Hi All - I'm new!

[lendoohood]

Hi there. I'm the new owner of a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door Sedan. 235 Blue Flame original. Odometer reads 41K miles.
It''s been nearly 30 years since I've had a car to work on so I'm sure I'll have several questions. I'm in the Albany, NY area.
Thanks,
Rob

[chevynut]

Welcome to the site. Amazing that over 60 years that car was only driven 41K miles. Looks nice.

[BamaNomad]

and Canyon Coral... :) I like it...

[enigma57]

Beautiful '57 you have there, Rob! I too have an original 235 powered '57 4dr sedan (mine's a 210). Let us know how it goes.

Best regards,

Harry

[lendoohood]

Thanks for the welcome. Unfortunately, I already have an issue!
I've only had the car for a few weeks. After 4 or 5 days it was having a tough time starting. Cranks fine but wouldn't fire. Eventually it would start and run fine. It ran out of gas on Tuesday, apparently the gas gauge isn't working. I got gas and it would run for a bit and stall and wouldn't start back up. I had it towed home. Cleaned the carburetor and gave everything a once over and it started right up. It now runs for 15 or 20 minutes and then sputters out and will not start again for several hours. Again, cranks but isn't getting any fuel. I'm thinking that there may just be crap in the fuel line but I'm open to opinions.
Thanks,
Rob

[chevynut]

It's possible that you have a gunked up fuel tank and the sock on the pickup tube is getting clogged. I'd drop the tank and pull the pickup, and look inside to see what the condition is. New tanks are cheap.

[scorpion1110]

Welcome! Nice looking '57.

[567chevys]

That's one Really Nice Car,

You are lucky to find one that clean .
Fuel problem , I would do what Chevynut suggested

Thanks Sid

[enigma57]

I'll just throw a few ideas out there and possibly they may help.

Might be as simple as bad gas or old gas. The 10% ethanol we are stuck with here in my part of Texas is said to be good for 6 to 8 weeks in your tank before it begins to degrade. If the car was not driven regularly and gas is the problem, you might want to drain the tank (either siphon or use fuel pump to pump it out) and refill tank with 5 gallons of fresh gas.

Then (with a cold engine) disconnect fuel line from carb (run a piece of 5/16" rubber fuel hose temporarily from open end of metal fuel line to a catch can) and pull coil wire. Then crank engine over a bit until you get clean fresh gas out of the fuel hose. Then reconnect fuel line and coil wire and start engine.

If that doesn't do it, (with a cold engine) pull top cover off carburettor and inspect bowl. Look for sediment or varnish in bowl. Check needle seat and float to make sure they move freely (are not crudded up and stuck). If you find this, pull, clean and reassemble carb with new gaskets and new needle seat. Check float level and reassemble. Drain and drop fuel tank and inspect inside. If its not rusty inside, flush and clean and check 'filter sock' on fuel pickup. If tank is rusty inside, replace. When reinstalling pickup unit in tank (or replacing with new unit), use a new cork gasket. The other type gaskets will eventually leak. Use only an OEM style cork gasket here. There is also a rubber 'O' ring and length of filler hose that must be replaced if tank is pulled or replaced.

Also blow out fuel line and replace any aftermarket external fuel filters anyone may have added over the years. And if you find one of those 'fires looking for a place to happen' (el cheapo clear plastic fuel filters) anywhere on your car, replace it with a good filter having a sealed metal body and before throwing the plastic filter away, smash it with a hammer to make sure no one attempts to reuse it. Then refill tank, crank engine over until you have pumped gasoline from tank to carburettor and start engine.

Also...... If anyone has rerouted the fuel line between fuel pump and carburettor...... Make sure it isn't close to heat sources such as exhaust manifold, cylinder head, etc. and is supported where needed (not just hanging in the breeze).

And (this is often overlooked)...... If anyone has added a piece of rubber fuel line anywhere between tank and carburettor...... Replace it. On the suction side of the fuel pump, a cracked hose can allow air to be sucked into line even without showing signs of leaking. If you can get the local auto parts counter guy to let you have a look at their rolls of various fuel line hoses in the back of the store that they sell from by the foot, look for the one that is marked as being for fuel injection. It is stronger due to being made for much higher pressure. You need 5/16" hose (8mm should fit as well).

Hope this gives you some ideas,

Harry

[chevynut]

The 10% ethanol we are stuck with here in my part of Texas is said to be good for 6 to 8 weeks in your tank before it begins to degrade.

Yeah, the ethanol haters/bigots say that :D. What "degrades"? I've kept gallons of ethanol gas in my shed for months and it works just fine in my mowers and ATVs. The ONLY "problem" with ethanol is that it absorbs any water in the system (that's what as dryer additives do), and it can attack some types of rubbers. There are rubbers that work just fine with ethanol.

