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Re: my car stopped...

To: Ken Tharp <kthinc@dwx.com>
Subject: Re: my car stopped...
From: Bob Norway <examiner@scci.net>
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 19:39:42 -0400

Ken Tharp wrote:

> Listers,
>
> I had something happen on Sunday that I am at a loss to diagnose. I'm
> hoping someone on the list has experienced this before and will know in
> what direction I should look.
>
> On Sunday, I was driving my 79 Spitfire on some back highways. I had
> driven about 30 miles, so the car was good & warmed up. Suddenly, the
> engine coughed a little. It kicked back in, and I was able to drive 1/4
> mile farther before I slowly lost power. It was as if I had run out of
> gasoline, but I had plenty. I sat by the side of the road for a few
> minutes, re-started the car, drove just a few hundred feet, and lost
> power again. This happened two or three more times, and I was pretty
> convinced I was going to have to call my wife to bail me out. I sat for
> another few minutes, re-started the car, and everything was fine. I
> drove it home with no further problems.
>
> This past June, I had similar problems. The fuel pump was replaced at
> that time, and I put in a 160 degree thermostat to attempt to get the
> water temperature down (which helped, by the way). My mechanic and I
> thought we had solved the problem, particularly since it had been over
> three months since experiencing any problems. Now, however, it's deja vu
> all over again. The only difference between yesterday's problems and the
> problems in June was that I was able to drive the car the 30 miles home;
> in June, even when I let it sit overnight where it stalled, I couldn't
> get it to run more than a few hundred feet before losing power the next
> morning.
>
> Help! Needless to say, any type of long trip is out of the question
> until this problem is solved! Thanks for any input on this.
> --
> Ken Tharp
> 79 Spitfire 1500
> West Des Moines, IA

Ken,
Check your gas line from the tank, AND the vent line from tank to charcoal
canister. If the vent line is blocked you won't get a gas flow. I found this
out the hard way, when after experiencing similar prob, found my gas tank
imploded. This was immediatley after I had bought the car. The DPO had
connected the vent line to a vacuum connection, so it was sucking from both
ends!!!

Good luck

--
Bob Norway
Rockledge, Fl
****************
******TLCB******      ****SpitList*****
UDORN, RTAFB          '76 Spitfire 1500
432 AMS '70-'71       (FM43376UO)
Auto-Pilot            Daily Driver



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