Cranked the Lark today !!!!:)

[eddienlinda]

Had a chance to put a charger on the 63 today to crank it over, but didn't try to start it due to old fuel in tank. Removing the tank is on the to do list so it can be properly cleaned. I really want to hear it run, and would like to get input on a way to bypass the rear tank to get it started. Itching to hear it actually run. One friend told me to attach a hose to the fuel pump and put other end in gas can strapped to firewall. Prime carb, and start. Logical or not????? Thought I would ask Stude guys, and gals before doing this.

[Corvanti]

that's fine, but if you haven't changed the old oil out - depending on how long she's been sitting - i'd want to do that.

for moving her, don't do anything until the brakes have been gone thru. also tranny fluid especially if an automatic...

lots of stuff can be found on links here: http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/tips.asp

[rockinhawk]

My wife is a nurse. She taught me how to hang an IV. I even have an old IV pole discarded from the hospital. I have a metal cylinder,tapped at the bottom and open at the top. Hang the canister on the pole with wire. run a hose from the bottom tap to the carb. Fill canister with fuel. with the pole higher than the carb, the fuel will gravity feed in to the carb.

[guyina4x4]

get a boat gas tank and set in on top of the car and run a hose to the carb.

[wolfie]

get a boat gas tank and set in on top of the car and run a hose to the carb.

Or a Snapper lawn mower tank. Easy to find a place to strap it to with a few bungees. Hose stuck in a can will work also. Steve

[eddienlinda]

So I dont disconnect the hose from original tank to pump and replace with hose from temp tank?

[Flashback]

53-55's have a ready made place for a 2 1/2 gal plastic jug. Hers's one I ran for a while to test. the hose is out in picture.

[FlatheadGeo]

To be on the safe side, I would disconnect the line at the pump. You wouldn't want that bad gas to be sucked through! (IMHO)

[RadioRoy]

Instead of pulling the tank, why not just siphon out the old gas, put in some new gas and be done with it?

I know that everyone wants to pull and clean the tank, but I have never done that and, coincidently, have never had a gas tank problem. Maybe it's the climate here in California, maybe something else. But unless the tank has holes in it, why bother?

[GThawkwind]

Instead of pulling the tank, why not just siphon out the old gas, put in some new gas and be done with it?

I know that everyone wants to pull and clean the tank, but I have never done that and, coincidently, have never had a gas tank problem. Maybe it's the climate here in California, maybe something else. But unless the tank has holes in it, why bother?

It might be a Cali climate thing, because I thought the the same when I went to get my datsun running.Got the car started that way but soon enough she was running really bad, and then she died. Pulled a line off the back carb and this horrid black tar stuff comes pooring out of the carb and the line. Both carbs were plugged solid with the stuff, and the fuel pump was dead, also where the black touched the car it ate the paint. That being said I think most get a little too head up on the tank cleaning stuff. Alot of folks think if a car has sat for more than 10 months it needs the tank boiled. The datsun sat for 13 years with a full tank, and even so that was kind of unique. I would be sure of whats in there, before you let it in the pump or carb. Even if you drain it, there might be something too thick to drain lurking, thats what happened to me. I would disconnect line to the pump that comes from the tank just be safe, then either run a line straight to carb in a gravity feed or you could even run a line to the pump, but then you'd want to let it crank for awhile with the carb disconnected to clean anything out of the pump.

[Mikado282]

I have used outboard motor 6 gal gas tanks over the years to start cars that I have not wanted or been able to use the original gas tank. I just connect it to the fuel pump inlet or the carb inlet(providing the gas tank is kept above carb level) and you are ready to go. You can use the squeeze priming bulb on the line to prime the the carb. They used to make them in 18 gallon capacities and a friend of mines dad installed 6 of them in his pickup that he used for hauling a 5th. wheel trailer in the late 70's.

[jclary]

Well...I have never skinned a cat. However, I have heard there's many ways to do it. Same with installing a temporary gas supply to run an engine. I have an improvised engine test stand. For it, I am using a small re-purposed plastic mower tank. The tank is mounted high enough so that gas gravity feeds to the carb without a pump. I have also installed a small inline shutoff valve and one of those clear plastic filters. Not (so much) to use as a filter...but when if the engine shuts down or stalls...it's easy to see if it is empty and thus, the tank has run out of gas.

I have used this method many times to run an engine, in a vehicle, when I suspected the tank could be contaminated. The above post regarding an outboard motor tank is also OK. However, even the smallest of those tanks hold more fuel than I prefer for temporary running. The one on my engine stand holds about a half gallon.

[PlainBrownR2]

Hmm, why do we need to clean out the tank, instead of just putting fresh gas in it, and calling it done.....well, for me this is why, but for all I know, I'm just making extra busywork for myself. I do know that engines don't do real well when they digest this type of "fuel", so might as well get it all out and start anew!!



Every Studebaker that I pick up that's been sitting for many many years, has the same thing done to it. Old fuel comes out, tank gets flushed, new lines and hoses are put in, the whole works. In all actuality, this tank on my '63 Daytona was coming out anyway. I have a much, much better one in the '64 Commander. The car had been sitting for quite some time, like in this case, for many years! I dropped the tank, and shook it around. It felt like somebody had stuffed some sod inside of the tank, because it sure felt solid. So, I flipped it over, and shook out whatever it was that was in the tank. What came out looked like brown dirt, rust, and clay, and smelled like old varnish. I still haven't gotten it all out either, because there's some real large clumps in there that won't come through the fill hole. Now, a few of us could probably either try and flush it out, or put in new gas, and get the engine to run(this car doesn't have an engine or trans), and call it day. But whatever trip it's taken on is gonna be very short, because this will immediately plug up the lines, filter, or anything in between the tank and carburetor!

[eddienlinda]

Very informative. Just need to figure out which way to go. Anyone have pics of theirs hooked up to a temporary tank?