I have a '55 T-bird with stock 292 and a Summit M2008 600cfm carburetor. Everything was running perfectly until i let the car sit for about a month. It still fires right up with a bit of priming,
but it won't continue running on its own. I can keep it running with continual squirts of gas but as soon as i quit putting gas in the carburetor the engine stops. I've been told the problem
has to do with ethanol in the gas. Fuel pump seems to be working fine. Any suggestions?

Steve

Ethanol absorbs water and then breaks down the gas into gummy bits that stick to everything. It is possible your main jets are blocked with this. You will need to open the fuel bowls and clean them out.


1936 Ford 3W Coupe : 56 T-Bird 312, 47 Packard 3 speed, 40 juice brakes.
1968 Merc Cyclone FB GT 390, Getting a better front clip!
1977 Ford F-250 Supercab RWD Explorer Long box.
1976 Chev Camaro RS LT
Future rebuild : 1949 Ford F-1

Did you disconnect the fuel line going from the pump to the carb at the carb and turn the engine over to see if it's pumping?

I only have 10 % ethanol here.  I've let the engine sit for months at a time with no bad effects from  ethanol.  Did you use any junk like Sta-Bil?  The carb in my son's car was all screwed up because of it.


54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

So far, I have only had my yard equipment affected by ethanol gas.  I would think it's unlikely that ethanol would go south in a month, unless maybe you bought it at place that wasn't reputable.

How's your fuel filter look?  The '55 Fairlane I had died on me once and the fuel filter was plugged solid with rust.  Can you see fuel squirt into the carburetor when you look down from above?  Maybe trash in the needle and seat?

Sounds like the carburetor is clogged.  I doubt it's the fuel. I had the same problem when I first purchased my 55 Tbird.  The bottom of my gas tank was full of fine rust and dirt.  A previous owner had install an inline electric fuel pump in an attempt to "fix" the problem.  I fixed it with a new fuel tank.  If you pull off the fuel bowls, I'll bet you will find the problem.  If you don't see anything obvious and your accelerator pump squirters are working, the carb is OK. How long as it been since you had a tune up?

What’s wrong with Sta-Bil? I been using it for years. Reviews are good. Please advise 
Richard

I think the question is what is good about it.  I have had old cars for going on 40 years.  Most of that time was when the only fuel available was 10 % ethanol'  In those 40 years I never used any kind of additive for when the car was in winter storage.  The gas that went in  in October or November is the same that I used to start it in April.  Never a problem.  Carbs are clean as a whistle.  My 56 Tbird was down for about three years chasing an intermittant(sp?)  problem (not fuel related) ..  While I did drain most of the fuel in the tank and add some fresh once a year, when I finally got it squared away the car started right away.  Had the carb redone (:just in case) the rebuilder said the carb was still "clean as a whistle"  So I can see that using something like Sta-Bil is useless.

In addition, my son had a 302 powered 41 Ford.  He never used it  except for one year.  That year the carb got all screwed up with junk inside.





54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Richard, I've used it, and I have no complaints. My brother also used it in his boat-408 Windsor stroker I/O.

Whether you use Sta-bil or not, I would drain the bowls on anything that's going to be sitting for a while. 

I used to run my snowblower/ mower dry every year before storage for the same reason- to get rid of the ethanol...one year I had something dry up in the snowblower's carb and it leaked pretty bad...
Maybe drain the bowls and put some ethanol free fuel down the hole that goes to the bowls?

Will the engine run if putting a lot of ‘choke’ on it and bringing up the rpm?  If so, then doing what they call a running flush may help to clear out some of the circuitry in the carb.  Here’s a link describing how to do a ‘running flush’.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/FindPost51748.aspx 

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)