[FC] Replacing fuel tank 5/16" rubber line....and fuel gauge

[Andrew Sego]

>1. Have you checked routing of lines so that you have air gaps between hot sheet 
>metal and line?

All clear!

>2. How about vapor lock carbs? The ones with little stainless arms and rubber 
>tips on lower side by base of carb?

They are 65 carbs with vapor flap vents.

>3. Gas cap vent clogging when warm or due to displaced dirt under gasket?

New vented gas cap from Clarks.

>Do get a mirror and check under shroud - heads and cylinders for not only 
>flashing but simpler, shop rag, etc?

Will do.

>Mouse nests can spring up really quickly.. between new engine and running..let 
>it sit a while and you are screwed.

Honestly Chuck, the shop rag/mouse nest thing never even crossed my mind with 
this van.  Considering where it'd been parked, it's an idea worth checking.  


Thanks.


>Could leakage past the valve guides/valves be leaning out the mixture and 
>causing your engine to run hotter than normal??  Possible air leakage past 
>throttle plates in the carbs?? My two cents.Tim '61 Rampy 104 - 4 
>

Tim,  I don not know about the valves and guides.  I did rebuild the carbs right 
after I got the van.  The throttle shafts were sloppy so they were rebushed with 
teflon sleeves.  I made sure the throttle plates were fully closed and centered 
when I put them back together.  After sitting idle for a few more years, I 
finally got a title so I got back to it.  By this point the right carb didn't 
have an accelerator pump shot.  I took both carbs back apart, cleaned out some 
rusty crud from the bowls, blew out all the passges and got the accel pumps 
working again.  Based on the crud in the bowls from the tank/lines, this is when 
I added the fuel filter.  



>Based on 3 things you said below we may be chasing the wrong problem.
Have you checked the accelerator pumps?  I've had vairs that sat long enough 
that the acc pump cups got hard.  The symptoms would be no start if you kill it 
hot.  When cold the chokes would make it rich enough to start but after the 
chokes were open it would run ok but not restart.
Could it be flooded?  That's what I've usually seen on hot soak.  The heat boils 
the fuel out of the carbs and you have to hold it wide open and crank for longer 
than normal to get it going.
I would check to see if the acc pumps are squirting immediately after killing 
the engine when hot and then before you try to start it after the heat soak 
period that normally gives you the trouble.  The first test will tell you the 
pumps are working and the second will tell you if the carbs have boiled out all 
the fuel.
Your swelled fuel line needs to be replaced but in my experience collapsing fuel 
lines mostly cause an out of gas symptom running down the road not a few hours 
after the car has run.
Are you sure the spark is good after the heat soak?
Sorry if some of these issues have already been discussed.
Joel McGregor

Joel, 

The van will start back up if I kill it hot, unless I wait a period of time, 
then it won't.  The first time it happened, it started back up and got a few 
blocks before it died.  Checked the accelerator pumps and it was dry.  It would 
run on ether, but still wouldn't pump.  Let it cool down, primed the carbs and 
it started up.  On the next occurance I happened to have a chest cooler with me 
so I soaked a towel with ice water and packed it with cubes.  I sat it on the 
fuel pump, and it started up after 20 minutes or so.  The following couple of 
times it was after coming home from work.  Went inside, cleaned up to go to the 
local cruise night, came back out and no start.  Since it was scorching outside 
I didn't check anything I just went back inside the house.  Started up fine the 
next day though like nothing had happened.

I'll try the tests you described and give a report.

There is another problem I've been experiencing, and I haven't mentioned 
it because I thought it was unrelated.  The more I think about, maybe they are 
related.  The engine starts up immediately when cold.  Chokes work well.  It 
idles well, sounds good and has good throttle response with no hiccups.  Out on 
the road it runs okay, but lacks power at the top end.  By top end I mean 
2500-3000+ rpm (guessing...I don't have a tach on this one.) The engine runs 
best when it's short shifted and lugged. Off the line is good but acceleration 
is rather flat when I try to tach it out a bit. It's like it's not going 
anywhere any faster regardless of my shift points. The engine still runs 
smoothly at higher rpms; there is no sputtering and stuttering. It just doesn't 
pull any more. It has a newer clutch. I have no reason to believe it is 
slipping. Brakes have been rebuilt and nothing is dragging.  I did a compression 
test when I first got the van and some cylinders were low, others abnormally 
high.  I adjusted the valves after doing an O ring job, and it seems like some 
of the rockers may have been loose.  I checked the harmonic balancer mark to see 
if it had slipped.  It was fine.  When I had the oil pan off I checked the cam 
gear to see if it had slipped.  The mark was right at the crankcase split.  My 
thoughts were the camshaft was going flat.  This would explain the high 
compression numbers, the loose rockers, and the asthmatic nature at moderate to 
high speed. 

Something that I have noticed lately is how well it runs when it's cold.  First 
thing in the morning, or leaving work in the afternoon, it runs great.  I can 
feel  and hear that the engine pulls better in all gears with the throttle 
mashed.  It runs how I think it should.  Once it warms up, I can feel the lack 
of power, and the engine sound at higher speeds changes. It's the weezing going 
nowhere fast sound.  Maybe it has something to do with the chokes, maybe it just 
runs better cold...?  


Like I said in my last post, I have another fresh engine that I am putting 
together to replace this one.  I'd like to know whether the problem is actually 
the engine or something else.  My friend needs an engine or core engine for his 
convertible, and this would fit the ticket well IF it was either repairable, or 
at least a good core.

Thanks for all the help guys.  I usually do a pretty good job at solving these 
kind of problems on Corvairs, but this one has me frustrated and stumped.  


-Andrew