If the car was stored for a year with gas in it, you have some work to do. First, replace the fuel pump but don't run the engine without completing this process. First, disconnect the gas line from the tank and pump. Blow it well with compressed air. Next, see if you can tell if the pickup line in the tank is removable from the tank. Often it's connected at the gauge sender. What you need to check is if the pickup has a screen or sintered bronze filter on it. Old rotten gas can destroy the little filter. If it has a screen, clean it. If it's sintered bronze, replace it. Check the tank thoroughly for***** or rust inside the tank. If not sure, take the tank to a radiator shop and have it cleaned and checked for leaks, etc. A year ago the gas probably had Ethanol in it. Left to go bad, this stuff can completely destroy fuel system parts especially rubber parts. If there are any flexible lines on the suction line, replace them. The problem is not likely to have anything to do with the distributor if the advance diaphragm is okay. A clean system should permanently cure the problem.
^^^all good advice. You can look in the tank thru the gauge sender hole on top. You get to it in the center of the trunk. Thru a 1 screw circular lid. The line is all steel and one piece from the front edge of the tank to the frame right beside the fuel pump. The stock 56 has a filter in a glass bowl on the bottom of the pump. The only rubber on an original car is a 6-7” piece to the fuel pump from the line. 5/16” A 55-57 Chevrolet will also fit.
Carb is a direct bolt on, so must be 57 manifold. The ignition is a pertronix so I’ll definitely run that number to confirm the distributor. I was told car was restored about 20 years ago, so maybe that’s when all the changes were made. I never realized half the battle is figuring out what others have done to a 67 year old car lol
I’ll definitely check back in, you guys have given me lots of info and pointed me in the right direction, thank you all!
Great info, I’ll be checking out the tank through the trunk like you stated. Fuel pump must not be original, no glass bowl. I ordered a Carter replacement after reading a thread on here about it being better brand for replacement pumps
You answered a question I had about not running the car with the new pump until tank and lines are sorted out, thank you. I’ll be working on it this weekend and will report back
Your best place for a temporary filter is before the pump so it will protect everything. I personally do not like rubber fuel lines from the pump to the carb. FOMOCO cars were never built that way. If the pump didn’t have a filter Ford used an AC glass bowl like the one in my photo. With the correct pump one was not needed. The proper filter for the pump is almost impossible to find.
If you inspect the tank through the sender hole, be sure and use a mirror to inspect the top of the tank. The tank on my 57 looked new and clean through the sender hole, but was rusted at the top of the tank. I had it boiled and sealed when radiator shops still existed and would do that.
That’s a beautiful engine bay. I have almost all steel lines, with the exception of some short runs of rubber like you stated before. My filter is after my pump though, but after I sort this out I think I’ll change to a canister filter before the pump
Update - so I think I dodged one bullet. I pulled the sending unit, and it was exactly as described so thank you. I used a telescopic mirror and flashlight and I don’t see any rust in the fuel tank. It actually looked like new inside to me. There was no pick up tube attached though, but I could see the tube inside the tank but not the end of it. So my next move is to blow out the line. New fuel pump here by next Tuesday. Thanks so much so far guys
Update - I installed the new fuel pump, tested it out and no change. After a few cleaning attempts of the carburetor I gave in and put the new Holley that was staring at me in the garage on the car. Bingo, runs strong with no stumble now. It’s idled high but I’ll adjust it tomorrow. Now onto the dual master cylinder and new brakes all around. Thank you all for your patience and help, much appreciated Ryan
I would recommend to check the radiator, depends on how it was stored. on my '57 a bunch crusty***** broke loose and pegged the temp guage, I did a full flush multiple times and change the t-stat and now it sits a 180. So at least have an IR temp gun to check the temp vs the dummy gauge.
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