i had that problem on 56 olds 88 with 324 with 2 bb carb found dried out and cracked fuel line.replaced the line and all is good 1 pump to set chock and fires up . good luck

 

I have a quick question on this. What you're suggesting Eric, the electric pump would just be inline with the existing fuel line? And once the car is running, the mechanical pump is able to pull gas through the non-running electric pump? I don't own a '50s car, but I plan to eventually. Hopefully I won't have this problem, just making mental notes for the future.

 

If you run an electric pump, you remove the mechanical unit and block it off with a plate. What he is saying is that you turn the pump on for a few seconds with a switch before you start your car, so there is gas in the fuel bowl already.

 

These are dual action pumps - fuel and vacuum - the wipers and the power brake unit both have lines to the vacuum side of the fuel pump - can't really 'eliminate' it

As an update, I haven't done anything with this issue - temporarily solved the problem by using the car almost every day - which is arguably more fun than fixing it!

 

UPDATE:

I had a punky fuel line, so I ended up putting in an electric pump as part of my fuel line replacment - works fantastic - starts up better than she ever has - however, the "Hum" is more annoying than a politician in November, so I'm going to take Oldsmobum's advice and wire it to a switch so that I can just "juice it up" when I need it to start, but have it dead while it's running.

 

I will be doing an electric in mine when I install the 394 I just bagged... What pump are you using? It seems all are noisy, but some are worse than others. My buddy has a Holley that was as loud as his exhaust (40 series flowmasters). The Carters and the Mallorys are typically a little quieter.

There is also a means of making it quieter in the mounting. Rubber mount that puppy to the frame. Some people modify rubber transmission mounts, Other people use the rubber mounts for the air pumps on the later chevy Gen. II LT engines. I have also heard or people hanging it from the rubber style exhaust hanger. The trick is to make sure the pump is mounted to rubber, and not metal. No metal on metal continuity between the pump and frame or you will get noise. Then you run a screw through it all, the pump, the base of the mount, maybe the frame too. Don't make it too tight, its just a safety leash in case the rubber fails. the rubber will isolate the pump and cut the noise significantly. I will be doing this soon so if I can outsmart all the technology involved, I will make a thread for it.

 

I used a "Mr. Gasket" - largely because I was at the parts store and that's what they had and the car was in the driveway on jacks - so that's what I got - it has an integral rubber saddle that it sits in - first thing I thought was "wow, this will be nice and quiet" - bolted to the frame it's loud - I think it's the pump itself and not the vibrations - oh well - at least the function is there.

 

Yeah it is the pump. There are different designs with varying amounts of noise, not sure about the Mr. Gasket guy. Some companies are kind enough to supply rubber mounts, because without them you'd be much worse off. One thing I left out was that any hardline to the pump should not touch the frame too close to the pump... It has the same effect as a direct mount. I am not looking forward to the noise but with the expense of the mechanical pump its the way to go for me. For safety's sake, there are a couple things you can do to cut the fuel pump off in case of an accident or motor failure. There are accelerometers (I think ford aerostar's are a common donor) That sense the sudden stop in an accident and cut the fuel pump off. There are also switches to your oil pressure sensor that cut the fuel off if oil pressure goes below 5 psi (indicating a non-running engine). A couple things to consider if you decide to run off of the pump.

 

This is a rubber mount right to the frame with no hardlines in or out - just the pure "whir" of the pump itself.

This weekend I'm going to wire it to a switch and only use it to get the car going - that's all I need it for anyway.

 

Just as a follow up:

I wired this pump to the hand brake indicator light - that way the pump only runs when the hand brake is on - usually when you're starting the car.

Works great and no more annoying constant hum

 

I like that - very good idea.

- Eric

 

Thanks - my good ideas are few and far between; but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while!

 

Ha! This is my current way of solving pesky problems too. The weather is too nice to purposely take myself off the road! Front end project is in my very near future however.

 

If you Will Look At The Intake Just In Front of Carb after It Sits For A Day Or Two I Think You Will Find A puddle Of Gas In the Indention Of The Manifold. Try Wiping It Clean,Running It Again, And It Will Return In A Day Or So! (leak In Carb.)

 

Rocketowner I think if you check the above threads this problem (though common) has been eliminated in this peculiar case. My car also suffers from leak down but is not noticeable because it leaks to the inside manifold (leaves a slight annoying gas order in the garage). I beleive Olds Dad has fixed his peculiar problem....Tedd

 

"Sometimes though it floods and I have to remove the air cleaner and hold the choke open. It fires off fast then. Rick"
===================
That sounds like the choke unloader is not set right. Flooring the pedal is supposed to prop open the choke enough to start a flooded engine, w/o the driver leaving the seat. It is possible to alter this adjustment, and render it inoperative. Anyone can put a carb kit in, but it really helps to UNDERSTAND the 6 basic carb systems and pay attention to every detail in order to get the best results. Cleaning all passages out for example- like the guy who found a clogged acceleration pump passage. Re-seating the check valve *****, Adjusting linkages to ensure perfectly open butterflies at WOT, stuff like that.


Also, for starting fluid, I am pretty sure you just need to get some of it into the air cleaner for it to get drawn into the engine, you don't need to REMOVE the air cleaner.