Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 235 Starving for Fuel

1958 Chevy 235, single 1 barrel Rochester with glass bowl fuel pump and glass fuel filter. The engine is freshly rebuilt. I rebuilt the carb myself.

If I pour gas in the carb, it starts right up, then dies as the gas is burned out of it. I can see gas in the fuel pump bowl, but very little gas in the fuel filter. I changed the fuel pump 3 times, still same problem. Can this be a problem with the carb, maybe vacuum leak? Where should I be checking?

Disconnect the fuel line at the carb. Then crank the engine and see if any fuel discharges out the line. That should tell you if the pump is working.For safety, use a small container to catch the raw fuel.

Drew is correct, that's where you start.

There should be a 2-3" squirt comming out and it should hold around 3# pressure after the cranking stops.

If not; check & see if there's ample fuel geting to the pump. If not; the line could be restricted or there's no venting to the tank & a 'non vented' could be the cause.

Also check one of your old pumps to see if there's a strange wear pattern. Sometimes the cam lobe will go flat.

Good luck.

The car I'm working on is a 1948 Chevy Fleetline with a 1958 Chevy 235. Is there suppose to be a pickup tube or something on the inside of the gas tank where you connect the fuel line?

Make up a temporary fuel hose from the fuel pump inlet to a one gallon gas can. If the engine stays running once the pump has drawn the gas from the can then you have a line or tank pick up problem. It is common on older cars with the pick up coming out of the top of the tank to have the short rubber conncetion dry and crack. The pump will draw air and not the fuel from the tank.

There's a 3/8" connection on the lower part of the tank (or should be) on the passenger side etc.

Try Mikes way first to see if it will run though.

Good luck.