Falkon

1971 Cutlass Supreme w/ 350 engine & factory carburetor. Car was hard to start cold a few days ago. Cranked a lot the ran OK. Hard to restart warm. Thought it was the heat / carburetor adjustment. Today went outside in 60 deg garage & stepped on gas once. Always worked well before. Cranked & cranked & would not fire. Tried pumping gas 3x w/ no result. Also held it to the floor a while & no start. I took off the fuel line & very little gas came out. Cranked the engine & gas shot out well into a rag, & it fired right away for about 2 seconds until I shut it down. Now I'm wondering. It's been years since I fooled w/ a GM carburetor mounted filter. Wouldn't the pressure of the fuel pump press a clogged filter off the seat & still start or is cranking pressure too small to do that. Now I'm just waiting for the little bit of gas on the engine to completely dry before trying to start it again.

Al

Sugar Bear

A clogged filter can prevent starting, just depends on how bad it is clogged. If equipped, the valve in/at the entrance to the filter could also be stuck.

Falkon

Thanks. I may have answered my own question. After I reassembled it, & waited for fuel to dry up, it fired right up. Amazing, I never thought of the filter, & it's the first thing I should have done.

Vintage Chief

Fuel pressure is ~4psi - 5psi (6psi tops). I went down this road far too many times w/ past carburetor engines. Some choose to eliminate the fuel carburetor filter entirely (most race track cars). What many do is install a fuel filter prior to the fuel pump and eliminate the carburetor fuel filter; or, retain the carburetor fuel line filter and install an additional fuel filter in the fuel line prior to the fuel pump (that's me). I'd rather change the fuel filter in the fuel line on regular intervals than open the carburetor fuel inlet.

Falkon

That's a good idea. For now I tossed a filter & spare 5/8" line wrench in my little tool tote. I'm one of those people who carry spare hoses & belts in their trunk. It has saved me a tow a few times.

Fun71

Yeah, I have a Jeep and do a lot of back country off-road wheeling so I have learned to carry tools and spare parts so I can make it back home if something goes wrong. I keep stuff in a milk crate so it's all in one place and easy to load into the vehicle. You'd be amazed at what you can do with bailing wire and ratchet straps.

Vintage Chief

Carrying a handful of tools & parts known to fail is a great idea. I owned a '67 4-4-2 then a '72 4-4-2 in the late 60's and mid-70's. I carried a spare set of points, belts & a thermostat. The star lug nut wrench is a good idea.

Vintage Chief

I carry a great set of tools and basics on my Indian motorcycle - which includes bailing wire & zip ties. It's amazing how many times they have saved my a$$; and, hard to count the number of times I've helped other riders on the road who didn't have any tools at all. And, you're correct. Hell, I can wire an entire clutch cable with bailing wire on the side of the road.

Fun71

One time I was wheeling with a co-worker who has a 1953 Jeep. He lost a pipe thread fitting in the intake manifold, and I was able to get him going with a stick wrapped with electrical tape that I shoved into the open hole. While trying to determine how to plug the hole, I mentioned a wine cork would do the trick and another co-worked laughed and said "Who carries a wine cork out in the desert?"
So guess what else is in my tool bag these days?

Vintage Chief

Well, that's funny. The first question which comes to mind is - cork or plastic?

Fun71

Both.

Fun71

Yeah, a lot of people just carry a credit card or triple A for emergencies.

I like to be more self sufficient.

I recall one day seeing a vehicle with a flat tire on the side of the interstate as we were heading out, then on the way back there was a triple A vehicle there changing the tire. That was about 90 minutes later. !!!!!

I once had a flat on the highway coming back from my birthday dinner, pulled off to the side of the interstate, and changed the tire while still carrying on a conversation with my wife, and we were on our way 15 minutes later. Note that the vehicle did not roll over due to the blowout, there was no drama, and I was not party to a class action lawsuit against the tire manufacturer.