Fed Up

Hudsonrules

:(I am just plain fed up with Hudsons and any old car or any car actually. On my '37 Terraplane that I have had for nearly four months, I have had fuel problems. I had the carburator rebuilt by a carburator shop, put it back on and the fuel pump did not want to work. Replaced the fuel pump with one that had been rebuilt many many years ago. The Terraplane started right up after the fuel pump was installed. Drove the car around the block. ran and drove great. Go to start it to take it to the Western Regioan, no fuel to the carburator. Damn! Go down to NAPA and buy an electric 6 volt pump and discover that their already was an electric pump that did not work. Installed new electric pump, to much fuel, floods out the carburator, get a presure regulator did not work, second presure regulator, I could blow through it just a little at the 4 pound setting. Install it, no fuel again, even at max 5and a halh pounds nothing comes through. The fuel pump works great, to great. I neewd the car to go to an orphan car show this weekend and my other joice is my '49 super 6 that I bought off e-bay a few years ago, should have saw and listened to the red flags which I did not do. I intended to use it as a driver while I rebuilt my '49 Commodore 6, but this super six has needed so much that my plans never came about. Right now it has a genrator that does not work and a clutch that takes its time releasing and engaging. I am the President of our Silver State Chapter and I still do not have a Hudson to drive. It really is pissing me off and I am about ready to gwt rid of all four of my Hudsons. Maby it isn't the cars, it is the aftermarket parts and lack of mechanics nowdays. Sorry for the rambling, but a person does get frustrated after awhile. Hope the week is better. Thankls, Arnie

[Deleted User]

You need a fresh set of eyes. Come on folks anyone near Arnie can take a look see and get him back on the road.



Where you located.?

Hudsonrules

I live in Dayton, Nevada just east of Carson City. Thanks, Arnie

Unknown

Arnie,



Our cars ran fine when they were built and there is no (good) reason they shouldn't do the same now. As far as your 37 goes, you need to go over the fuel system stem to stern. A little work here and a little there oftens misses the problem, the thing you left untouched. The 49's misbehaving generator and clutch should be easy enought to repair. Old cars can be troublesome, but don't give up on them.



As president of your chapter, you need to place a call to arms and get the able bodied members out there to help you get these Hudsons where they belong, back on the road.

Ol racer

All great suggestions....Just take a break then go back to diagnosing. Your on right track...Is there a filter in the Line somewhere? May have some debris inside gas tank coming against the pickup on suction then floats away when not cranking, or old pc hose sucking shut... Try bypassing the tank temporarily by sucking out of a mower gas can or even gravity flow to test operation. If runs then easier to pinpoint problem.. These are not Hudson only problems. A friend had very similar issues with a '36 Dodge that sat few yrs after restoration ....

Richard E.

Why don't you ask your neighbor, Lester Harris, if he can give you a hand. He is a long time Hudson owner and I always found him very helpful when I lived in Reno back in the '90's. Tell him hello for me while you are at it.



Richard Esparza

Aaron D. IL

I know how that feels racing to get a car ready for a meet or a big event, but doing so rarely seems to work out just before the big day "murphy's law." There's a lot of value to stepping away from the old car, not even thinking about it for a while, doing something else, then coming back later (maybe with help) hitting the books and carefully diagnosing the problem.

The difference between a problem and a solution is that you understand the solution ... if you're frustrated it means you don't understand the problem or else you wouldn't have it. Take a step back so you can see the problem clearly. ......... and yes a 70 year old machine needs more attention to work out all the problems sittin around has caused.

[Deleted User]

So true!

I find that almost everytime the problem is found it is from something I (or another owner) have done. Introducing some fancy new part with a bad wire or not grounding something, etc.

Uncle Josh

Old fuel pump rebuild probably has an old diaphragm in it which the new gas rots. Get a new diaphragm from Antique Parts Cellar (ad in WTN) and replace the one in your pump. Make sure the poppets aren't stuck shut with old varnish gas. Make sure the fine screen is cleaned. Put a cheap inline filter between the tank and the pump.



