Edelbrock 1404 ,starved and wont start after sitting for a few days. any ideas?

how old is the oldest fuel in the tank? i had a truck recently that was topped off with fuel after sitting for a while. had to use starting fluid to get it to start. once started it ran ok but shut it off wouldn't restart. i drained the tank and refilled it with fuel, ran perfect and started every time.

 

I'd think that, even if the fuel evaporates out of the carburetor, the pump should fill it up in a short time. Maybe try a fuel filter with a check valve near the carburetor.

 

My Quick fuel does the same thing. If you leave it for more than 4-5 days the fuel level is well below the sight glass on the float bowl.

I just prime the carb before taking it out for a spin, not a big deal.

 

My '31 Hiboy runs an 355 cid sbc built about as radical as I felt practical on pump gas, and it runs a pair of Edel.. an 1803 & 1804 each 500 cfm. Length of a pair of Holleys is too long for sbc, so unless it's some sort of tunnel ram, etc. you run Edel or the original AFB or Roch. WCFB.
Frame is pinched too far for a hipo mech. pump, so I use, by necessity only, an electric fuel pump, Carter rotary vane. Pump is wired thru a sensor and relay to auto shut down on no oil pressure for safety, with a lighted when "ON" switch to override for start up.
As said earlier , turn on switch and pump pressure switch override, and after pump changes sound and starts to pump hard against a total pressure block when carb fuel bowls are full, depress gas pedal slowly, release slowly, and repeat. Release all pressure on accelerator. Then hit the starter and it fires first or second round. But you gotta replace what has was in the fuel bowls.
What seems to be missing here is the understanding of the data posted earlier in the thread about volatility changes in pump gas now and back when the last mainstream auto rolled off the line with a real, live carburetor and the fleet went to some sort of fuel injection and a consequently sealed fuel system. The fuel is designed for today's cars and fuel systems, not our open and vented systems which must expose fuel to atmospheric pressure to function. The fuel companies don't have, even at a premium price, enough demand to warrant the investment involved . Closest to that is the areas that allow the sale, at a premium price fuel without ethanol alcohol added.
So, IMO, what we have to do is adapt our equipment to function on the fuel available as well as possible, and make the best of it.