Vapor Lock?
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,793
Likes: 19
From: Austin
Hey BTodd,
Welcome Aboard! Nice looking truck - You don't see many with visors these days. You wouldn't think San Francisco would present many vapor lock issues unless you live out past The foothills a bit.
We had a vapor lock issue with our '50 initially but it get's pretty hot here in Texas. You could here a whistling coming from the gas tank & when you took off the cap air rushed in/out. We went with a vented gas cap & added more venting to the tank itself. There weren't any issues in the winter only when things started to heat up in The Spring.
Good luck over there in the Bay Area.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Welcome Aboard! Nice looking truck - You don't see many with visors these days. You wouldn't think San Francisco would present many vapor lock issues unless you live out past The foothills a bit.
We had a vapor lock issue with our '50 initially but it get's pretty hot here in Texas. You could here a whistling coming from the gas tank & when you took off the cap air rushed in/out. We went with a vented gas cap & added more venting to the tank itself. There weren't any issues in the winter only when things started to heat up in The Spring.
Good luck over there in the Bay Area.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,337
Likes: 165
From: Harpswell Maine
On the contrary! The steel conducts heat well compared to the rubber. Lick the two on an ice-cold Montana morning and tell me otherwise. 
Anyway, wooden clothes pins do not serve as a heat sink. Rather, they serve to insulate the steel line from the high temperature ambient air in the engine compartment. I have my fuel line covered with pipe insulation (AKA: "donkey Донг"). No worries regarding vapor lock ever again.
Also, make sure that the fuel flow isn't restricted by a clogged filter or rust/crud in tank. The lowered pressure that a restriction causes on the inlet side of a fuel pump will greatly aggravate vapor lock tendencies.
Anyway, wooden clothes pins do not serve as a heat sink. Rather, they serve to insulate the steel line from the high temperature ambient air in the engine compartment. I have my fuel line covered with pipe insulation (AKA: "donkey Донг"). No worries regarding vapor lock ever again.
Also, make sure that the fuel flow isn't restricted by a clogged filter or rust/crud in tank. The lowered pressure that a restriction causes on the inlet side of a fuel pump will greatly aggravate vapor lock tendencies.
On that cross country trip it was hot and I was flat towing a Model A (see pix in my gallery). I tried a number of things before stopping and having an old timer in a gas station offer the suggestion. I did not initially buy into his suggestion. He indicated that he use to keep some clothespins at the station but did not have any then. I remained skeptical until he offered to go home and get some. At that point I told him that I would take him up on his offer. I took down his name and address promising to tell him how it worked out. In a note to him after the trip, I enclosed a package of new clothespins for the "next guy"!
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Thanks. Yes. I have replaced the fuel filter, the old one was metal and I've replaced it with plastic and can see that it looks clean. Should have mentioned that in the original post.
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Thanks. Yes, fuel filter done. Interesting thought on the steel versus rubber lines.
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Hey BTodd,
Welcome Aboard! Nice looking truck - You don't see many with visors these days. You wouldn't think San Francisco would present many vapor lock issues unless you live out past The foothills a bit.
We had a vapor lock issue with our '50 initially but it get's pretty hot here in Texas. You could here a whistling coming from the gas tank & when you took off the cap air rushed in/out. We went with a vented gas cap & added more venting to the tank itself. There weren't any issues in the winter only when things started to heat up in The Spring.
Good luck over there in the Bay Area.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Welcome Aboard! Nice looking truck - You don't see many with visors these days. You wouldn't think San Francisco would present many vapor lock issues unless you live out past The foothills a bit.
We had a vapor lock issue with our '50 initially but it get's pretty hot here in Texas. You could here a whistling coming from the gas tank & when you took off the cap air rushed in/out. We went with a vented gas cap & added more venting to the tank itself. There weren't any issues in the winter only when things started to heat up in The Spring.
Good luck over there in the Bay Area.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 815
Likes: 29
From: Richland, WA.
I mentioned hardline v.s. rubber because I've heard of rubber lines having problems and having reduced flow.
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
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Would the best way to do that be to start it and run it for a while then open the cap and listen for pressure release?
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,793
Likes: 19
From: Austin
Hey BTodd,
You'll know if you have a venting issue. Just drive around when it's warm/hot for about 10 minutes - then pop off the fuel filler cap.
If you get a loud rushing of air - that's it. A vented cap doesn't cost much <$10.
It will stink up your garage more than a closed cap. After complaining from the female side of the family we ran a vent to a charcoal canister.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
You'll know if you have a venting issue. Just drive around when it's warm/hot for about 10 minutes - then pop off the fuel filler cap.
If you get a loud rushing of air - that's it. A vented cap doesn't cost much <$10.
It will stink up your garage more than a closed cap. After complaining from the female side of the family we ran a vent to a charcoal canister.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,994
Likes: 3
From: Morgan Hill, CA
Dan
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
Hey BTodd,
You'll know if you have a venting issue. Just drive around when it's warm/hot for about 10 minutes - then pop off the fuel filler cap.
If you get a loud rushing of air - that's it. A vented cap doesn't cost much <$10.
It will stink up your garage more than a closed cap. After complaining from the female side of the family we ran a vent to a charcoal canister.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
You'll know if you have a venting issue. Just drive around when it's warm/hot for about 10 minutes - then pop off the fuel filler cap.
If you get a loud rushing of air - that's it. A vented cap doesn't cost much <$10.
It will stink up your garage more than a closed cap. After complaining from the female side of the family we ran a vent to a charcoal canister.
Ben in Austin
1950 F1
Thread Starter
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5th Wheeling
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 42
Likes: 0
If you have a venting problem it won't be pressure....it will be a vacuum. The rushing sound will be air going into the tank. If the vent is not working, the tank will pull a vacuum after you run it for a while....that vacuum eventually matches the suction of the fuel pump and fuel stops flowing.
Dan
Dan
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