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Intermittent acceleration on 1977 Ford pickup

I've been rehabbing my 1977 Ford pickup (351 engine) that's been in storage for a few years. I just finished rebuilding the carb, and it seemed to go pretty well. It starts and idles fine. When I pulled out on the road, it ran fine for a few minutes, then it started to die every time I'd press down on the accelerator. As long as I let it idle or press down just a hair, it keeps running, but if I try to give it any more gas, it backfires through the carb and tries to die. Even coasting downhill, it doesn't want to go faster than idle speed will allow.

At this point, I was thinking the mixture was way off or something. But after several minutes of this, it straightened out and ran fine again. So now I'm wondering if something could be sticking open or closed that would cause this. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Reply to
Aaron Baugher
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If its been stored "a few years" you really should thouroughly flush out the fuel system if you haven't already. Any gasoline it still had in the tank is probably very bad, and it may be full of rust, sludge or other debris that could plug up the fuel filter in short order. Fuel pump diaphragm may be in bad shape also.

Reply to
Steve

Looks like that's the problem. (The filter getting blocked, not the pump diaphragm -- so far.) If I clean the sludge out of the fuel filter, it runs fine for several miles, and then starts dying again. Stop and clean it out, run a few more miles. Lots of rust.

A friend of mine suggested putting one of the bigger canister-type fuel filters in the line, since it would handle a lot more crud before getting blocked up. Would I have to put it between the pump and the carb, or could it be back between the tank and the pump? (The pump is on the engine.) In other words, would gravity push fuel through the filter, or does it need pressure from the pump to get through? Seems like it'd be best to put it before the pump, if possible, to keep the junk out of the pump too.

Is there any way to flush out the tank myself, or is that a professional job?

Thanks,

Reply to
Aaron Baugher

You can pull the tank and clean it yourself but... A good radiator shop will clean and seal the tank for you for around $70 (in my area). Don't waste your time with the filters. I just fought this battle with a '68 Newport that had rust and goo in the gas tank. The goo kicked my rear.

Steve B.

Reply to
Steve B.

Thanks. Looks like I've got some calls to make.

Reply to
Aaron Baugher

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