Technical Having an issue stalling

Hey new here just have a quick question. I'm fairly familiar with old stuff but I am having a bit of trouble on this one. I have a 1950 Chevy Fleetline I just acquired. It has a 235 in it haven't checked casting numbers so I can't give a proper date on it. I haven't had much time to go over it from head to toe at the moment. But I notice if I take it for a cruise for about 30 mins or so it seems to want to stall on me. Then it does stall at lights or stop signs. I rebuilt the carb last weekend. Reset the float height. I am not familiar with brass floats only plastic ones. It still seems to want to stall.

So I am not sure if it is the carb or not. Starts fine no problem give it 10-20 mins after the stall and she'll go another 20-30 mins. I thought maybe it was just flooding itself. Might still be doing it. Maybe I didn't set the float properly? Maybe the fuel pump? That will probably be my next course of action along with the fuel filter. I'll probably put a bigger one on. Any help though would be appreciated. Sorry for the story book I just wanted to make sure all the info I could give was given.

 

Does your steel gas line pass close to the manifold? It could be vapor lock. It can be re-routed or insulated easily enough.

I would change the gas filter in the carb and add another one inline either before or after the fuel pump. I like the canister Holleys before the fuel pump on old cars and run them along the frame rail where its convenient to change the element.

Bob

 

Crap in fuel filter or gas tank and overheating coil or ignition switch are possibilities.

 

My 41 Cadillac does this is same thing. I'm pretty sure it's the coil.

 

i have had this happen because of rust in the fuel line, the rust gets pulled toward the engine and stops the fuel, then when the engine stops the rust falls back down in about 20 min and i could start and drive again.

 

Yeah thanks for all the helpful tips. First I'm gonna swap the fuel pump and fuel filter. Put a bigger one on the line than the one that's already there. Then I'm going to look into the vapor lock. I didn't even think if that. I was just reading about that on another thread a few weeks ago. Those are the only things I think it could be. There's not much more to these cars. Ha

 

This time of year in Delaware I would not consider vapor locking. This time of year I would say bad gas. Get in and drive as far as it will go, fill with fresh gas and drive home.
Or, empty the tank and fill with fresh gas. Dump the old stuff in a modern car two gallons to a fill until its gone.

 

The problem could also be associated with a weak condenser. HRP

 

I'm going to do a full tune up on it in the next week or so. Weather is a factor here. I don't always have a garage. Now as far as gas. I've filled the tank a few times now. Yeah I think a full tune up is in order. I'm for sure gonna change the fuel pump and filter out. That will happen in the next day or so. I work full time and go to college. So as my schedule will allow shell slowly get done.

 

Oh and points are gonna be fun. I've never really messed with points. The 65 I had, had an early hei system. So I'm gonna have to do some research as well as find casting numbers and whatnot. I know the engine isn't original to the car.

 

Is this car an automatic?

 

Another thought check the heat riser in the exhaust manifold just under the carb. Make sure that it is free.

 

Three on the tree baby! Probably won't change it unless I put a V8 in it. I have learned to love the three speeds. Heat Riser? I'll look into that. There is a box it sits on, on the manifold with a line coming out. What that line is I'm not sure. The 65 didn't have this. This 50 is a whole other animal. But I feel like I will have fun figuring it out along the way.

 

get a older chiltons or motors manual to help you thru the points routine , read it before touching it ! and get a dwell meter before messing with it ( cheap one from HF will work ) . and check the others , fuel filters , and stuck heat riser . and one other often overlooked . check the fuel tank cap vent to see if its doing its job . had one car that would run 20-30 minutes on the highway then stop . let it sit a few minutes and it would go again . often it would die right as I slowed down for the first light off the expressway ( when the pump slowed down and would boil the fuel in the pump ) found the cap hole plugged with rust/dirt . cleaned it out and no more problems . ( easy way to check for a bad cap is to open it right after it dies and if you hear a whoosh/suction sound or if it restarts easily thats the problem . )

 

What he ^ said. Make sure that your gas cap is venting properly.

 

Have you checked for spark after it stalls? This will narrow it down to ignition or fuel problem.

