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TOM-WA- · August 2007

Rats...

Ok been fighting this for a couple of months now... Gar runs fine at idle and will run all day long like that in the driveway... As soon as I take it out on the road and the temp gets to normal operating temp it just STOPS COMPLETELY... DEAD nothing at all and will not re start till it cools down..

I have eliminated the Carb as being the problem,, Have swapped back and forth with two different carbs and no difference.. Also Have replaced the condensor (Still Stalls) and the Coil (Still Stalls)...I am stumped..

Thinking now it must be in the fuel line......Would a bad fuel pump behave like this? It only stalls when car reaches operating temperature out on the road.. At operating temperature it will run at idle all day long..

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..frustrating.. Someone also made mention of a circuit breaker? This is a 54 Wasp with a 262 engine and Over Drive

rambos_ride · August 2007

Could a hose be collapsing?

When it stops and you crank it over can you or someone else look to see if gas is getting through to the carb?

[Deleted User] · August 2007

Hey Tom. Here's my two cents worth. Have you confirmed that you are getting spark at the plugs when it dies? If not I'd suspect the points are sticking open. As the car heats up, the shaft that the points are attached to gets sticky and although it's hard to see, they might not be closing enough to create a spark. After cooling down, the points work normally until they get hot and stick open again. I had this problem myself a number of years ago. It pretty much has to be fuel or fire........... Good Luck, Aaron

[Deleted User] · August 2007

I had a 62 Chevy that did this and it was a piece of rubber tubing that had seperated on the inside. When at idle it was fine but when I sped up, the pump of course pulled more volume and that caused the seperation in the hose to collapse shutting off the gas supply. This may not be your problem but it would be worth checking, especially from the frame to the fuel pump.
Bob

Unknown · August 2007

that's how my 50 behaved until I swapped the pump, with a new rebuilt one. Then it eventually did it again, until I put on an AMC pump, and never had the problem since. Mine would idle fine, run for a bit, and you could take it on a drive, and it would just act like it ran out of gas. It wold start, run for a few, and when you tried to move it, then it would stall out.

Go to your parts store, buy an AMC fuel pump for something around 1983, either a concord or a pacer? should be the 258 cu six. It will bolt right on, use your gasket stack. the only issue is bending a line, or having a quick hose made. the pump should cost you around $20.

Let us know how it works.

Jon B · August 2007

Tom, have you bypassed the gas tank and its fuel line, in order to completely write them off as a potential problem? In other words, have you run a rubber hose from the inlet side of the fuel pump, to a 5-gallon gas tank in the car, and tried driving around?

Constriction of the metal fuel line with sediment, or a hole in the line (or in the inlet pipe in the tank; this would suck air) could explain why enough fuel gets through the idle the car, but not enough to run the engine any faster. The reason the car won't re-start is that you've drained all the gas in the carb. reservoir, in your vain attempt to accelerate. It takes awhile for the trickle (that makes it past the sediment) to refill the carb reservoir.

Unknown · August 2007

I had something similar to this happen and it turned out to be the muffler was collapsing internally from the heat just enough to kill the motor when running at highway speeds. (like the potatoe in the exhaust pipe trick). After it cooled down it would start up and run until it collapsed again. Took me awhile to figure that one out.

35Terra · August 2007

I would check the fuel filter. Could let some gas through (idle), but not enough to run at speed.

Jim

[Deleted User] · August 2007

TOM, I reread your post and since you stated " At operating temperature it will run at idle all day long.." then I think you can safely say that the problem is not temperature related. One thing that has not been suggested is, do you have enough of a gasket stack on the fuel pump? I read somewhere that if the stack is not the correct thickness, the pump arm will contact the cam at the wrong angle and will not have enough stroke to provide enough fuel for driving, but just enough for idle.
Bob

dwardo99 · August 2007

Have you changed the condenser in the distributor? If you did, was it an old NOS item? These go bad just sitting there. I have encountered more than one old vehicle where this proved to be the problem.

Park_W · August 2007

Tom, have you tried removing the gas cap when it acts up, then trying to run it at road speed with the cap removed? If you've replaced the cap in recent past, it may not be a vented type, which would cause the sort of problem you're having.

[Deleted User] · August 2007

russ wrote:

I had something similar to this happen and it turned out to be the muffler was collapsing internally from the heat just enough to kill the motor when running at highway speeds. (like the potatoe in the exhaust pipe trick). After it cooled down it would start up and run until it collapsed again. Took me awhile to figure that one out.

Tom... there is a lot to be said for this post beyond the fact that the muffler proved to be the failed item. You post that the car idles ... but will not drive. Is this problem strictly manifest when the car is put under load? Or... is can you obtain normal increases in engine speed through the throttle response? If the problem is related to putting the engine under load there are a myriad of other things that could be causing this problem.

If the engine will transition from idle to higher revolutions though use of the throttle. the fuel and ignition are working.

Once the engine has reached operating temperature ... all bets are off...

Check the ignition for fire from the coil, distributor cap via each plug wire. If you fail to get spark from any of these areas... look for and fix the problem.

What about the wire inside the distributor... is the insulation intact or frayed.

Is the condenser properly connected to the points... clean connection and tight. Are the points free of oil... is the cap clean and free of carbon tracks or cracks? Is the vacuum connection to the distributor working properly? i.e. makes the points advance? Wires to the coil... and from the coil to the distributor... and to the overdrive if equipped. Free from frays and clear of the engine... the ignition on a 54 is encapsulated in a sleeve of asbestos... is yours still this way? If it has been replaced with plastic covered wire... is the wire insulated from all grounds... not burned or melted?

As the engine heats a crack in the intake manifold will open ... the engine will idle ... but balk sputter and fail if the crack is open. This is true of the steel casting closeout plugs... they can rust through and will look good... manifold paint can crack too.

Fuel pump... must have the right gasket to set the arm throw... and it cannot be on the wrong side of the cam. If you are running a fuel pump with a laminated arm.... it may have worn the lobe off the cam... this is a known problem for this fuel pump... if the lobe is worn down the fuel pump stroke will be too short and the gas stream to the carburetor will be insufficient.

Goes without saying any mechanical problems within the engine are not considered in this answer.

The carb must be properly gasket-ed and the idle and run circuits properly set. If the choke is not set properly it will cause the problem you are experiencing... make sure the linkage on the choke is working and does not allow the choke plate to fall into place when you are attempting to accelerate.

Note if this is true you will not be able to accelerate the engine when sitting either.

Some ideas to ponder....

GOOD LUCK

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