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Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 15 2015, 12:27 PM

Good day, everyone. Having an issue that began in December, right before I covered the car for the winter. I have a '75 2.0 dual carbed (Weber 40). The car starts as it always has, that is, takes a try or two when it's warm out, and she's ready. Regardless of whether she's warmed up or still relatively cold, sometimes she just cuts out. This can happen at idle, or 3500 rpm. Doesn't seem to matter. When this happens, sometimes she starts right back up just by turning the key, other times, she needs a pump or two on the pedal, and yet other times, she just won't restart for what seems like forever. This is not an issue all the time. It may happen daily for a week, then not again for another week. I was just outside adjusting the carbs, and she died on me a half dozen times but restarted with just the key turned. The last time of course, she wouldn't restart. Probably will now that I've come inside... I don't know if this is a timing issue, a distributor issue, a fuel pump (and/or pump relay) issue. As you can tell, I'm a noob. Help?? More (helpful or not?) info: I went back out to give it another shot, same result. She didn't want to start. Cranks very well, brand new battery... On a whim, I popped the cap off of the distributor, everything inside looked fine. checked all the wires, they're pretty new and plugged in solidly. Got back in, and she fired right up, then died again almost immediately. Back to not wanting to start. Tried fiddling with the cap again, no help this time. I know I have a spare fuel filter lying around somewhere, gonna swap that in just for kicks. FWIW, when she is running, she goes just fine.

Posted by: 914Mels Apr 15 2015, 03:55 PM

You need to figure out what your missing, fuel or spark. If you can start it with a shot of carb cleaner into the carbs, start looking at fuel delivery. If you have no spark at the end of one of the spark plug wires, look at your ignition system.

Posted by: rhodyguy Apr 15 2015, 04:01 PM

sounds like it could be the fuel strainer in the bottom of the tank that gets sucked flat under vacuum. have you ever inspected or replaced it?

Posted by: r_towle Apr 15 2015, 07:52 PM

Sounds electrical and fuel...

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 16 2015, 10:13 AM

No, I haven't... In fact, the problem started almost immediately after getting the car back from the collision shop, where the gas tank had been removed... I have to wonder how much sludge may have been stirred up in that process! I don't think the problem is spark-related, as it is intermittent. When the car is running, it gets fuel. If I let her sit for a while, she will start, but how long she runs is anyone's guess. I have ordered a new sock, nut, and gasket. Just to cover the bases, I also ordered a new fuel pump and distributor. I'll report when it all gets in!

Posted by: rhodyguy Apr 16 2015, 11:18 AM

pump the fuel from the tank and look down the fill opening with a flashlight. i would check the filter sock before i did anything else.

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 16 2015, 11:59 AM

I'm willing to bet that it's the original...
The car had sat in the auto shop for 7 weeks waiting for donor parts. I doubt they did anything to stabilize the gas. I ordered the sock, etc. anyway. I'd like to pull the tank and at least replace the fuel lines in there anyway, so what's another few minutes' work to replace the sock? Also just ordered the Por 15 tank resto kit...

I knew this car was going to be a money pit, but damn!

Posted by: rhodyguy Apr 16 2015, 12:38 PM

living in what was a snow cave since nov you've had lots of garage time. between snow blowing twice a day.

Posted by: Phoenix914 Apr 16 2015, 02:34 PM

It would be a good idea to check the fuel filter. They can become clogged and are easy to replace.

Good luck!

Posted by: rosenfe Apr 16 2015, 03:23 PM

i had this problem and ultimately it was the fuel filter.

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 17 2015, 11:24 AM

Swapped out the fuel filter to no avail. She is running a bit rough now, when she does start...

Thanks for the tip though!

Haha, now I'm killing the poor battery (brand new) with all of this repeated cranking!

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 25 2015, 02:46 PM

Ok, gang. Here is an update:

Pulled the gas tank today. Sock was intact and pretty crud free, but I replaced it anyway. Replaced the fuel pump. Replaced fuel pump relay. She started up well as soon as the gas got to the engine. Ran for 5-10 minutes, then died. When cranking, I get a fair amount of whitish smoke from the exhaust, but doesn't catch. Hadn't noticed this before due to the wind direction. So, something is burning in there but it just doesn't catch enough to start, or it stumbles suddenly and dies when running.
Incidentally, when it was running today, the engine sounded smooth, and the idle was right at about 975. I'm freaking baffled!

Posted by: The Cabinetmaker Apr 25 2015, 03:06 PM

Where does the fuel pump power come from ?

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 25 2015, 03:10 PM

I didn't trace it, but the ground is on the inside of the driver's side wheel well, the juice line heads up into the back of the dash. I did notice that after it died on me today that as I tried to restart it, I didn't hear the fuel pump clicking. Some fuel has to be getting through to cause the exhaust smoke though, or could it just be getting what was left in the lines?

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 26 2015, 12:31 PM

Ok, power is indeed wired into the pigtail. Black and red wire. I cleaned the contacts on the ground, verified the connections for + & - from the pump. No joy. Ran a temporary line to the + terminal on the coil. No clicking. Touched the wire to the battery terminal, clicked like mad. Is the coil shot?

Posted by: BfloRandy Apr 29 2015, 03:28 PM

Ok, ladies and gents! Back to work on my frustration! The fuel pump is now wired with a dedicated, switched line. It clicks like crazy when it should. The coil has been replaced, and gets good spark from terminal 4 to the fan housing. I started (yes, started!) her up, first shot, and easily. After about a minute she began to stumble, and quit, as if running out of gas. Now she won't start again. I unhooked the exit line from the fuel filter, and checked supply. Upon turning the key, I get an initial spurt of gas, then no more. What the? Did I crimp the hose?

Yep... She is running nicely now, thank all of you for your help!