40 Gas Problem:

Update,
I took the sending unit off the tank and looked in. It looked pretty nice. No flakes, no gunk and no crud. I stuck my finger in and felt the "roof" and it was nice and smooth. Now this is not a full tank inspection but I was staring down at the lowest point being the drain plug where the crud should settle.'"
Good news, tank seems good, bad news, have not solved the problem.

So I returned to the front and removed the flex hose, blew into it and it was clear, then I placed my finger on one end and sucked on the opposite end.
It held the vacuum. I ordered one of the hoses GM recommended any way.

What now, fuel line, fuel pump rod? This car has only so many parts!
 
When this acts up try a LITTLE choking and see if it helps at all. While it is acting up remove a spark plug wire and put the end near a head nut (not the plug) and see what the spark looks like. It should be blue and jump about 1/2". If it only jumps a short distance and is yellow it most likely the coil or condenser. G.M.
 
It seems to me that most all of your fuel components have checked out fine so it may be time to turn to the ignition. A bad condenser or coil can cause the problem you're having. Here's how I test for ignition problems while driving. I hook up my timing light and tape the trigger down so that it is constantly on. I clamp the pickup around the high tension wire from the coil to the distributor so the light will pick up all spark created by the coil. Then I put the timing light on the cowl so that the light points at my eyes behind the wheel and close the hood on the wire to hold it in place. Then I drive. If there is any ignition problem it will show in the timing light and I'll know that's my problem and can start tracing it down. You might give it a try. If it ain't fuel it's gotta be ignition.

P.S. You have expressed concern more than once that when you disconnect the fuel line from the fuel pump that there is no gas in it. That is totally natural since gravity will drain the gas down out of that line as soon as you disconnect it.

Also, gasoline will always be in the settling bowl even if it's not in the gas line since there is nothing to suck it out. What you can't see is that there is a small space above the fuel in the bowl when there is no gas in the line.
 
I also concur with G.M. that you pour water on the fuel pump when dead and see if it revives things. If so, then you know it's vapor lock and may need an electic back up fuel pump to prime the mechanical one on those occassions. That's what I eventually had to do.
 
I had the first symptoms of vapor lock last October on the last day of the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour. I had pulled over to answer a phone call and let the engine idle while I talked, possibly for around 15 minutes. When i tried to pull back onto the road the engine started stumbling and finally completely stopped running as I frantically pumped on the accelerator peddle. After much cranking I was able to restart the engine although I could tell it was not running well. I pulled into the first gas station that I came to and it shut down again. When I lifted the hood I noticed the glass FP sediment bowl was empty. My first thought was my FP had gone south so I started digging into my spare parts box for a rebuilt pump that I carry with me. While I was looking an elderly gentleman appeared beside me asking the usual questions about a 76 year old car just like the one he or his dad once owned. We must have talked for 20 minutes. At the end of our conversation I noticed the glass FP bowl was 1/2 full. So I thought I would give the engine a couple more spins to see what would happen. To my surprise she fired right up and ran smooth again. So off I drove to the end of the BRP and then on to Dawsonville, GA and finally back to Front Royal, VA without any further problems.
Could it be possible that one season formulation change is more prone to causing this problem than another? I had several other instances of this same problem earlier this week in FL.
I really believe that George is onto some good ideas on how to reduce the likelihood of having this happen.....the so called dreaded Vapor Lock!!
 
First I want to thank you all for hanging in there with me while I solve the puzzle. All points and suggestions are valid now and for future. Let's face it, despite across the board agreement that this new gas boondoggle has many severe flaws, it is like addictive candy for the politicians.
Ok, back to the issue at hand.

Since I bought the car this Fall it has had basically the same routine. She starts right up and idles nice and smooth. When I go for a drive the engine eventually starts to run rough, buck and loose power. She acts as if the battery is dying with a bad generator or she is starving for fuel or the coil is shot.
In addition if I shut her off at operating temp she will spin but not start. I have to wait. If I bump start her, she will start
All this has occurred in the fall and winter leading up to the present time, not on HOT weather.

