Fuel Issue?

Coronet67guy · Apr 9, 2020

I noticed RockAuto's servers were crashing last night, I guess a lot of us are working on cars right now! I have a problem with my 74 SE, 400 HP motor. Ran great until - Went to body shop for body work and paint, 3 months, then two weeks at transmission shop for rebuild, then three weeks at upholstery shop. Drove it home, died as I was pulling into garage. Now it won't run longer than about 2 minutes. Starts up fine, idles fine, then just dies. Will only restart if you push pedal to the floor but only fires up, doesn't keep running. Carter 9635S. Took it off, cleaned it up, didn't look that bad. Changed fuel filter. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm thinking about replacing the coil, then current one looks cheap and was on the car when I bought it. If it's failing this could be the cause? Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

davek · Apr 9, 2020

could be your sock in the gas tank is plugged up with rust or dirt. Yes it Could be coil.

Coronet67guy · Apr 9, 2020

davek said:
could be your sock in the gas tank is plugged up with rust or dirt. Yes it Could be coil.

That might make a lot of sense. It set in a VERY DUSTY body shop for over three months. I should of made sure it was full of gas but it was nearly empty. I assume you have to drop the tank?

Don Frelier · Apr 9, 2020

Sounds like its flooding.
Check your spark take a spare plug or hold the coil wire about 1/4" from a good ground.
Should be blue/white and crisp.
If good then how did the air filter look?
Clean out the air cleaner assembly with soap and water, try it with no filter element (briefly).

davek · Apr 9, 2020

I doubt the dust from the shop plugged it. Unless your cap wasnt on. Yes the tank need to be dropped. Have you tried changing the fuel filter first? Do you have an extra coil laying around. Dropping a tank is not that hard to see if it is dirty .

Don Frelier · Apr 9, 2020

If you suspect fuel an easy test would be to disconnect the suction line from the fuel pump and drop a piece of hose in a gas can.
Much easier than dropping a fuel tank.

Coronet67guy · Apr 9, 2020

davek said:
I doubt the dust from the shop plugged it. Unless your cap wasnt on. Yes the tank need to be dropped. Have you tried changing the fuel filter first? Do you have an extra coil laying around. Dropping a tank is not that hard to see if it is dirty .

Filter change was one of the first things I did. Gas filter looked awful considering it was a relatively new filter. Cap shouldn't of been off but they took off the bumper and could of loosened it. Never know. Great idea on the coil. I actually do have one off my 73 Charger that I could hook up and try.

davek · Apr 9, 2020

That filter does not look good.

Coronet67guy · Apr 9, 2020

Don Frelier said:
Sounds like its flooding.
Check your spark take a spare plug or hold the coil wire about 1/4" from a good ground.
Should be blue/white and crisp.
If good then how did the air filter look?
Clean out the air cleaner assembly with soap and water, try it with no filter element (briefly).

I agree it seems like it's flooding out. Haven't checked spark. Air filter was new when it went to shop and still looks good. It's not even on the car right now though. I have it and the air cleaner lid off. Dies after running for about 2 minutes. Runs just fine till it dies.

Coronet67guy · Apr 9, 2020

davek said:
That filter does not look good.

That was a new filter with not that many miles on it. But the carb was actually nice and clean. Just a little sentiment. Nothing concerning.

turbine68rt · Apr 10, 2020

With the car running normal before it usually shuts off, observe what's happening with the carb. Is the electric choke functioning properly? Any sticking or binding with the choke plate? Can you physically see too much fuel being introduced when it wants to die?

Aeronet · Apr 10, 2020

I've had that issue with both my cars when I first got them running. '73 Charger would run for a while and die. Turns out there was a clog on the fuel sock in the tank.
The gas tank on the '69 Coronet was rusty inside. Ran for a month or so then quit running. Replaced fuel pump and ran about a week. Rust was clogging the fuel pump.

copper67sat · Apr 10, 2020

Had the same issue on a 67 Satellite many years ago. Filter sock in tank was clogged with debris. Car would run for a few minutes and then die and not restart. Let it sit for a bit and it would restart. Post #6 is what I did to diagnose - ran a hose from inlet side of fuel pump into a gas can and car ran fine so I knew the problem was between the tank and pump. Next step was pull the sending unit. Mine was obviously clogged - a lot of rust in the tank. If that's your problem, a new filter sock is only temporary unless you clean/replace the tank as well.