After I did this with my 36 Terraplane, I've never had a fuel problem or vaporlock in several years.

[Deleted User]

Arnie, drop your fuel tank and flush and seal it, that cured most of my problems. New fuel lines and a clean tank at least will eliminate fuel contamination problems. Is that the super six you sent me the pictures of?



Harry

[Deleted User]

Hi---Electric pumps generally have a small filter installed on them just before the gas enters the pump which I have had problems with clogging up. Took mine off & threw it away & now depend on the filter at the mechanical pump which seems to work for me. Don't get discouraged & I understand this is easier said than done, but hang in there.---Cliff Minard.

[Deleted User]

Hello, I have run into problems like yours in the past[and I'm sure most other hud nuts have also]. Sometimes someone else has to look it over. I had an old corvette years ago that I put a timing chain on. Simple job right? After installation I had an oil leak at the timing cover. Changed that again. Still leaking,dropped oil pan again, same thing. Did both two more times.LEAKING. Finally I went to a staition with a lift and had someone look at it while I started it . The mechanic said I see it. There's two oil fittings [plugs]on the the front of a hi po 327. One was loose, so by the time I started the car and checked for a leak the oil was running down the cover and looked like it was coming from the cover. What a lesson that was. Like Cliff said ,hang in there .Take a deep breath .Anything can be fixed. JIm

Park_W

Hey, Cliff ... if those filters were clogging up it's because there was junk from the tank clogging them up. The solution isn't to remove the filter ... it's there to protect the valves in the electric pump from getting junk in them.

Geoff

Problems arise also from gunked-up fuel lines, as mentioned. I had a '50 Pacemaker that just wouldn't run. The fuel line was full of green sludge from rotten fuel, as the car hadn't been run for years. We put some acrylic lacquer thinners in the tank and pumped through until it ran clear, no more problems. But the crud that came out was terrible looking gunge!

Hudsonrules

:)Hi Harry, Yes the '49 that I mentioned is the one that I sent you pictures of, it is still for sale. I wnat to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me some ideas and to get my spirits back up. I will get another , different brand presure regulator in the morning and hopefully it will work. The problem that I was having was, electric fuel pump works fine plenty of fuel. To much fuel to the carburator though. Put a presure regulator in line and no fuel , the regulator just acts like a stopper, remove it and plenty of fuel again. Took the regulator off and could not blow through it at any setting. To me a defetive regulator but two in a row. Like I said I will try a third. The lines from the tank to the pump are okay. I will let youknow what happens. Have a great day, Arnie

barrysweet52

You have reminded me of a friend with a 1913 T Ford. On a rally he would drive 1km and the car would starve for fuel. The Fords are so simply and basic yet Dave couldnt find the problem. Dave has restored a total of over 30 cars, bikes, tractors, aeroplane, trucks. I consider him a master mechanic. What was the problem? A large bodied spider had somehow got into the fuel tank under the seat. Then it moved along the fuel line till it readed a 90 degree brass fitting just at the carby. Spider couldnt get around the corner. Everytime Dave took the carby off or cleaned the jet, fuel would flow. We have all spat the dummy at one time, so keep going. I believe club members dont support our office bearers as much as they should. Regards, Barry

[Deleted User]

Arnie, I'm still interested, let me know when you get so fed up with it that you are ready to sell it. I have a friend up in Walker who is bugging me to come up, it wouldn't be much farther to get to your place.



We had a 56 Caddy that would run fine then suddenly run out of gas, totally randomly. We that we had search and replaced everything. Finally after months got to a short piece of rubber hose that went up over something. If you looked through it the thing looked perfectly clear, if you blew through it from the carb side no problems. If you blew through from the tank side it would go then suddenly it stopped. Looked again and it was clear and would blow air again, then stop. A little flap of rubber has somehow formed and would occasionally catch in the fuel and come down stopping the fuel, when the draw from the pump stopped it would eventually go back up and flow gas again. We had to split the hose to find that. Don't give up, you can work this problem out. Look at the return system Walt told me about my vapor lock problem, that would let your extra pressure return the fuel to the tank so it doesn't push on your float valve. I haven't done mine yet so when it got back up to 100 I parked the Hudson and will drive the Dodge today.