I say go for it and start with the fuel tank, or at least eliminate that as a problem by putting a fuel line into a gas container and see if it runs ok that way. There's a high likelihood, imo, that the tank is trashed, if it's the original one, from years of condensation. It's not that hard to drop it and see if it's corroded inside. It's a process of elimination, and I'd start with the most likely thing first. You've already cleaned the carb.

[BamaNomad]

I'm with Enigma; call me an 'ethanol hater'... since every older engine I've put ethanol fuel in has degraded to a 'not running' condition before I had to replace fuel lines, clean carburetors/tanks/etc. Doing that and running 'non ethanol' fuel restores them to trouble-free operation. To be noted: The engines I've had problems with are in older cars (that sit for months at a time), and all my 'summer-use small engines' (lawnmowers, tillers, weedeaters, blowers, hedge trimmers, etc)...

PS. In my recent trip in the 56 Nomad to the TriFive Nationals (about 175 mile trip), I left here with a full tank of 'non-ethanol' and got 18.8 mpg. Coming home with 'ethanol fuel', I got 17 mpg. That's exactly 10% difference (which coincidentally is the percentage of ethanol in the fuel I purchased). Ethanol in our gasoline is another of the 'politically expedient' SCREWUPS put on the citizenry of this country by our politicians! (You can add this to the 'airbags', etc.. and other 'safety related mandates by the federal gov't). They make the headlines, and WE pay the bills, and suffer the consequences!

[567chevys]

I'm with Enigma; call me an 'ethanol hater'... since every older engine I've put ethanol fuel in has degraded to a 'not running' condition before I had to replace fuel lines, clean carburetors/tanks/etc. Doing that and running 'non ethanol' fuel restores them to trouble-free operation. To be noted: The engines I've had problems with are in older cars (that sit for months at a time), and all my 'summer-use small engines' (lawnmowers, tillers, weedeaters, blowers, hedge trimmers, etc)...

PS. In my recent trip in the 56 Nomad to the TriFive Nationals (about 175 mile trip), I left here with a full tank of 'non-ethanol' and got 18.8 mpg. Coming home with 'ethanol fuel', I got 17 mpg. That's exactly 10% difference (which coincidentally is the percentage of ethanol in the fuel I purchased). Ethanol in our gasoline is another of the 'politically expedient' SCREWUPS put on the citizenry of this country by our politicians! (You can add this to the 'airbags', etc.. and other 'safety related mandates by the federal gov't). They make the headlines, and WE pay the bills, and suffer the consequences!

I agree To !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just google it , that will tell the story

Sid

[chevynut]

PS. In my recent trip in the 56 Nomad to the TriFive Nationals (about 175 mile trip), I left here with a full tank of 'non-ethanol' and got 18.8 mpg. Coming home with 'ethanol fuel', I got 17 mpg. That's exactly 10% difference (which coincidentally is the percentage of ethanol in the fuel I purchased).

That's just absurd. That's saying that ethanol has ZERO energy content, which we know is not true. How in the world do cars even run on E85? You can't accurately measure fuel mileage in 175 miles.

[NickP]

PS. In my recent trip in the 56 Nomad to the TriFive Nationals (about 175 mile trip), I left here with a full tank of 'non-ethanol' and got 18.8 mpg. Coming home with 'ethanol fuel', I got 17 mpg.

Up hill?

[BamaNomad]

Just like walking to/from school.. :) .. it was uphill both ways! :)

Actually.. (I just checked) I'm at 833' here, and BG is at 547' ... but I had to drive thru the Tennessee hills both ways! :)

[BamaNomad]

That's just absurd. That's saying that ethanol has ZERO energy content, which we know is not true. How in the world do cars even run on E85? You can't accurately measure fuel mileage in 175 miles.

I just reported the facts, CN... everyone can draw their own conclusions!

PS. So you don't think you can get an accurate measure of the gasoline used from fill-up to fill-up? Or do you question the miles between points A and B provided by Google maps? OR is it the mathematical division operation you are questioning??? :) :)

[WagonCrazy]

Welcome to the site Lendonhood. Ignore these guys going back and forth on the ethanol issue. They all tend to get side tracked on other peoples topics with the neverending argument (whatever the disagreement of the day is).
That's not going to help you with your problem.
I concur with ChevyNuts recommendation to figure out if you have rust and gunk in your fuel tank and lines first. That's probably whats causing the lack of flow issue. Drain the tank, then remove it, then inspect the inside of it (as best you can) and if it's got rust or gunk inside, then flush it out with your hose for a while. While you have that out, then disconnect the fuel line from the fuel pump (at the engine) and then with compressed air...blow out the line to verify that it also has no junk in it.

This is all typical stuff for a 60 year old car that may have sat alot.

[JT56]

Welcome to the site

[lendoohood]

Thanks for all the ideas. I haven't had time to get into it yet but I'll let you know.
Thanks,
Rob