1962 starfire question

[toms1966rgtop]

does a 62 starfire have a charcoal canister to catch the gas fumes coming from the tank.If not where could I get an aftermarket one

[rocketraider]

It does not. Those didn't appear until 1969 and to my knowledge no state requires retrofitting them to earlier cars for emissions compliance.

If you're getting gasoline odor you have a leak somewhere.

If you're simply interested in recovering the fumes for reburn, get a complete canister system from a 70s GM car. It will require plumbing a tank to canister line, a NON-VENTED gas cap (with the canister, tank vents thru it), and a suitable mounting location. Filters are readily available.

Up front, I don't know how a 4GC carb will react to a closed vent system, or where you could even connect the carb vent to canister. Most 62s don't even have a fuel return line on their sending unit, so you'd have to do a makeshift canister connection at the tank end.

[toro68]

The gas tank in my old man's former 63 Starfire was leaking too, before he sold it a year ago.

[Texascarnut]

I'd start addressing the fumes issue by examining the rubber lines between the fuel tank and metal line, on the vehicles passenger side, and then from the metal fuel line forward to the fuel pump. If original, there can be a lot of fuel "bleeding" taking place and it won't necessarily be obvious from drips. Can be a serious potential fire hazard.

Clue: With the portion of the fuel line between the pump and metal line it is best not to remove the old and best to attach the new to the old on the fuel pump end and pull it through the routing back to the metal line. The routing is a bit peculiar and that is the best way to insure you have the new routed as it should be.

[rocketraider]

Now if someone can just figure out why Oldsmobile liked to run rubber fuel lines thru the boxed part of the frame rails... and they did it on a lot of cars thru the years. I don't know which was worse, my Starfires or my Toronado.

Probably the factory air Starfire. Trying to pull supply and return lines thru that rear frame rail was one of the most exasperating jobs I've ever done, even using an electrician's snake.

[Texascarnut]

Originally Posted by rocketraider

Now if someone can just figure out why Oldsmobile liked to run rubber fuel lines thru the boxed part of the frame rails... and they did it on a lot of cars thru the years. I don't know which was worse, my Starfires or my Toronado.

Probably the factory air Starfire. Trying to pull supply and return lines thru that rear frame rail was one of the most exasperating jobs I've ever done, even using an electrician's snake.

I'd like to see the answer to that question myself. Made no sense whatsoever and on some years I'd call it just flat asking for a fire. It's like someone was totally brain dead and no one else cared to recognize that fact. I'm really surprised there were not some really terrible fires from that practice since there were no inertia cut-off switches and mechanical fuel pumps will keep pumping if the engine is turning over.

[toms1966rgtop]

I agree with the rerouting of the gas lines, but after reading all of the responses I am still perplexed.I replaced the gas line up to the fuel pump, by the way someone replaced with an electric one. the vent line is cut and laying between the frame around the passengers rear quarter and door.It is away from any direct heat but now should I run it up engine or leave alone. I would hate to see the old mans car go up in flames.

[Oldskeeper]

You guys seem to forget that rubber bends easier that steel tubing and they were assembled from the top without the body on the frame.GM didn't give a rats ass what happened to the car once you signed the contract .Yes they warrantied the car five minutes or five feet which ever came first so a 47 year old gas line,come on replace it and move on to the next problem.If you replace it with the proper line you won't have to do it again in your life time as these cars are not daily drivers for most of us.

[Texascarnut]

Originally Posted by toms1966rgtop

I agree with the rerouting of the gas lines, but after reading all of the responses I am still perplexed.I replaced the gas line up to the fuel pump, by the way someone replaced with an electric one. the vent line is cut and laying between the frame around the passengers rear quarter and door.It is away from any direct heat but now should I run it up engine or leave alone. I would hate to see the old mans car go up in flames.

Going up in flames is not good!

Let's back up a bit here. What kind of fuel pump is now delivering fuel to the carburetor? If electric, where is it mounted and what is its pressure rating? If mechanical, which version, there were two. Fuel pumps on cars with air conditioning had a vacuum pump section and cars without A/C did not.

Not sure what you are calling "vent line." The only line that ran where you describe is the metal portion of the fuel line from the tank to the fuel pump. There is no excess fuel bypass or return line with the fuel system on these cars.

My personal opinion is it would be best to return the fuel system from the tank to the engine back to original configuration. Doing so will probably eliminate all the fume issues being experienced. I would also seriously recommend you acquire the shop manual for the car. You will actually need two manuals. The manual for 1961 and the manual for 1962 as the latter is basically an update to the 1961 manual and lacks as detailed information on the engine, brake, body, and hydramatic transmission as found in the 1961 manual. Aside from body sheet metal and paint colors the two year models are basically identical.