jj12369

I have a 1976 El Camino. This car has had some significant time sitting in a driveway undriven in the past. I just had the engine rebuilt and it runs great, however without warning it just konks out and I'm left stranded. I'm unable to start it unless I wait 30 minutes or more and then it cranks right up and drives great. As I research I am wondering if this is due to floaters sticking or if there is something got else that could be causing this.

I love the car but am afraid to drive it and be stranded someplace.

old dog

you need to determine if you are running out of fuel at the carb,or getting to much and flooding out first .
depending on what is happening it could be the carb or the fuel pump.
also what carb are you running ?

jj12369

Thank you for your response. The engine is a 350 and its a 4 barrel carburetor. Its the original I am not too savvy mechanically. What's the best way to determine if this is a lack of fuel or too much? It seems to be a problem when the engine has warmed up and has been running. I don't smell fuel when this occurs and when I wait for 30 minutes it cranks right back up. The last time this happened I ran it around the interstate for about 10 miles, got off onto a road and at a stop light is conked as I tried to accelerate.

old dog

kinda hard to say long distance . when it conks out again the next time pull the air cleaner off quick and try to pump the throttle while your looking down the top of the carb and see if any gas comes out when the linkage is pumped . it may be running out of fuel ,has the fuel pump ever been replaced ? the float level may be set too low or to float may be soaked .just guessing .

chevy55

i would check the filter at the inlet of the fuel sender unit in the tank.i have seen issues with the filters plugging up with dirt.probably needs to be replaced.could also be dirt or debris in the tank.like mentioned when it quits pull the air filter off and check for fuel down the venturi while moving the throttle linkage.

Richard Till

Follow old dog`s advise first. Quadrajet? If you don`t see gas being sprayed from the squirters, check the fuel filter by removing the fuel line and the 1" fitting. Should be a filter behind it and a spring behind the filter. It`ll be a long or short paper one or may appear to be made of compressed scraps of brass. The brass filter can be cleaned with compressed air or replaced with the proper length paper filter. Be careful with the threads on the 1" fitting. They are very fine threaded.

jackltylerjr@gmail.com

I may know what the problem is. I restored a 1970 SS Chevelle 454 LS6 car about 20 years ago. The engine was run on a dyno to dial it in before installation in the car. I fired the car up the very first time, got in, drove to the end of my street...and the engine died. Everything on the car was new or rebuilt. The car would NOT restart, so we pushed it back to my garage. Later that week I was listening to the radio show "Car Talk" A guy called in with my exact problem! One of the brothers immediately answered and said "It's your gas cap". Seems all the older cars had vented gas caps. As they age, the vent in the cap plugs up. The fuel pump reduces the pressure in the gas line to allow fuel to flow to the engine. But this cannot happen if the gas tank is completely sealed off (i.e. vent in cap is plugged). I went home, opened my gas cap and immediately heard a loud WHOOSH. I left the gas cap off and the engine fired right up. I replaced the gas cap and never had another problem.