Thank you to all who responded to my question. I got some great advice
from Bob, Steve Taylor, Roland, John Blair, and T.J Higgins. I hope
they won't mind if I respond to all of them simultaneously. The general
consensus was:
1. Maybe the ignition system was still screwed up (spark plug cables
wrong). This I checked and all was well.
2. Old (2 year) gas was almost surely dried to varnish in fuel system
and is clogging carbs, fuel pump, lines, etc.
I sprayed the carbs down with carb cleaner and into the carb throats.
The engine would start for a moment and then die. A definite
improvement over yesterday! As John suggested, it must be a fuel
problem, not carbs or ignition.
I pulled the fuel line to the carb and cranked the starter. Nothing
came out, totally dry. I pulled the opposite end which connects to the
fuel pump and ensured that the line was not clogged. I pulled the fuel
line which leads into the fuel pump (from the filter). If I bent it
towards the ground, plenty of fuel came flooding out, but if I left it
in its standard position, nothing came out. I don't know if that's
normal or not. Can the fuel pump do its job if there is some air in the
line?
I pulled the top off the fuel pump and tried to clean the gauze filter
and sediment out of the inside. The gauze did not seem to be nearly as
porous as the picture in my Bentley manual. I put it all back together
and cranked the engine again. Again, no fuel was discharged from the
fuel line I had disconnected from the carbs.
So, I'm guessing I need to rebuild my fuel pump unless anyone can
suggest another option. I remember when the fuel pump went bad on my 68
Mustang, I just bought a new one for $20 and slapped it on in 10
minutes. I might guess it's not quite so simple here. Once it's done,
I'll need to drain the bad fuel and add new.
Thanks again for your help,
Kevin
--
Kevin Brown (510) 885-4007
Department of Math & CS kbrown@csuhayward.edu
California State University Hayward www.mcs.csuhayward.edu/~kbrown
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