So, I have done the following:
Rebuilt the carburetor and fuel pump. (thank you Ken Ct.)
Rebuilt the distributor. (thank you Ken Ct)
Removed the remote coil (off the firewall) and replaced it with an OEM unit on the distributor. The original resister had been bypassed with the remote unit so I reconnected the resister when the OEM unit was installed.
Installed a new 6v battery
Rebuilt the generator. (bearings were getting sloppy)
Looked in the gas tank. Looks pretty good
Checked out the flex hose. It seems ok but I ordered a new one any way.
Blew out the fuel line.

The other night when it would not start (half an hour after hot shut down) I got my wife to man the starter switch. She spun the motor with the ignition on and I jumped a spark plug with a screw driver, white spark. So she shut the ignition off and spun the motor while I cracked the carb inlet open, nothing.

So yes, maybe the replacement coil is suspect but I get ignition spark.
Resister? Maybe, but again, I am getting spark.
Fuel?, seems like the culprit but I am running out of options.
Pump push rod? can I tell by looking?

The only real change that has occurred is the problem has gotten worse!

Maybe I should go back to my theory of "when it falls off you found the problem" I'm waiting..........
 
I think you are going to find a bad coil. Where did you get the replacement? You said white spark, how long did it jump? You can put a plastic bag of ice on the coil when it gets hot and see if it starts up. This will take maybe 10 minutes. You need to send your coil to Skip skip@fordsrus.com to get rebuilt. This will give you a nice long blue spark even when the coil gets hot. 99% of all old Ford coils do this when they get hot. Skips has done over 18,000 of them if that tells you anything. Even a brand new NOS coil acts like yours. G.M.
 
I don't see anywhere that you have actually checked your fuel pump for pressure. Have you? If not, that would be a good thing to check. Put a pressure gauge in place of the line from the pump to the carb and crank the engine. Should be 1.5 to 3.5 lbs of pressure. If not, that is a problem.
 
Old Henry & G.M.
Thanks for continuing the dialog with me.

I am going to plumb in a fuel pressure gauge and see what I have.

The coil was installed on the distributor by Ken Ct when he rebuilt it. He stated he bought it from a reputable source but he said you never know. he suggested I send it to the same place if it proved to be weak. First I am checking the fuel pressure.

Stay tuned, more after the feature!

Thanks again
 
It's the coil. All you have to do is take the fuel line loose at the carb and see if it pumps a 1/4" stream about 8"s long . If you use a fuel gauge you need one that only measures about 5 lbs and it needs to be oil filled or dampened so it don't jump all over the place. G.M.
 
I believe he said he checked for fuel at the carb and had none. Don't think a coil would cause that problem.
 
Go backand read what he said. It runs and now sounds like a hot coil and if Skip didn't rebuild it it's a 98% chance it is the coil. He said he bought it used. Almost everyone knows the problem with these coils. G.M.'s
 
Life and business got in the way today (I hate it when that happens).
Tomorrow I am giving the pump the squirt test, packing up the coil and sending it to be rebuilt.
Even though the fuel flow may be suspect, until the coil is rebuilt it will haunt me.
It is going to fail someday anyhow, let's get it done.
Stay tuned.
 
I see Skip almost every day and I want to get him to test the coil when he receives it. We called them 5, 10 or 20 mile coils a few years ago. Weaker insulation shorts out faster. This also occures more in warm weather. Why don't you send your condenser and distributor and I'll get Skip to check it on his Ford distributer machine at no charge. That way we know the complete package works like when it was new. Insure the package for $200.00. G.M.
 
Update.....
Took the car for a ride Sunday to warm it up and then check the fuel pressure.
The car drove about a mile, started acting up and died. She had little or no spark and fuel in the float bowl. Towed her home removed the coil and sent it to Skip.
A little confusing because when I jumped on this thread last week I had spark and no gas. Hmmmmmm.
Seems like "whack-a-mole".
Let's see;
pump's rebuilt, check
carburetor's rebuilt, check
Tank seems good, check
air flows through the lines, check. Ordered a new flex line anyway.
distributor's rebuilt, check
coil's gonna be done. Stay tuned......
 
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