 

With an old car full of unknowns, sometimes you have to put enough new parts into it just for peace of mind. Things like the coil are inexpensive and you can always use the old one as a spare down the road (providing its still good).

In my old age if I suspect a distributor related problem, I'll spring for a remanufactured unit of good quality or have a local rebuilder do mine over. Plus its always good to know how to take one in & out and get it timed and running again.

Bob

 

Yeah previous owner said none of that has been changed. When he did the motor swap that all came with. I'm gonna give a good over look this weekend on everything. Like I said a full tune up is in order anyway. I usually do that when I get a new one just to be sure and have peace of mind.

 

Does it have a ballast resistor? They tend to heat up and cause the engine to die. On my 57 I thought it was vapor lock but one time it happened my buddy stopped to help and took the filter out from inside the carb and it was pretty crapped up. I now keep an assortment of tools in the wagon.

 

Oh yeah my tool box stays in the trunk with a small floor jack and various fluids. Can't be too careful. Plus it's nice to have them for anything else. I've taken all of this into consideration and looks like I have a full load on my hands saturday afternoon. Including new windows going in on the doors. I'll post an update on my findings.

 

You will generally find that a condenser is either good or bad. And when they go, they go very quickly, usually within a couple of hours from when you first get trouble.

And don't forget to check your high tension leads. If they don't look OK, sling 'em.

 

One other thing about condensers, if you've ever accidentally shorted the primary ignition circuit when the key was on, the condenser can & probably will be damaged. The wire may actually fall off of it & the engine quits or just fails to start later.

If you short it long enough (like one second) the condenser will burn up inside, but maybe look fine on the outside, but the car won't start.

If the car still starts, that condenser will go out at a random time; and quite often the lead wire will simply fall off it, if you tug gently.

It's a cheap part and easy to damage. I always carried a spare condenser and points.

 

choke pull off?

 

Ok so today she stalled at the gas station. No whoosh when I popped the gas cap. Checked if I have spark still have spark. When it stalls it will start again but I have to lay down the gas and it sputters a lot. Doesn't wanna stay going. If I keep my foot on the gas while in neutral. But I can feel the change happen when it does. It has a lower sound in the engine. Like you know it's gonna die. If I keep feeding it gas it'll stay but quickly almost stall before I can get it into gear. I still think it's fuel related. Because it doesn't matter where I go or how long. If I go highway speeds and get off stop at a few lights it's ready to die. If I go local roads after 20-30 mins she wants to die. Quicker when I am on the highway.

 

Oh and when I say foot on the gas in neutral I mean a little. I don't lay it down. I keep the rpms at what it would be if it was running normal.

 

You are correct its in the fuel system.

 

Could be a crack in the carb base or loose throttle shaft is leaking air. A small air leak near the idle bypass ports or throttle shaft can make the idle too lean to run. It might be opening up as the engine gets hot, making the issue worse, yet when cold you don't notice this problem because you're running on the choke (which masks all idle circuit related issues in a carb.)

Adjusting the mixture screw out may help a little, and may help diagnose the issue, but it's no cure and guarantees ragged running.

 

Yeah it's not running lean that's for sure. It's not leaning out while cruising. It's for sure running fat. I'm having trouble locating a fuel pump locally. I didn't want to have to order one. I was hoping I could interchange one from a 65. But I'm not sure enough.

 

With it running and with the air cleaner off (plug open vacuum lines if there are any), place your hand over the top of the carb. It the engine picks up speed, you have a vacuum leak somewhere. If it tends to stall, you have no vacuum leak.

Check the carb sections, they are known to loosen up on the 1-barrels. Just grab the top of the carb body and give it a twist, it shouldn't move in relation to the lower section.

Bob

 

If it's running rich, why do you suspect bad fuel pump?

BTW, a car can be very rich when driving, accelerate fairly OK, & yet go totally lean and die when it drops to idle speed. The circuits providing gas in those conditions are different circuits. You can still go 100 MPH with the idle jets plugged completely up.

It just won't idle.

Do you have a manual or automatic choke?
Does it have a "high idle cam" or "high idle stops"?

If the high idle cam is sticking you might have the speed screw out too much. Then when it finally does come off the high idle it drops so far it stalls.