Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

And many of the Packard pumps of that era have a screen/filter assy in the steel bowl at the bottom of pump. It could be the electric pump has sufficient pressure to force fuel thru for now and is masking a problem. Might be worthwhile to check if you have one and if so, the condition of the pump filter. If you do check you may want to have a new gasket or material to make one when you take it apart. IIRC, it is a thick material -- maybe cork.

Don't forget to also check the flexible hose that connects to the fuel pump from the steel line on the chassis. Sometimes they look okay but have collapsed internally causing a blockage or even an occasional blockage.

I battled this for nearly a year on my car. You could idle and rev it in the garage and no problems. But once you started moving, the sloshing gas would stir up all the rust and debris in the tank and it would clog the pickup tube.

Once the car was shut off, the debris would float away from the pickup, and it would start again.

When I did my car, new tanks were not available. So I ended up having my tank media blasted and a coating baked on (Renu process). I followed that up my adding a fuel filter back near the tank, and an electric booster pump (only used for priming and vapor lock conditions). Since then, no fuel delivery problems. And the filter has stayed sparkling clean.

You've also mentioned that the problem happens when the car is hot. Is the fuel pump heat shield in place? Could be a vapor lock type condition. Alot of cars I have seen have had their heat shields misplaced over the years.

I just had my fuel pump and carb rebuilt for my 1948 2262 sedan. My mechanic insisted on using black rubber hose to prevent vapor lock. Fuel pump was not working when purchased so I have an electric pump with a large filter between it and the fuel tank and a filter between old pump and carb. Fuel is filtered twice before going to carb. There was lots of rust in both units although tank had been cleaned and coated several years ago. I am now using ethanol free gas only. Car is all original except modern fuel filters and rubber hosing. I drove 200 miles in 95 degree heat with no problems. 70mph on the interstate and everybody passed me by.

Kev is right about the heat shield so be sure it's in place. Also, my '39 Six had an insulator sleeve over the pump to carburetor fuel line (probably asbestos!) that seemed to help as it virtually never had vapor lock. In fact, I think I still have that same line with the cover somewhere.

When I first bought mine and was trying to get to the ferry from Hadlock, WA to Bellevue, it wouldn't stay running but it turned out to be a screen at the inlet of the carburetor where dirt had gotten sucked in and was blocking the flow.

Well, if I've learned anything from this whole exercise, it's that one problem leads to another, and EVERYTHING is linked to 'the next step in the process of restoration'. It now appears that the 'just quitting' issue is linked to overheating. Even with the electric fuel pump, the motor is still stalling and I think the gas/carb is just getting too hot and vapour locking. Which leads me to the next question: How to cool the engine down?? The grill louvres are opening fully, coolant level is fine, heat gauge is showing just over half, and I have removed the thermostat. I see the cooling issue in two parts: circulation, and cooling ability. Are the rads in these cars a chronic problem? I am thinking a re-core may be needed. A reverse flush of the block and maybe even a new water pump; do they lose circulating ability with age?? (it's not leaking). Has anyone experimented with additional heat-dispersing 6 volt fans?? I tried driving on a back road with the exhaust side of the hood up (not too fast, obviously) and the gauge stayed at half - a little better.
I believe if I could cool things down, the vapour lock issue may disappear; any thoughts???

One other thing....... the previous owner had a custom stainless steel tank made for the car, so I am not thinking crap in the fuel tank to be an issue. And people are referring to a heat shield for the fuel pump - I don't have one. There IS what appears to be a heat shield under the carb and I reinstalled it with the new carb.

Vapor lock is a convenient condition to attribute poor running to but I see no evidence here to suspect that. It is highly unlikely to have it when a car is running at relatively normal temperature. Opening the hood , an electric fan, new WP, flushing the rad/block will have little or no effect to a car that is not running at elevated temp or boiling over. WP inefficiency is very rare.

Removal of the thermostat has only negative results unless it is broken and stuck closed which would be evident if it overheats within a few minutes. Running too cold yields sludge in the crankcase and in some cases the increased flow does not let the water spend enough time in the radiator to cool sufficiently. Lot of engineering went into designing all engines, if they would run better without one it would have been designed so.

If vapor lock is present the car would not run at low or high speed, it would not run at all. A methodical analysis of all systems is preferable to hit or miss replacement of various parts.

Put a pressure gauge on the like between the FP and carb with a Tee fitting, 3-5 lbs is normal. From your description of stalling only when stopping the car does not sound like a FP problem. The fuel bowl in the carb is a small reservoir and you can run the car for a short time on it. So if the FP stops working completely when stopping it will continue to run for a short while. If the car can be restarted immediately then fuel supply does not seem likely.

Bad condenser will be evident if it runs poorly or only when heated up to normal. Check your point gap and see if there is sidewise play of the distributor shaft after removal of the rotor. Rotate the engine until the points are just a bit open, movement will be evident if the gap increases visually when the shaft is moved sideways. Distributor rebuild may be needed.

Idle speed may be the problem?? There is an idle speed screw on the carb but if the carb/choke is misadjusted it may be idling on the fast idle cam screw. After fast running and taking your foot off the gas it then may revert to the idle screw which may be set too low to keep it running. Excessive wear in the linkage/carb can have the idle limited by the adjustment of the linkage. Disconnect the linkage at the carb to see if it is "too tight'

Be sure the FP bolts have insulators both around the bolts and beneath the bolt heads.

Good luck

Buy one of those cheap-o IR temp guns (Harbor Freight has them) and check the block temp (front and back) to see if you are indeed overheating.

Not sure if you answered or not, but is the fuel pump head shield in place? Also, make sure the fuel line between the carb and the pump has not been routed too close to the exhaust manifold.

You can use the IR Temp gun to check the temp of the pump and lines.

Does the car restart right away after it stalls?