or just spray some starting fluid in or dump an ounce of gas in the carb and see if it starts, if it does then its a fuel problem, if not pull a plug wire from the plug, pull back the boot and set it 1/4 from a ground like the block or intake, have someone crank the engine, you should see a spark jump, if not its an ignition problem.
I had a similar problem with my flathead Ford V8. When it would it would get hot I would lose fuel pressure. I thought it was vapor lock at first but it turned out to be a loose fuel line fitting at the tank.
I have a 53 Plymouth that had the same issue, turned out to be a rubber fuel line was collapsing when it got hot. Replaced it ,and problem solved..Hope it helps
Depending on the fuel pump, if it has a bolt holding the bottom of the lower chamber to body, remove it and clean the screen and the hollow bolt, both may be fouled with crud. the change the flex hose is a good idea, They can look fine but collapse uder suction. I replaced mine with a piece of steel line. cut it in the middle, offest the ends and then clamped in a loop of new flex line to provide for engine movement. Whiel your are fussing there blow some low pressure compressed air through the line toward the tank. this will clear crud out of the intank filter. Then check the flow quan***y at the carb. Direct the fule line into a suitale container, and with the coil wire out have somebody crank the starter while you count fule pulses to 12. You should have 8 go 10 ounces of fuel in the container. If less you stil have a blockage or are ****ing air between the pump and the tank. If the pump is trying to **** air, it will not **** fluid. Lower you float level a bit today;s gas eexpands more with less heat than the stuff in the 50's. Also use the hot start procedure recommended in the owners manual. slowly push the pedal 3/4 open, or WOT while cranking. This will clear out any puddles fule from perculation. Also ethanol eats up the leather bellows on the acc pump. If its gone it won't squirt gas even though there is fuel in the bowl. Next time it happens, take off the top of the float bowl and ascertain the fuel level in the bowl. Another thing, what spark plugs are you using and how do they look??? I have found AC 45 or 46 are superior to Champion and Autolites.
I've taken a lot of flack about this over the years, but I grew up in the 1950's and I can tell you that any reputable mechanic back then would laugh when you brought up "vapor lock". Stop and think about it...none of the cars back then would show similar symptoms when new and/or operating like they were designed to operate. It always came down to ignition or fuel problems. If you're cranking it and still have a good, hot spark, then start eliminating problems in the fuel system. One thing to remember is that you must not only have good pressure from the pump, but also good volume. I'm not one to start throwing parts at a car, but in your case, I might suggest replacing the fuel pump (if you didn't mention that earlier).
I got it running today and ( so far) got it to stay running.. I lose fuel in the carb if I let it sit for more than a day, but a little down the throat she starts up. drove it around, got it hot, and tuned the carb.. it ran, it cooled, and ... well .. I will see again tomorrow if this stays the same.. I think it may have been a bad regulator.
I suggested removing the old rubber hose and replacing it with a metal line. The metal line was cut in half and a loop of flexible fuel line was added to allow for engine movement. Also if you are loosing the gas in the floatbowl over shut down periods, it gotta be going somewhere, take a sniff of your oil to see if it smells like gas. If it does you need to change it. Also you might want to lower your float level 1 or 2 32ths.
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