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Last week I drove my '41 120 a couple of times, and it drove perfectly.

Yesterday I took it out for a drive, and it stalled numerous times, always right after lifting off the throttle, when slowing to make a turn, or in preparation to stop at a stop sign or stop light. This happened approximately 10 times, before I could get back home. Every time it this happened it took a few minutes of waiting, and and an excessive amount of trying to start the engine; when it finally restarted it idled smoothly.

I did notice at little hesitation at initial throttle, and then it would accelerate smoothly.

Once I got home, and was able to pull the air cleaner off, the carb, and intake were both soaked in gas.

It sounds very similar to this Pinfo Thread.

Based on the behavior, I think that either the float bowl is sticking, one of the jets has some debris in it, causing it stay slightly open, or there is an air vent that is clogged.

I believe it is time for a carb rebuild kit (Either from Daytona Parts, or The Carburetor Doctor), fuel filter, and possibly a pressure regulator.

Does this sound like a reasonable course of action, or am I overlooking something else?

To the best of my knowledge, the 40 miles that I have put on it are the most it has had in many years, so I expect normal/regular driving to reveal opportunities for improvement

Thanks again, from a Packard novice!

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Hi Chad:

Obviously the car is having a fuel problem.

If the float isn't filled with fluid then carefully inspect the float bowl for dirt. If the car doesn't have an inline filter then consider installing one and periodically inspect it for dirt from the gas tank.

Thanks Tim. I'm going to make sure to clean it well when I go through it.

Although I've only read up on the Carter WDO, those symptoms sound like stuck anti-perculator valves. Although I'm sure a rebuild won't hurt.

Today I rebuilt the carburetor, installed a fuel filter, checked the screen in the fuel pump, and checked the fuel flow. All look good.

After putting everything back together and fixing a minor fuel leak, she started right up, kicked off choke/high idle after a minute, settled down to a nice even idle.

Took her out for a spin around the neighborhood, and she stalled approaching the 2nd intersection, and wouldn't restart.

After a tow home, and a 2 hour break she restarted just fine, and settled into a nice normal idle.

I'm stumped. Hoping someone can help point me in the right direction.

Thanks, Chad

I have had this same issue with my 51 200. The car would start ok, drive about two blocks, and then die. The only way to restart it was to push start it, or wait an hour or so. I rebuilt the carb and it seemed to work better, but would still do it occasionally. The aftermarket fuel filter is one of the clear types, and is just in front of the carb. When I would check it, it would often be clear of any fuel, or the fuel would be boiling, even after a short drive.

I got some more steel fuel line and rerouted the fuel line from the fuel pump over towards the passenger fender, getting it away from being over the exhaust manifold. I also took some rubber tubing with the same i.d. as the outside of the steel line, and split it. I then pushed the rubber tubing over the steel tubing, and using the belts and suspenders approach, wrapped the whole thing with aluminum tape that is supposed to insulate fuel lines. I honestly don't know if one of the solutions would have worked by itself, but I do know that the issue has gone away. Maybe one or more of these fixes could help.

Oh, one other major item. Find a gas station if you can that sells premium fuel with no nasty ethanol in it. At least in Wyoming and Montana you can find it, usually at Exxon or Cenex. A bit more money but at least it doesn't boil as fast as the corn fed version.

Grubbs solution should work for every case of vapour lock.

When it stalls and won't restart, have you pulled the air cleaner off and seen whether you're squirting gas from the jets as you crank? Can you get a squirt of fuel when you pump the accelerator? It's important to know where the fuel flow is stopping...

How does it perform when it stalls? Is it like someone shut off the ignition suddenly? Or does it run roughly just before it quits?

When you're trying to start it after a stall, does it ever indicate it's close to starting with a few cylinders firing and/or slightly faster cranking? Or does it just crank and crank like it would on a cold day after sitting for two weeks?

The next time it quits and won't restart, try spraying a QUICK shot of starting fluid down the throat of the carb and see if it starts or comes closer to running, if so, you definitely have a lack of fuel issue. If it won't fire at all on starting fluid, it's either ignition or an over-supply of fuel. Check for spark carefully and then re-evaluate. If it's an under-supply of fuel, see if you can get it to start by cranking it and firmly placing your hand over the air horn and choking the thing, it may surprise you and fire up.

One issue we've seen that drove us nuts until we discovered it was similar-- the car would start fine and then a block later would quit and wouldn't restart. It turned out to be a dirty gas tank-- the pickup in the tank would get clogged by a large piece of sediment in the tank and completely cut off flow to the pump and carb. Once it sat for an hour or two, the piece would fall off the tube and you could start and rev the car just fine, but the moment you sloshed gas around by taking a turn or accelerating, boom! The car would die.

Hi Chad:

Maybe you have two unrelated problems.

I ran into this problem on a 120 and it was the distributor plate shorting through the insulator.

So make sure all the electrical connections are good, buy a KD adjustable spark tester at NAPA, and get it to stall in your driveway. Then check the ignition. You should have at least 20Kv of spark when cranking.

Sorry I should have mentioned this earlier, but the gas pouring out of the carburetor set me back.

Guys,

Thanks all for the responses.

The carburetor rebuild definitely helped; there is no more fuel dripping on the manifold. So at least that is resolved. The hesitation is also gone at initial throttle.

When it dies it is suddenly as though the key has been turned off. When cranking it will initially it will crank and crank as if it has been sitting for a few weeks, then it will sputter a little, and then finally with throttle wide open, it will come back to life. Last night was the first time it wouldn't start within a few minutes (Like last week). When I restarted it after the 2 hour break, no cranking was necessary. It started right up.

I'm not ruling out a vapor lock issue, it sure acts like it. I have a mild suspicion that's not it, because last night when I drove it It was just after warming up to idle temp, and it was cold outside, probably in the high 30s, and it stalled after less than a mile.

I'll have to get it stall in the driveway, so I can test with starting fluid, check the spark, and check to see if there is fuel squirting while depressing the accelerator when attempting to restart it.

I'll update when I have done some testing.

Thank You very much,
Chad