1lark]

You mentioned that "Today, I bypassed the original fuel pump and was able to get fuel to the carb". How did you bypass the original pump - did you install an electric fuel pump? If so, is it possible that the electric pump produces too much output pressure for your carb and is pushing gas past the needle & seat? Or, higher pressure than an old worn out fuel pump aggravating a needle & seat that is not up to snuff as a couple of posters mentioned above or has trash stuck in it?

Thought I had ordered a kit for the Hill Holder, and seemed to have forgotten it. Maybe it's better that they forgot this -- the Hillholder is a bear to disassemble, plus the important part (the internal seal that the ball rolls against to hold the pressure in the brakes on a hill) isn't commonly available anymore, at least from SI. Flush a bunch of fluid thru it, but if it doesn't leak and the ball is free, I wouldn't mess with it. Of course, this is just my opinion and others' opinions may differ.

[studeclunker]

I'm the one who forgot to order the kit Paul. The ball is sticking in the valve. Well something is sticking anyway as the HH isn't releasing as it should. Or at least wasn't five years ago when I last drove it. I'll try flushing it out. Might be some crap in it.

I sent the carb to Mr. Tibeault (sp? Tee-bow) to be rebuilt. So it should be fresh. However I might have installed it with the needle backwards and it might have mashed the tip flat.

[tim333]

If the carb was rebuilt by Dave T. why would you mess with the needle and seat?

[studegary]

You say "rubber pointing out". The rubber tip should go into the seat to make a seal.

[RebelStude]

If you run into any issues, I'm just over the hill from you in Weaverville. PM me and I'll give you my contact info

[studegary]

You say "rubber pointing out". The rubber tip should go into the seat to make a seal.

EDIT: This is what stops the fuel flow no matter what pump you use.

[studeclunker]

You say "rubber pointing out". The rubber tip should go into the seat to make a seal.

EDIT: This is what stops the fuel flow no matter what pump you use.

Yes quite. What it looks like is that the float has a tab on the back which pushes on this needle and seats it against the orifice. Then as the fuel runs out of the reservoir the float's tab releases the needle and fuel comes in. the electric pump overwhelms this system and floods the carb.

Okay, it looks like the fuel line had a blockage. I replaced the problem section of line and fuel is now flowing through the mechanical fuel pump. The old lady fired! She stumbled a bit and then died. Hey, that's something. At that point my battery died and I have to charge it overnight. I'm going to try running it with the mechanical fuel pump and see if the carb can handle it. Took it apart and the internals look good. We will see tomorrow!

[studegary]

What caused the fuel line blockage? If it was either foreign material or deterioration of the inner surface of the line and it was downstream of the filter, you likely have something that will interfere with the proper sealing of the needle and seat.

- - - Updated - - -

What caused the fuel line blockage? If it was either foreign material or deterioration of the inner surface of the line and it was downstream of the filter, you likely have something that will interfere with the proper sealing of the needle and seat.

[studeclunker]

There were tiny black bits in the inlet and they might have been preventing the needle from seating. I cleaned it out thoroughly and replaced the rubber hose.

SHE STARTED TODAY!!

However, she is still making alarming sounds when she is running. I'll try to get some video of it later today. Ran the battery down again. I need a new battery. Tablet's battery went at the same time as the car's. One of the two is a bad influence on the other...

[studegary]

If the battery has been sitting unused for a long period of time, rather than a quick charge, try a very slow (low charge rate) charge over several days or weeks. Often, a battery will come back to life this way.

[Michidan]

Glad you are spending some time on that wagon. It's a cool old car.

[studeclunker]

Glad you are spending some time on that wagon. It's a cool old car.

She's my treasure all right!

EDIT:

Started another thread in the Tech forum on Shriek-ity and Squeak-ity sounds along with popping.