I have recently restored a 77' Spit and have put about 300 or so miles on
it in the last 2 months. It has basically been very reliable except for
the following incident on my last trip:
Filled up with 93 octane in the morning (probably my first bad decision).
Drive 42 miles one-way to work (second problem you say) with no problems.
When I was 3/4 of the way back home after work 9 hours later, I got off the
highway (60 mph) to a 45 mph road. I had to stop for a slow train so I got
under a tree a turned the motor off. 3-5 minutes later started her up and
ran just fine for about 100 yards, then...sputtering and death. Started
right up while moving, 3 seconds later, sputtering and death. I pulled
into a driveway and began the search. (The car would only crank at thi
point).
What I found was the fuel line into the fuel pump "felt" pretty empty( I
had 1/2 a tank of gas). I pulled off the line and got fuel to come out
though. Hooked that back up and pulled off the line going into the carb.
Cranked and got NO gas. SO I waited...30-40 minutes and my wife's patience
later (she was not with me but in spirit by cellphone BTW: Spitfires and
Cell phones go together nicely!). Cranked and got fuel. Hooked the line
back up and I was on my way. However, the car ran with a VERY slow Idle
each time I stopped for a stop sign or light. It usually idles really high
1500-2000RPM but was idling at 600-800RPM.
Does this sound like vapor lock? I did some internet seaching on this
subject and found many people with these same symptoms with the following -
mechanical pump (older cars) trying to suck not push (i.e. lower the
pressure = boiling gas into vapor), stopping the car after being on the
highway, and using high octane fuels and having problems.
If is is, what can I do about preventing it?
MORE INFO: The car has headers and does NOT have the heat sheild that goes
between the carb and the exhaust manifold that I just found out about this
morning from a co-worker. Would the absence heat shield cause this
behavior?
Thanks in advance!
John Cousins
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