I'd not use a "vintage" fuel pump on a rebuilt engine either. (Have read that engine rebuilders require a new water pump and new radiator for warranty to apply fwiw.)

Try blowing out the hard fuel line with say 20-40 PSI compressed air. Replace all rubber fuel line and clamps. Don't miss the one under the cab. Check and/or reset float level and idle fuel mixture.

 

2X Ted but I'll go one step farther. I'd rebuild the carb. Soak all the metal parts in quality carb cleaner. Air blow out the passages. And put it back together again with a Ford Motorcraft kit. Part number D4AZ9A586A. Still available from Ford. And will have REAL gaskets not glorified cardboard gaskets like the aftermarket kits.

 

Only thing I would add to that is to get rubber fuel line with the green stripe or green writing on it. It's compatible with gas that has ethanol in it.

If there's a long rubber fuel line from the pump to the carb, get rid of it and run a hard line to within a couple of inches of the fuel filter on the carburetor.

More hard line and the minimum amount of rubber line is safer on the fuel system.

 

There's also the old drag racers' trick of coating the gaskets with cherry chapstick, so that the gaskets don't tear if you have to remove the carburetor, air horn, etc. (or fuel bowls if a Holley).

 

Yep. I've had a stick of it in my carb stuff for years. Done so many Holley 4150 and 4160's that stick is almost gone. Not needed now if a person uses a Genuine Ford kit. On the Holley 4180's at least I'm positive on. And the Genuine Holley kits come with Reusable(coated) gaskets also. Every Ford kit I've used for years now has had coated gaskets. Funny thing is....it has to be Cherry flavor. You wouldn't think so but the regular stuff doesn't work right.

 

Something you said in an earlier post about the battery getting low. Once the carburetor is back on and the engine stabilizes. Check that the alternator is providing 13-14 volts. With the mileage on the engine the distributor is probably worn out with the point gap not holding and should be replaced with a re-built one with a Petronix electronic conversion.

 

That's a good plan. Auto start batteries do not like being tortured even a little bit, this will kill them quick. Keep the battery on a trickle charge and let it cook till things get sorted out.

Starter motors too, are really only rated for split second duty. Everybody ignores this, but then they go through a lot of starters. Consider that a well tuned engine will light in just a 1/4 turn of the crank maybe, that's why. "It's your truck", but whenever I hear an engine grinding and grinding and grinding for 20 seconds... pause... grind another 20 seconds.... argh! Cringe. Preventive maintenance and tune-ups saves a lot of wear and tear! Give a starter plenty of downtime (ten minutes or so) between start attempts and they will last almost indefinitely. If not, not.

 

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I really feel welcomed to the community. I got a rebuilt identical carb given to me ( the guy wouldn't take anything for it )from a repair shop in town. We are in the process of testing it right now but first fire seemed more promising. Didn't need to pump the gas or push it at all to get it to turn over. Seemed like it wanted to idle but the main fuel inlet fitting was leaking. Got a new fitting and am trying it now. Will let you all know how it goes. I agree that the gaskets on the bottom of the carb seem cardboardish so I may be investing in some real gaskets soon. I siphoned all the old gas out and put premium gas (no ethanol) in.

 

Update:
The truck runs
I am so grateful for every ones suggestions. It turned out to be the carb. I installed the new one and fixed the fitting and then without even touching the pedal it turned right over and idled. Will be getting her insured tomorrow and hopefully driving by the weekend. It ran good enough to make it from the end of the driveway back into the garage. Y'all really made my weekend
If someone would be so kind as to tell me how to upload pictures I would be more than happy to post some.

Thanks again everyone.

 

Outstanding!!

 

Glad to hear!!

 

Just click on the yellow square with the mountains.

 

I've been a member for 12 years and never knew that, I only used photobucket. lol

 

Glad to hear it's fixed. Just make sure you have a new fuel filter and rubber hoses. You don't want any ka-ka getting in your replacement carb.

 

Can't really see it because of my crumby cell phone camera, but there's a tiny bit of pink chapstick in there.