Will not start and stay running?

TOTALMC

MEMBER
1962 PONTIAC CATALINA
V8
150,000 MILES

Car sat for a while. New plugs and wires, battery, freshly rebuilt carburetor. Found TDC and set distributor cap (someone put on new wires and did not bother to put them in the firing order).

Has some few year old gas in the tank so was running a short hose off the fuel pump into a can of gas underneath the front of car.

It fired right up and was running great for about 2 minutes (until the gas ran out of the small can I was using) and after that couldn't get it to start back up at all.

even tried pouring a little gas in the carburetor after refilling my little portable gas can, and still no start.

Could I have flooded it and that's why it wouldn't start?

What else could cause a sudden non-start like that?

Thanks in advance.

2 Replies

I-SMOGEM

MECHANIC
118 POSTS

Hi Total

I literally have done the same thing in the past on my '75 many times. Your suspicions on it being flooded are likely true. It takes much-much longer to clear a flooded condition than it does for a 'no fuel' initial start as it starts out lean and easier to ignite.
Our tendency is to pump the gas pedal to add fuel (via the accelerator pump) on a normal start - especially, cold weather starts when more fuel is actually needed - on older carb models.
In a flooded condition, that is just adding more fuel to an already excessive fuel condition, and making it worse.
Put the gas pedal to the floor, and keep it there. You are giving it max air and by not pumping it, thereby, you are not adding fuel. Eventually, (and no defined timetable) the fuel will dissipate off the plugs enough so they can ignite properly.

If it ran like you say, then it will again!

And for reference, just finished putting a 4bbl on my '75 4.9L St6 today (stock 1bbl!)! Ran great, but still have the tweaking to do. We are in the same boat!

Keep me informed. Glenn