Mystery miss on 50 model Ford Custom

[Bullerman]

Have a 50 model Ford Custom with Flathead V8. Was coming home from town yesterday. Going up a bridge with a slight incline. All of a sudden the car started bucking really bad. Thought it was going to die. Pushed in on the clutch and reves it up a few times. Luckily made it over the bridge. After I got over it things straightened out. This is the second time it has did this. Both going up and incline. This is the second time it has happened.
It has a new carb on it with an electric fuel pump. Don't know when the filter was changed. Anything I should look for? It starts and runs fine except for this.

[Steves46]

Possibly debris in the tank blocking off the fuel line?

[325w]

Times 2 on the tank issue

[hueyhoolihan]

i would probably try to find a convenient hill that's longer and steeper than the one mentioned) and try to ascend it. sufficiently long and steep to let the car stall before reaching the top. then get out, and spray some starter fluid in the carbs. if there is combustion, it's most likely a fueling issue...blockage, lack of pressure, or insufficient volume, etc. otherwise, i might be looking for an ignition system problem.

but as others suspect, due to the mention of a hill, it's likely a fuel starvation problem.

[Ggmac]

Don’t endanger anyone , jack up the front of your car , letting some ait out of the rear tires if needed . Start the car till it stumbles , shut it down . Check the hight of the fuel in the carb with the top removed , readjust float if low or too high . You will know if its to high when you take the top of the carb off and some fuel leaks out .
When working with fuel ALWAYS have a fire extinguisher near .
Also a good time to check if fuel was in your fuel pump strainer glass bowl . Sediment in the fuel tank , especially the modern fuel tank sealers in use can and do brake off in small sheets and can block the pickup .

[Bullerman]

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All good ideas thanks. It does have an electric fuel pump on it mounted on a plate mounted to the intake manifold right behind the car.
A friend told me it should be mounted close to the tank. I didn't know that. I have one one coming and I am going to do that.
I will check the gas coming out of the tank and see if it looks ok. If not I'll have to clean the tank somehow. I am not sure it has enough fuel pressure. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Flathead Fever]

Your electric fuel pump definitely should be mounted close to the fuel tank. That's what the instructions all recommend. Also, a large fuel filter between the tank and the pump. There are two kinds of pumps, closed and not closed when not in use. Make sure you have the one for the setup you're using. This might not have anything to do with the problem you are having, but I would start by moving the fuel pump back by the tank.

[Bullerman]

I ordered a 2.5 to 4 psi pump. I will put it as close to the tank as I can get. Have a new pressure regulator and gauge coming to.
How do I go about cutting the line to install it. I am thinking I will have to drain the tank and take the line loose to cut it and install the pump. Is there an easier way?
Also does it matter which gas cap is on the car. It is not the stock cap. Should it be a non pressurized type cap? Thanks

[slowforty]

Try replacing the ignition resistor.I had a bad one that caused all sorts of ignition problems. You can short out the resistor temporarily and go for a short ride. To see if it is defective

[tubman]

No ignition resistor on a '50. I'm with the "junk in the tank" crowd. When I first got my old '36, there was some junk floating around in the gas tank. When I got down to about a quarter tank, it would float over the pickup, and clog it. I found that a temporary fix was to keep the tank full all the time. My friends thought I was crazy, putting in 3 or 4 gallons at a time, but it kept the problem at bay until I was able to clean the tank. We found what I think was the remnants of an old rag. You need to isolate the problem. I think you have.

"Thought it was going to die" is not a miss.

[Kens 36]

Originally Posted by Bullerman

Also does it matter which gas cap is on the car. It is not the stock cap. Should it be a non pressurized type cap? Thanks

The gas cap on the '50 must be vented.

Ken

[Joe B.]

Could it be the carb float setting?

[hueyhoolihan]

Originally Posted by Kens 36

The gas cap on the '50 must be vented.

Ken

I̶M̶O̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶N̶O̶T̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶i̶g̶n̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶n̶t̶.̶

IMO, this SHOULD be seen as significant.

[Bullerman]

I am going to vent the gas cap. I looked at it today. It's not vented.
I do keep it full of gas. I may put three or four falls in at a time.
I did check the float level today. It seem right from what I can tell by measurement. The level looks low to me. It has about 3/4" of fuel in the bowl. I can't find anything on how much gas should be in the bowl.
While I had the top of the carb off I got my wife to turn the key to see how much the fuel pump put out. Seemed like a pretty good stream to me. I am thinking the fuel level just might be to low. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Joe B.]

" Remove the air horn, invert so the float is holding the needle closed.
Measure from gasket flange to what would be the top of the float.

On the float body and not the soldered seam."

The measurement according to the green bible is 1.322-1.353".
Make a small "square" measuring gauge from a piece of cardboard.

[Bullerman]

What do you think the height of the gas in the bowl should be with the top removed? Mine is 3/4" which doesn't seem like that would be enough. Float is set at 1 11/32" the best I can tell. Just doesn't seem like that would be enough gas in the bowl to me.

[51shoeboxer]

Originally Posted by Bullerman

All good ideas thanks. It does have an electric fuel pump on it mounted on a plate mounted to the intake manifold right behind the car.
A friend told me it should be mounted close to the tank. I didn't know that. I have one one coming and I am going to do that.
I will check the gas coming out of the tank and see if it looks ok. If not I'll have to clean the tank somehow. I am not sure it has enough fuel pressure. Thanks for the suggestions.

Check the specifications of your electric fuel pump. The specifications should state how far fuel can be lifted. If your pump has a lift specification less than about a foot, it should be mounted close to the gas tank.

[Bullerman]

Wonder if that could be why the fuel level looks low in the bowl.
I don't know anything about the pump. One of the little box type.
Like you and several others have said. I need the pump close to the tank.

The one I have coming is a 2
5 to 4.0.

[big job]

Two things > surging is starving for fuel, bucking sounds more like points are closing cause Bakelite does wear,at oddly just happened to me hardly any point gap ,,,At 5am leaving for work push the button instant purring like a kitty for about 3 min started to run ragged then stopped dead just like that. Note my father taught me when these cars ruled the road is to unbolt the fan & move it to passenger side a little and two bolts distrbuter is out easy pezzy one set points has no gap (pre 1949 engine).......

[Doublepumper]

I've had this problem in the past. It turned out to be water in the fuel tank. The water formed into a small puddle and moved around the bottom of the tank. When in just the right position the puddle of water would get around the fuel pickup and into the fuel line.