Harry

rambos_ride

Hudsonrules wrote:

:)Hi Harry, Yes the '49 that I mentioned is the one that I sent you pictures of, it is still for sale. I wnat to thank everyone who has taken the time to give me some ideas and to get my spirits back up. I will get another , different brand presure regulator in the morning and hopefully it will work. The problem that I was having was, electric fuel pump works fine plenty of fuel. To much fuel to the carburator though. Put a presure regulator in line and no fuel , the regulator just acts like a stopper, remove it and plenty of fuel again. Took the regulator off and could not blow through it at any setting. To me a defetive regulator but two in a row. Like I said I will try a third. The lines from the tank to the pump are okay. I will let youknow what happens. Have a great day, Arnie

Hi Arnie,

I can surely commiserate with you!

I bought my first Hudson, the 49, in Sept 04 - thinking, naively that within a year I'd be on the road...

4 years later and another Hudson in the garage I don't feel any closer than I was 4 years ago to driving either one

Then when the mutt needed 2 surgeries and chemo - which is of much higher importance than the cars - I knew that this will postpone things even more.

Adding to that with working so much this year I just haven't had extra time to spend in the shop making me feel like I'm just losing ground at this point ~ Now I'm starting to wonder if I'll get the 49 "Rambos Ride" project done before he's too old to get into it or succumbs to some disease

Stick with it - you're closer than I am and your pending sucess will help inspire me and others to keep digging in to get our project rolling!

Unknown

Some regulaters do not open under low pressure,they're for high pressure systems, be sure to get one rated 0--6 pds. Also the numbers on what you have may not be relative to pressure but just a setting number . I have Mr. Gasket 0--6 lbs model and it works good . Bud

jtroberg

All of us get fed up. My solution is just to give it a break for awhile, think things over, then come back to it after 2 or 3 days, or longer.



My similar story is that I wasn't getting any gas to the carb, spent a long time tracking it down, finally realized that when I put sealer into the gas tank, it clogged the wire mesh filter inside the tank covering the outlet tube. I gave the gas line a shot of compressed air in the direction of the gas tank. Has worked fine since.



Don't give up!



John

[Deleted User]

Hi Park---Junk from tank not the problem since I had had it redone. Checked a brand new one from the parts store & found it to offer too much resistance to blow through. Ever since removing it, I have not had any problems getting gas up to the carb. Thanks for taking the time to answer my post.---Cliff.

[Deleted User]

Take a deep breath, Arnie, and back away from the '37. It'll look better in a week or two.

Been there, Slim:)

Hudsonrules

:)Hi fellow hudsonuts, I really appreciate all the input. I did take the second presure regulator back to NAPA for a refund and then went accross the stree5t to Auto Zone and bought one by Mr. Gasket, installed it and it works various settings, good flow, but no start. I now think it may be in the float or needle and seat in the carburatort. Just do not smell gas in the carb when I play with the throtle. It fires right up with staring fluid but won't stay running. Im am going yo check that out in a couple days. The guy who rebuilt the carburator said he had to do a make shift float, so that could be the culprit. I will keep you posted. Have a gteat one, Arnie

[Deleted User]

Arnie, if you're sure you're getting fuel all the way to the carb I would check the needle valve to make sure there isn't an obstruction, it doesn't take much, one tiny piece of crud will block it. If you have the Carter carb you can take off the float bowl filter plug and look inside to see if there is any fuel or dirt. The first thing I would do though is loosen the fuel feed line at the carb and see if there is fuel that far up.



Harry

30essex

A problem I had with my 1930 Essex was with the fuel pickup line inside of the gas tank. It had pin holes in it so you couldn't suck gas from the tank when the gas level in the tank was below the top pin hole. Could this be your problem?

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