[Peje]

A friend have a 1968 Buick Electra 225 Convertible.
The car won`t go over 40miles/h.Seems like lack of fuel?
On the fuelpump there are: 1 in 1out and the third? A return to tank? It`s plugged.
Pump is new.All work on the car done by previous owner.

Some panic,it`s Stockholm Cruising tomorrow night.
So please,any bright ideas?

[David Jones]

The filter in the carb is clean?

Sock filter in the gas tank?

[Peje]

Ok,he`s gonna check asap.

If I remember correct,it`s only 1 inlet and 1 outlet on my GTO fuelpump.
Is the third a return to fueltank? Why plugg it?

[Lightfoot]

Does it sputter/run rough on acceleration (under load): Stall when coasting if driver doesn't take it out of gear & keep RPM up?
That's what my Grand Am did when the inlet fuel filter was contaminated (from fuel tank debris). I would have sworn up and down there was water in the gas.

You could pull the line off at the carb inlet and run some gas into a clear bottle. It will at least tell you if the pump is functioning well or not. And if there is water in the tank, it will show up in the bottle.


Also check all his rubber vacuum hoses for dry rot.

[Jim Scites]

I've seen problems where the exhaust pipe collapsed internally. Most times it happened when the car was hot and got run through a puddle of water. You can loosen the exhaust at the exhaust manifolds if you can get the nuts loose, drive the car to see if that is the problem. Just a suggestion.

[Txbobcat]

See Post Help needed my 75 Bird wont rev past 2500

[Peje]

Thanks for all your help.The diff here is that this engine runs for a couple of miles then stops.Then wait a few minutes and it starts again.Fuel starvation?

Otherwise the engine runs smoothly with a steady idle.He can drive in the city and at low speeds but not at the highway.It all started when he mounted a thermostat.

And I know,it could be a million things.

[camerjeff]

I had a 76 Grand Prix that would do the same thing turned out to be depris in the fuel tank clogging the fuel sock in the tank. Anouther thing to look at is the coil, sometimes when they start to go bad they stop working when they heat up.


Good luck with it.

[Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by Peje

Thanks for all your help. The diff here is that this engine runs for a couple of miles then stops. Then wait a few minutes and it starts again. Fuel starvation?

Otherwise the engine runs smoothly with a steady idle. He can drive in the city and at low speeds but not at the highway.

I had a '75 Ventura that would run as normal, then suddenly act as though it were (running) out of gas. Especially going up long hills. A couple of times I was forced to pull off the side of the road and shut it off. Then after maybe 5-10 minutes, I'd start it up and it would go and seem 'normal' again. This went on, off & on for a couple weeks or more. Eventually, I figured out it would rarely bother until the tank was 3/4 empty. I finally took it to a private mechanic, and described the symptoms.
He disconnected the fuel line at the carb, put a rubber hose on it, fed into a Pepsi bottle, & had me start the engine. After it filled the bottle halfway, shut it off, and let it settle. Copious amounts of water settled into the bottom of the bottle.
So I had to take the gas tank down and dump it all out. Of course I waited until the gauge was on empty which made it much easier.

Camerajeff's suggestion of the sock filter on the fuel pick-up is the next best culprit.

I'm pretty sure someone sabotaged my car with pouring water in my tank. That was thirty years ago, and I had never considered using a locking gas cap.
Only difference between my symptoms and your friend's Buick is my Ventura would go highway speeds between episodes. That could be attributed to a 2.73 gear and manual transmission vs 430 w/slush box and shorter gears.

[Peje]

Hi! After testing with: a new coil,cleaned gastank,reinstalled fuel return,checked ignition switch it was: yes the CARB!

My friend took the carb to a well known Rochester guy and he found 17 things that was wrong with the carb! And of course "remanufactured" in the past.It had all the correct numbers for that car but a poor job was done in Sweden or USA,who knows?
Anyway,the car now runs very nice and smoothly.Only one question left:

The gas cap and tank have no ventilation.Is this original from factory? I have vent on my 1969 GTO tank.My friend say that he found two pluuged pipes at the back of the tank.Use that to make a ventilation? Best Regards Peje