I recently bought a project truck off of a friend of a friend and it needed a new carburetor. I bought a 4 barrel Holley Street Warrior for my 390 and just hooked it up. The engine cranks and with starting fluid it will run for a few seconds but will die even if I add a little bit of throttle. I’m new to older cars so any help would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

Look for any potential vacuum leak. Even with a big one, you should be able to get it to run by turning up the idle screw and priming with gas in a coffee cup. It's a process. What else is recently taken apart?

 

I took apart the heater assembly to trace back a leak and replaced the heater core. I replaced the ignition control module because it looked like it was in rough shape and I’ve taken off pretty much everything in the dash so then I could clean out a lot the dirt and see if anything else was in need of repair. And what do you mean with a coffee cup? I’ve heard of being able to gravity feed the carburetor gas but don’t know anything about it. Is that what you mean?

 

Starting fluid is only good for a couple of seconds normally, so it very well could not be getting any gas yet from the pump. Which is a very common scenario when a vehicle has been sitting for any extended period.
And especially so if the pump was a newer imported part!
Easy way to test for gas at the carb is to pull the air cleaner off (if it's even on yet) and row the throttle lever through it's motions. If you don't see gas squirting out of the squirters (accelerator pump nozzles) then either the accelerator pump is not working, or there is no gas in the carb yet.

In this case, the best coffee cup idea would be to take some gas and dribble it into the float bowl vent on top of the carburetor. Then just a tiny spritz into the venturi to get it started up. The engine should run for several minutes on what's available in the bowls, but would only run for a few seconds if all you do is put some down the throat to get it started.

It's possible that a pump, new or old, either will simply not prime easily (how much gas is in the tank?) or it could be totally shot and never pump again. You can test the pump independently though, with some hose on the inlet into a can of gas/water/whatever) and the output into a bucket.
If it won't even prime with the engine running from what you put in the carb, it's probably done. But as a final trial, you can pour fuel into the inlet hose while it's being held upright so that the gas gets right down into the pump via gravity. You can then hold your finger over either the input hose, or the output hose (or both at different times) to try to coax the pump into priming. But frankly, if it does not want to prime while you've got gas sitting their trying to gravity feed into it, it's likely shot.
And if the pump was fairly new and then sat for a couple of years while waiting to be used, it's very likely done and dead.

Good luck!

Paul

 

To add to Paul's comments, check that the gas is fresh and that the fuel lines and pump are ok. Old gas will burn but not run well. The gas tank pickup or lines could be clogged. See if you can get gas flow to the fuel pump.

 

I finally got around to checking things out some more and the fuel pump wasn’t getting very much gas to the carb so I have replaced it but haven’t tested it quite yet. I figured I would check the entire fuel system and replace anything that needed it and clean out the tanks while I’m at it. One thing I couldn’t find was a fuel filter. I’ve been looking on some forums here and some are saying that it is either at the bottom of the pump, in-line from the pump to the carb, or on the carb itself. The previous and new pumps did not have the canister fuel filter on the bottom so I figured that wasn’t it. Unless I don’t know what it looks like, the carburetor doesn’t seem to have one either. So the only other option would be an inline filter correct? And if yes, how am I supposed to hook up the one I have? It looks like it is supposed to be threaded onto another fitting but I have yet to find a fitting like it. I ordered a few things off of LMC that I thought would have helped me and I attached a picture of what I’ve got but I’m still lost. Thank you again for helping me out on my first classic car!

 

Well the way I figure it, that's a non-stock carburetor (even if it's meant to be a "stock replacement") and these trucks did not have a fuel filter inline that I know of. So someone took the factory one out when they changed the carb, and so the only one left from the factory is the "sock" filter that is pushed on to the end of the pickup tube on the sending unit in the tank.

So if you want an additional filter, which I say is a good thing, then you will have to add one yourself.
The factory way would be to put one between the pump and the carburetor, but you could put one before the pump too, that would enhance the filter in the tank(s). Especially if that one is worn out or missing from old age.
I would not put too fine a filter before the pump perhaps, because it might cause the pump to work too hard. But you can put whatever type/rating you want between the pump and the carb.

Paul

 

My '79 had two additional filters installed by the PO between the tanks and the pump, but they clogged up and caused the truck to stall out under load when they got dirty.
I removed one (two is too many I feel) but re-installed a new one after the switch valve, so that both tanks benefited from the in-tank and inline filters. Plus the factory one on the 2bbl carb.

Paul

 

When you said "the one I have" did you mean the canister filter in your picture? If so you can't use one of those unless you have the pump made specifically for it. Which you said (and show) that you don't.
I thought the filter-type of pump still was available, but maybe not from every company. If you can't find a pump to fit that filter, and we know that the original type that threaded into the carburetors won't work with your new Holley, then you're indeed back to fitting one in line.

Paul

 

The filters you bought will not fit your carb or your fuel pump. As the previous comment says get an inline filter, I suggest an inexpensive generic parts store clear filter just before the carb. On my engine the carb fuel connection is on the passenger side.