66 -390 - runs, backfires then stops- hard to restart- is it pump or carb ??

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david_dare

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2010
Messages
7
Location
way down south in southern Victoria Australia
G'day , this is my first posting and probably wont be my last, so if you can point me in the right direction , that would be much appreciated.
my 66 T/Landau is 5/6 completed, engine tidied up, a new stg 3 cam shaft, new lifters , distributor ect ect, ran a little pingy to begin with , adjusted the disy back a little now that seems ok until l can get it down to have the local mechanic tickle it to the correct position and timing, BUT after running the cam in and driving for a week on and off, it now seems to run for about 2 miles, pop and fart then die, my initial thoughts were that the fuel pump has died, but after re directing the fuel lines into a suitable metal container have found that the fuel flow even off the crank is about a pint every 20 seconds, which l think seems good, if it is the carb that is now the problem what will l be looking for first, second.
Removing the top of the carbi shows fuel 3/4 the way up, a little residual dirt (albeit now hardened from time )the floats seem to move freely , draining the fuel from the float chambers see's the floats freely drop, l am at a loss as to know why it has stopped and now wont fire up again , although it shows signs of wanting to ?????
Can you assist.

Cheers David Australia.
1913 Model T runabout, 1926 T Tudor, 1966 Thunderbird Town Landau.
 
I had a similar problem when I rebuilt my engine...

I ended up putting a in-line fuel guage in the engine compartment... The engine would run fine, then the engine would kinda "miss" like carburetor and then sputter BANG and die... Looking at my guage I noticed the fuel pump was providing 8 ish psi and then it would gradually lower and then jump up-down then lower until barely any pressure....

You NEED to ensure your timing is correct to begin with. At least static timed... if your carb needs tinkering/rebuilding is another issue on its own, but you need to ensure that pump is providing adequate pressure....
 
Hmmmm, very similar problem to mine, l have just reinstalled the a/c pump and p/s pump, tried to start, nothing, just plenty of cranking and fireing attempts, although l can see a mist from the carb when l pump the gas pedal, l will be pulling the cap off the dissy this morning and having a look down there BUT it would seem my initial thought may be correct but at this stage just dont know.
It did start up fine before hand so l am guessing the timing is pretty close but now .....nuthin"

Thanks for your help.

David.
 
If you think its fuel, You could pour a little in the carb put the air cleaner on and see if it fires up. The fuel pick up has a screen on it, I've seen them clog. Sometimes the car will run awhile pick up dirt and stop. Let it sit it may run again for awhile. Just a thouhgt.
 
Ah Ha, the problem is now fixed, neither fuel nor carb, it was electrical !!!, the brand new distributor was the culprit, l reinstalled the old 60 % good distributor and she fired up and ran well enough, the new dissy is on its way back, for a new new one ....
Thank you to everyone that has assisted in tracking down this problem.

Cheers David Dare Way down under.
 
Didn't know you had a different one. I had that problem, but it turned out to be needing a different coil or use a ballast resistor. Glad all worked out for you.

cheers!
 
I took her out for a shake down yesterday, WOW they certainly have a bucket load of hill climbing capability dont they, smooth idle, cant complain about the results now, will be recieving the new distributor in about a week and a half, then hopefully, the body paint can finally proceed to see her completed.
Again thanks to everyone, who pointed me to areas in which to search for this peculiar fault.
Do all 66 and l guess 65 and 64 T'birds get hot across that entire front panel where the radiator sits, mine was very hot to the touch yesterday and cant say that l had noticed it before !!
Cheers David.
 
Hi, l think l have misplaced my construction / detailed name books , BUT it is the front bulk head where the radiator , a/c condensor fit onto, it runs from wall to wall, the grill is attached to the front side of it, that panel, do they all get hot, specifically the drivers side more so than the passengers side ????
Hot enough that if you leave your hand on for more than a couple of seconds, you'll be pulling it away pretty quickly.

David
 
I checked mine today. the "beam" is rather hot, but not the adjacent panels...the radiator literally sits atop of it, so I think it is perfectly normal. any inputs from someone else that can enlighten?
 
Ummm after re reading my last post, l should have also mentioned it was the top one not the bottom, the drivers side hood at the very front corner also takes some of this heat and is quite hot to the touch, looking down there, the is very little airflow into the engine bay, maybe thats the reason !!!!

David.
 

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