Fuel problem.

[Dennis in MV]

These older cars are just SOOO much fun when you don?t know the true history of them. So I?m waiting for some hose and a gas can to get here so I can bypass the fuel line and tank.  Took the line off the fuel pump and getting nothing out of the hose. Here?s my question. Is there a sock or something on the tube inside the tank?  When I took the line off the pump and blew in it you could barely hear the bubbles from the filler neck.

[gasman826]

Original equipment fuel tank had a 'sock' over the fuel pickup.  Blowing air from the fuel pump supply line may clear the screen or blow it completely off the end of the pickup line.  After that, stuff a rag and air hose in the fuel fill and fuel should blow out the fuel line at the fuel pump.

[Dennis in MV]

Well I feel like I?m picking up where somebody left off. The tank appears to have been taken off recently by the appearance. What they failed to do was maintain the rest of the fuel system. When I got this car back to the owners house I crawled under and drained the tank. Took the fuel line off and blew in the other end up by the engine. I don?t have much puff left in me these days but it should have not been that restrictive. I screwed a short piece of tubing I brought along and blew in in with a good breath and no restriction. It was getting late and hard to see even with some small lights. There?s a new double stack pump in the box I?m going to switch out in the morning. This car has the original vacuum wipers on it, I?m not getting my hopes up too high, but I?m going to swap it out and hook up the vacuum lines anyway. It?s doubtful the wipers will get used much.  My question about the pump is it has 2 hose barbs on top with an arrow and wipers molded to the top between the ports. Obviously one hose goes to the wiper, but does the other go to the intake manifold?

[Dennis in MV]

Fortunately there is a shop manual that went with this car. On page 1-59 fig. 1-8 is a diagram of a V8 and I can see where the vacuum lines are routed. Now if I can figure out what the purpose of this valve on the fuel pump is for. Seems like it has a bit of restriction in both directions both under vacuum or pressure. I hope I?m not boring people her with this Y block engine.

[RICH MUISE]

Y blocks are the heart and soul of '57 Fords, not boring at all. Just don't tell us you're thinking about putting a Chevy engine in it and you'll be fine, lol.

[djfordmanjack]

Like Gary said, there is a sock on the fuel line intake in the tank. often if a tank gets flushed and sealed they forget to remove this and it gets sealed too.
do you have a pic of the fuel pump. Maybe you have a leak somewhere in the tank to pump line and it doesnt suck enough if any fuel.
I also have the dual action vacc/fuel pump and it works great on both the wipers AND fuel. if the glass bowl is totally empty it takes maybe only 5 to 10 seconds of cranking and the fuel pump will suck enough fuel to fill the carb in a few seconds.
Maybe someone added another filter element in the tank to pump line under the car, or the line could be squashed where it routes along the main chassis rail. you never know. check for visible damage.
If itr has a replacement Holley or Autolite 2bbl carb, check the top of the carb fuel bowl. On Y block cars it needs to have a small seperate bowl vent to the outside which is activated by a little lever  and link from the main throttle. in idle it needs to vent or engine will stall at low idle.

[Dennis in MV]

Later in the day after I got the pump installed it dawned on me that what I was unsure about what is screwed on the pump inlet. It?s a filter!!  I suggested to her to later remove it.  Previous owner had installed an in-line filter.  Getting back to when I started this thread I didn?t have equipment to lift this car up high enough to get under it to work where I needed. Tired, disgusted, and too dark to see, I went home and loaded a pair of jack stands and a floor jack in the trunk of my car and went back up in the morning. Even tho I?m fatter and much older, it brought back good memories of working on these old cars.

RICH, those would be dirty words to her to suggest putting a SBC in that car. It will never happen as long as she owns the car.

djfordmanjack, yes this car has an original 2 bbl carburetor. Personally I would have liked to have seen a 4 bbl, but for her she?s better with the 2 bbl.

[djfordmanjack]

those 2bbl really perform nicely in the lower rpm range. ideal for cruising.

[Dennis in MV]

Well I got the vacuum lines routed and connected to the double stack fuel pump yesterday afternoon. That turned out good, except the wiper motor doesn?t work as it should. Myself I?d change it to an electric if I felt I needed wipers and I was touring. This car will only be driven locally in her area and doubtful it will ever travel more than 30 miles from home. Now she can take it to the local shows when they open in the future.

[cokefirst]

Most of the problems with the vacuum wipers is lack of maintenance of the pulley system.  A good lubrication of those parts will do wonders.  Yes, the electric motor has more power and will overcome the friction of the parts, but eventually they are going to fail.  I learned the hard way.

[rmk57]

  You could try a few drops of light machine oil down the rubber hose of the wiper motor. Place your finger over the end and work the motor back and forth. You got nothing to lose.
If that doesnt work then a healthy wipe of Rain-X on the windshield.