Coronet67guy · Apr 10, 2020

Thanks for all the replies guys. Today I'm going to try to run some gas from a can and find out if its the gas. That will help a lot. The choke does seem to be hung up. It doesn't have much movement either way and I would think with the car cold this thing should be closed! As for fuel I see a lot in the primary but I think that's normal. It's not like flowing over or anything. You can hear it bubble some after it dies, and some times creates that "fuel fog" in the bowl.

turbine68rt · Apr 10, 2020

If you slightly crack the throttle (with the engine off) are you able to freely move the choke plate from fully closed to fully open?
Does the choke close fully when cold?

Moparnocar · Apr 10, 2020

Coronet67guy said:
Thanks for all the replies guys. Today I'm going to try to run some gas from a can and find out if its the gas. That will help a lot. The choke does seem to be hung up. It doesn't have much movement either way and I would think with the car cold this thing should be closed! As for fuel I see a lot in the primary but I think that's normal. It's not like flowing over or anything. You can hear it bubble some after it dies, and some times creates that "fuel fog" in the bowl.

View attachment 933997

Yes, cold, choke should be closed. You loosen electric choke cover to adjust

Coronet67guy · Apr 10, 2020

turbine68rt said:
If you slightly crack the throttle (with the engine off) are you able to freely move the choke plate from fully closed to fully open?
Does the choke close fully when cold?

Yes, I was able to close and open completely. It doesn't seem to close completely when cold on it's own but just a very small opening. May adjust a little, but this car while it looked like hell when I got it has always ran great, until I got it back from body shop.

Moparnocar · Apr 10, 2020

Coronet67guy said:
Yes, I was able to close and open completely. It doesn't seem to close completely when cold on it's own but just a very small opening. May adjust a little, but this car while it looked like hell when I got it has always ran great, until I got it back from body shop.

I don't believe it actually closes all the way. The gap is adjustable depending on weather etc.

RJRENTON · Apr 10, 2020

Coronet67guy said:
Thanks for all the replies guys. Today I'm going to try to run some gas from a can and find out if its the gas. That will help a lot. The choke does seem to be hung up. It doesn't have much movement either way and I would think with the car cold this thing should be closed! As for fuel I see a lot in the primary but I think that's normal. It's not like flowing over or anything. You can hear it bubble some after it dies, and some times creates that "fuel fog" in the bowl.

View attachment 933997

It appears from your pix, the carb looks like an aftermarket Edlebrock (aka "Eddy") rather than the original carb. Since the Edlebrock carb is basically a copy of a Carter AVS carb, it is susceptible to same internal idle and off idle fuel issues. The idle mixture is sourced in the primary booster venturi which has a few very small orifices that COULD be affected by dirty fuel. These fuel metering orifices are NOT the primary jets or metering rods and only be seen by removing the booster venturii from the casting. These small orifices can be cleaned by a good solvent and compressed air. There is also a very fine screen assembly located directly behind the fuel inlet nut, which, when clogged or restricted, will exhibit a fuel starvation issue, which appears to be your problem. Just my opinion of course.
BOB RENTON

Coronet67guy · Apr 10, 2020

The carb is a Carter 9635S, not an eddy. The carb was taken apart and cleaned just to be sure it wasn't the problem. I do have the car running again now. You guys can tell me if this makes sense - I noticed the car was dying right after the throttle fully opened and idle would get really slow. I shot some starter fluid in it and got it running again, then started playing with the idle screw increasing the idle when it seems like the car was stumbling. It kept running! It still needs dialed in but ran for 10 minutes without issues. So why would that idle be so far off all of a sudden? Well when I had the tranny rebuilt I had a new torque converter put in. Wouldn't that change of stall speed cause me to have to adjust idle speed? That's all I can think of. Hoping it keeps running. Thanks for all the input. I'll post some pics soon, right now it's wet sanded awaiting polish.

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