Hill and fuel
 

‘31 loses power on a hill. Turn on electric fuel pump and engine picks up. Switched carbs with a known good one and same problem.
Anybody have any suggestions.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

What's not stock that it needs a fuel pump--- gravity is still working as I write---

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Gravity works here also. Electric pump was just an idea that solved the problem.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Which carburetor are you using?

What, if anything, are you doing with the GAV before the hill and on the hill?

What are you doing with the spark lever before the hill and on the hill?

I suspect that the fuel pump is enrichening the mixture in the carb due to the higher pressure overwhelming the needle valve. The richer mixture is giving you the added power on the hill.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Pick a smaller hill?

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Seems you have restricted fuel flow. You can see where by pulling the fuel line of the carb, and running fuel into a jar/can, and checking for full flow. If its a weak flow, the problem is between there and the tank. If you have a nice full flow, the issue is in the carb. If the problem is toward the rank, pull the filter bowl and check flow there. I suspect you will find it is a poor flow rate out of the tank, but only a test will confirm.

Just what I'd do...

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Sometimes I open the GAV 1/2 turn and pull the spark up one notch just before an uphill climb. Seems to help.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Thanks for the reply’s. I’ll be back.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

That’s a very common problem. Your fuel line is going into carb too far and hitting the screen. Just circumcise it a bit.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Doesn’t that hurt on a car that old? Should have done that at the dealer.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Lol :)

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Yeah, suggestion.
Tell us what equipment (for carburation) you are using on this '31 ?
I suspect that 'using a fuel pump' could mean that you are using a downdraft, but we are guessing at that.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

No, it’s original Zenith. I’ll post some things later.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Interesting. Never have seen or even thought about the use of an electric pump with stock updraft !
The original location of the zenith makes it low enough that gravity was sufficient to handle fuel delivery.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Might be low float level

Re: Hill and fuel
 

I agree. There must be a plugged line or carb passage if it needs the help of a pump.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

gas cap not vented,wrong cap?

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Trim off most of the fuel line that extends beyond the ferrule.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

I would say the only thing the hill is doing is causing it to pull harder, thus using more fuel. There is plenty of gravity as the gas tank is considerabley higher than the carb so the angle of the car on the hill shouldn't be an issue. As others have said, check fuel delivery.

Re: Hill and fuel
 

Do you have an in-line non original fuel filter?