Guest Steve Shore Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I have a 52 Series 41D with 18,000 original miles. The car has run great over the past three months that I have had it. However, beginning today, it has developed a strange condition.It starts right up with no problem. It hesitates a little bit at start up, but after it warms up it seems to run fine. However, as it goes down the road the engine starts missing and then dies. It will not start again unless you let it sit for about five minutes. It will crank right up but then die again after a few minutes.The only other clue I can give is that the ampmeter on the dash shows to be charging at the top end of the scale when the car is being driven down the road.Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 This sounds like a classic case of vapor lock. Look at the fuel line from the pump to the carb. It often runs between the back of the thermostat housing and front of the head. In some cases it has been bent over time and will touch the hot surfaces around it. When it does, the gas may vaporize in the line and this forms a block for liquid gas. The fix is simple, bend the line back so it is not touching any other metal parts. Just do it easy, and a little at a time, so as to prevent distorting the line too much. Remember, just get it off other surfaces. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_MrEarl Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 if you've not had vapor lock before now, I would suspect a bad coil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Guy Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 The gas tank could also be the culprit. Junk in the tank is pulled up to the filter sock until the pump is starved. When the rngine quits, the junk falls off the sock ,and it will run until it clogs again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_bjr Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 A plugged gas tank vent will do the same thing. Next time it stops go remove the gas cap and listen for a whoosh sound, like air being sucked into the tank. If that's it the vented cap is bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Phillips Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I agree with Joe "The Old Guy". A car with extremely low mileage like that one has done a lot of sitting for many years. The gas tank is probably full of rust. After a few minutes of running, the rust flakes are sucked up to the fuel pick-up tube or sock, choking off the fuel flow. Let it sit for a few minutes, and the rust flakes slowly fall back to the bottom of the tank, and the car runs again.Take out the gas tank, open the sending unit on the top of the tank, and shine a flashlight down inside to see how bad it is. Be sure to put plenty of Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster on the sending unit screws before unscrewing them, or else one or two are guaranteed to break off.Pete Phillips, BCA #7338Sherman Texas1948 model 711949 model 591950 model 76R1963 Wildcat conv. 4-speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 If your 52 has the glass bowl filter in the fuel line near the carb, look there for rust first. If you don't have any there I would hold off on pulling the tank till you check the other possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Shore Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 OK, I found the problem...When the engine died, I immediately removed the top half of the carburetor (with the carb still on the engine) and found the float chambers dry. In order to remove the top half of the carb, I had to remove the fuel line to the carburetor. It was full of fuel. I checked the pump action of the fuel pump while cranking the engine with the fuel line disconnected from the carb. The pumped checked out OK.Bottom line - I found a little tiny screen in the fuel inlet of the carburetor. This screen was pretty rusty and obviously obstructing the flow of fuel. I removed the screen and reassembled the carburetor and now the car runs fine.BTW - I did purchase and install and brand new fuel tank. The old one was full of gunk. I did this right after purchasing the car.I really enjoy this car and the fact that it is an untouched 18,000 mile original. I am a full blown Buick fan now and I really appreciate all of the help that I received on this forumn. Thanks alot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thanks for the update. It is kinda frustrating when we see all these good but different ideas and the original poster never returns to tell us the other half of the story.Glad you got her going. See you at a BCA meet sometime I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 60electra225 Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 A photo of this 18,000 mile wonder would be nice ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steve Shore Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Here are some photos. It really is a sweet running car. BTW - I have everything from a 39 Ford V8 to two Camaro Z28's and this car gets more attention when I drive it than anything else I have.It really does have a "cool" factor that most cars don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_Thriller Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Very nice. I suspect my Roadmaster is supposed to be the same colour, but without the 2 tone on the roof.Cars like this definitely do have the cool / wow factor that draw looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Nice car, Steve. I envy you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Oh man, that's one beautiful car! Sheesh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZondaC12 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Wow. That is INSANE. Amazing that this happens sometimes. Texas, too, perfect place for it to stay nice. What a time capsule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now