1939 ford flathead gas problem
 

I own a 1939 ford, my problem is it won't start .. I live in the northeast and let the car sit without adding any stabilizer to the gas .. When I first tried starting it it only ran for 20 minutes then it stalled, I am getting gas to the I'm carburetor Could any tell me if the gas would cause the car to not start. Other than emptying the old gas from the the tank and blowing out the gas lines to the carburetor would I have to get the carburetor rebuilt in order for it to run .. Would it be advisable to try to start it with just emptying the old tank and add a new gas? Has anyone has this and if so any advice would be appreciated!!

Thanks,

Jim S

Re: 1939 ford flathead gas problem
 

Hi Jim, How long did it sit and did it have Ethanol gas in it? I would check the spark before getting in to a big project. I just did 7 or 8 that sat over 25 years. I drained the tanks, flushed with denatured alchol, blew through the fuel lines back into the tank, several were plugged at the pick up tube. I think I rebuilt or replaced every fuel pump and flex hose. The points on a few were corroded so we rebuilt and strobed the distributor. No real carb issues and one set of water pumps. All running good. Hope this helps. G.M.

Re: 1939 ford flathead gas problem
 

As G.M. suggests, check spark first. Condensers go bad sitting. If you have spark, the gas could be bad. Depending how long it sat, the new gas goes bad quick. If it does not smell fresh, it is probably lost of lot of it's oomph. Just started a tractor that sat over the winter. Gas turned yellow, started, quit. No start. Drained the gas carb bowl, flowed new gas through it, and it ran fine after that. Maybe just bad gas.