Jjcousins@ra.rockwell.com wrote:
> 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
Had the same problem once. Turned out to be the fuel pump (mechanical). There
is a simple one-way valve inside that is not much more than a spring and a flat
phenolic plug. The flat piece is held in place by crimps in the body. When I
pulled the pump apart the plug and spring fell out. I was able to temporarily
fix it until I got a new pump by reinserting the spring and plug and hammering
the crimp to spread it out.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
--
Bob & Linda in Rockledge, Florida
THE SPACE COAST
'76 Spit 1500 FM43376UO
Daily Driver
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