No fuel

Pattracy

Daily Driver
I cut a hole in the firewall, installed my new electronic distributor, and cranked it up. Or tried to, I can get it to pop off with a little fuel dumped down the carb. I am not pumping any fuel. I do have gas in the tank. I have no idea how these fuel lines are setup. Is it a mechanical pump on a 76? It looks like it is beside the distributor, I may have to cut more out.
 
Also after I crank a few times! I turn the key to try again and nothing just a click. After I wait a few seconds, it cranks over again. Any ideas?
 
You cut a hole in the firewall? What ever for?
Mechanical fuel pump, yep. By distributor, yep.
Click on start: bad ground strap on engine, bad ground cable on battery to chassis, clean and tight connections on battery, tired starter, tired solenoid, you start checking voltage at various places
 
Yeah Pat... I understand...

An access cover for the dizzy and pump came about first in '77 or '78... and stayed... and another access cover was added in '79 between the rear trunk and engine bay.

Find a late model to see how it was done... use the covers from a wrecked car for a template and install them... or make your own custom covers following them as a guide or idea.

You will NOT EVER regret doing so...

Fuel should be delivered via the pump next to the dizzy... and its simple. A line from the tank to the pump, the pump to the carb via a filter... and overflow back to the tank, called a "return". All the other hoses on the tank top are for fuel separators and venting to the charcoal canister.

These mechanical pumps are rather robust... I would suspect a fuel filter clogged or the "sock" on the end of the pick-up tube in the tank.

All of it comes unscrewed from the top of the tank... Hard to see if the rubber gasket is in place, and original hose clamps need to be cut off. If the original cloth covered lines are still there... now is the time to replace them as well.

HTH...
 
Fuel

I have fuel up to the carb, but not pumping through the jets. I order a kit from Vick, but it is not a complete rebuild kit. I will try it, but I might need a new carb, since it doesn't come with an accelerator pump.
 
I have fuel up to the carb, but not pumping through the jets. I order a kit from Vick, but it is not a complete rebuild kit. I will try it, but I might need a new carb, since it doesn't come with an accelerator pump.

Fuel to the carb but not through the jets when the engine is turning over means a stuck or smashed needle valve, a badly bent or stuck float, or seriously gummed up passages in the carb. The cure for all of these is to take the carb apart to clean thoroughly and fix anything that's obviously broken.

But first be sure that that's really the problem. It takes a fair amount of cranking to fill the float bowl when the car has been standing, and you shouldn't expect to see any fuel flowing through the main venturis until the throttle is fairly far open. The idle jet delivers its fuel below the throttle butterfly so you won't see it in action at idle.

The accelerator pump diaphragm is not included in the standard rebuild kit, but it's available from Pierce Manifolds (Weber carb specialists, googlewil find them). You will want the accelerator pump working, as that squirt of fuel when you first press the gas is important to cold starting.
 
Quick and dirty and something I do all the time...

to make starting easier or to trouble shoot.

ETHER!

Also known as Starting Fluid and goes for about $2.50 a can.

On two of my three sporty cars that get started seldom and driven, I spray a bit into the air-cleaners and they fire right off... getting fuel pumped up and back into the carb(s).

It just makes it easier on everything.

Also... if it doesn't fire using ether... it PROVES you have an IGNITION problem and not necessarily a FUEL problem.

In your case where the car has not been run for some time... the gas in the carb may have turned to VARNISH and clogged everything. Pull the top to see... but it would be best to overhaul it regardless.

DON'T GIVE UP... we're here for ya... and take one small bite at a time.
 
Back
Top