Ok...as you guys know I have been trying to figure out what to do on tires. My friend owns a tire shop so he ended up getting me a new set of tires for $79 each including mounting and balancing. So $320 out the door. I also ordered new ss trim rings and baby moons to the tune of $167 shipped. Those should be here Thursday. I also have busted my butt getting the bedwood coated and finished. One of my earlier posts was a ballistic fit I had because the truck, which was cranking just fine every time, all of a sudden wouldn't start. After a long ordeal it ended up being the coil (after the second NEW one was replaced). But even before that the carb was so bad I had to rebuild it so that the truck would start easily. It was starting and running when I got it but ran terrible. After I rebuilt the carb it ran great........for a couple weeks. Keep in mind that when I got the truck the tires were dry rotted so I could only drive it around the block...or two..lol....so I have only driven this thing about 10 miles total since I got it. Back to today. So now ive spent money on tires, painted the wheels, etc...and you guessed it. Piece of *&^% wont crank AGAIN. This time I have spark....no fuel. First mysteriously no good air..fixed that. Then after running fine for a short time, mysteriously no spark...fixed that too. Now mysteriously, NO FUEL. I admit and confess, of all the old ford trucks I've had this one is the ONLY one that has ever given me trouble. I wont go thru the whole list but the week I bought the last '55 F100 I had, I drove it 8 hours to show my dad...not one problem. My blue and white '66 F100 with 352 bb and 3 sp hauled me and my mustang engine in the back on a 10 hour trip to Panama City, FL and back. Yep...not one single issue. As a matter of fact, other than the red '66 F100 that I put the fuelie/AOD/computer in, I've not had one single issue with any of them. They have all started, ran, and never did I worry about taking a trip to the coast or pull another of my cars down for the week and depend on any of the trucks as my only driver for the week. Fat chance of that happening with this truck. I can't even keep it cranked more than 2 days at a time. The '55 I had was a straight 6 that I drove all over the place and in my years of owning it never so much as put a battery in it. So while this is just one of many old cars and trucks I've owned, surely 6 years older than my last one cant make that much difference. Yes this is my first flathead. But this is a bunch of crap. Oh to make it worse, I also just spent money on NEW sparkplugs, plug wires, distributor car, rotor button, battery cables, ground cables, and fresh oil and filter. My goodness guys this thing should start easily and drive as good as any other truck I've had. If for no other reason than when it does start, it starts easily and runs good. O, did I mention that as you've seen in another thread of mine I got new bedwood, polished ss strips and bolts, etc for the truck. I put another coat of varnish on today and was excited to be finally working on the bed after so long getting SPARK to the dang thing...not anymore. Once again I'm just flat out tired of messing with it. I know ya'll are tired of my frustrating posts. Frankly I'm tired of them myself. But I'm also tired of owning such a pain in the butt. And the sad thing is I cant even sell it the way it is. Any IF I ever get it starting yet again, I'll be stupid enough to think it's really fixed this time. I know, I know....all the comments about we all have to work on our trucks. Please guys. I've had 7 or 8 of these trucks so I'm not just some guy that got his first old truck. I admit if I WANT to piddle with it thats cool. Elective “surgery” is ok. Lowering is something you choose to do. New bedwood is something I chose to do. Never have I had to constantly work on one of these trucks to even keep it starting.

 

Check your gas tank for crap in the bottom, and blow all the lines clear (this is very hard to do, you almost have to take them out and beat on them to loosen the rust sludge). The fuel lines are the low point of the system and all the rust from the tank and the lines, pluss all the accumulated dirt, settles there. The less you drive it, the more plugged it gets. After it's cleaned out, put a filter in right near the tank (recommend a metal bodied filter). You may have to disassemble and clean your fuel pump, too. The good news is, once you do that, fuel system troubles will likely go away for good.

 

My gosh, dang that truck...lol. Ok, lets start with no fuel at the carb. First, let's check the inline fuel filter for a block (if there is one). If that seems fine then move on to the fuel pump. Take it off and see if you can make it suck by hand. If it's not that, then check the fuel line for blockages. If you can blow air through the line back to the tank then it might be junk at the inlet blocking the pickup. I know this sounds simplistic but there's a chance this might cover it. Good luck, I hope this helps.

Sorry Ross, you beat me to it.

 

I can understand your frustration. I took me over a month to get my 49 to start for the first time.

I still am loosing the prime on the fuel system but atleast I know how to get it going and it stays going blow in the gas tank and hold pressure to prime.

Don't give up you will find the problem(s). Maybe take a break it will still be their when you are ready to work on it.

 

The original 'dealer installed accessory' fuel filter used by many automakers back then is located in front of the carb. Has a wing nut affixed to the metal cannister that retains the glass bowl in place.

Inside the glass bowl is a ceramic fuel filter. When it gets clogged up...

1967: Lady customer traded in her minty original 1955 Packard Clipper with 39K on the clock for a new 1967 Fairlane. Stockton Quincy Ford in Westwood (where I worked) gave her 100 bucks for it...sight unseen.

Salesman knew I was a Packard nut, called the parts dept, said come here ASAP. I spoke with the lady who told me she had just spent 3 grand in an attempt to get the Packard to run correctly. When it didn't, she traded it in.

I bought the Packard for what Quincy paid for it. After I got off work, drove to her house, raised the Packard's hood, looked at glass bowl. So filthy, the filter was invisible.

Removed ceramic filter, tossed it in garbage pail, started the engine, drove away happy as a clam. Came back later that night driving the Packard w/a pal along to get my '65 F100 I'd left there.

Lady came out of the house, said "what did you do?" I didn't have the heart to tell her, said nothing.

Owned that car for 15 years, never had a problem with it. Sold it to a pal who while DWI, drove off Malibu Canyon Rd., totaling both him and the Packard.

Bottom Line: If ceramic filter present, toss it away! Replace with in-line filter.

 

thanks guys. fyi.....i was so frustrated after bolting the new tires and painted wheels on the only thing i did was pour a touch of fuel in the carb and it fired up for a second. So that's my rationale on no fuel. I'll give it a go tomorrow. The new tires/wheels look very good to me. And i was happy with the progress on the wood today so I'm going to hang in there. I'm trying to not throw in the towel.

 

Alright Wayne, final offer. I'll give you a thousand dollars plus the cost of your new tires. Chill dude. You'll get it fixed. It's just part of the hobby.

 

lol....thanks for the offer Doc. I may just sell it to you one day!

 

I had a mouse nest in my tank after fighting with it for weeks i cant tell ya how many times it died to the point i would have to crawl under it and take the petcock off hold the gas in with one hand and try and clear the fitting out with the other. i finally bought a new tank.

 

when i got this truck i remember the guy telling me he had just put the tank back in. Said he took it and had it boiled and some whatever put inside to line it to keep corrosion away.

 

It could well be the lining has deteriorated, or a piece of it is blocking the outlet.

 

geez i hope not. he did it about two weeks before i got it......course i couldn't possibly get two bad coils huh.. .lol.

 

Hmmm,

F.O.R.D. Fix Or Repair Daily!

 

 

might want to try running it out of a gas can and see how it runs. I did that for a while with mine.