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Senior User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
From: Wilmington Delaware
Try turning the 2 adjusting screws in all the way but dont crank them down cause you can damage the needle points,..then turn them open 2 full turns for an approx setting. This will do untill you get it running long enough to set it right. Let it run for a while even though it rough or rich and if it warms up a bit and if you slowly back the choke off in incriments it may surprise you and stay runninig. You also got an idle speed screw that could be off or down to much. It dont take much dirt to goof up these old Hollys ,...maybe give a rebuild kit a try. Its not to hard at all.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 914
Likes: 51
From: SW Missouri
Does the truck run if you mash on the gas pedal? if so it is possible your idle screw is set to low. Check the simple stuff. Your choke also increases your idle speed so when you open the choke it allows the motor to idle slower and if the screw is too low it will die.
Thread Starter
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Cross-Country
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Yeah when I'm punching the gas it still runs but as soon as I let off the gas and disengage the choke it starts "puttering" and dies. So maybe I'll have to fiddle around with the idle screw, otherwise I'm so psyched I got it to at least start up, you have no idea!
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 347
Likes: 0
From: Wilmington Delaware
Thats it. It aint a bad idea to have your air filter on when trying to start these old dudes....they help snuff out any possible fires that sometime happen with this stuff. Also if you dont have a fire exstiquisher,......get one.
Sounds like your getting there. It will eventually get going for you,....stick to it.
Sounds like your getting there. It will eventually get going for you,....stick to it.
Thread Starter
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Cross-Country
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
When you say the idle screw is "down too much" do you mean it's screwed in too far (to the right I suppose). When I started letting it out a little (to the left) the engine just got worse and didn't last.
I'm gonna post a video on YouTube (maybe in a new post as well) if you get a chance could you take a look. So you don't think I haven't formulated any of my own ideas on this problem I'll tell ya... I think there's a possibility the timing is far off or it's running really dry and there's not enough clean fuel getting there?
Just some thoughts... thanks!
I'm gonna post a video on YouTube (maybe in a new post as well) if you get a chance could you take a look. So you don't think I haven't formulated any of my own ideas on this problem I'll tell ya... I think there's a possibility the timing is far off or it's running really dry and there's not enough clean fuel getting there?
Just some thoughts... thanks!
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 119
Likes: 0
From: Olathe, Kansas
Have you checked on the possibility of bad fuel yet? Bad fuel can make it run very bad and smoke too. It can simulate rich conditions also because the fuel does not want to burn, creating excess exhaust smoke. Cleaning your plugs may have just helped it out a bit. They could have been fouled out due to bad gas.
Thread Starter
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Cross-Country
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 76
Likes: 0
Now to mention it there was quite a bit of smoke; maybe that's the issue. The fuel would have been sitting in there for quite a while. This brings up another question I have. How feasible/easy is it to remove the gas tank and clean that out/ all the gas lines?
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 232
Likes: 1
From: LINCOLN, IL
most fuel tanks on these 50s trucks have a drain plug in the bottom,.
ours do, our 54's anyways
check that
on the bottom in the middle of the tank bottom cant miss it
if it has one
it will be very obvious
if the gas is real yellow colored then its bad and not gonna run good or at all, or at least will smoke alot and have no power
closer to clear the better it is more octane left in it
i dont evne know if octane booster would help if its really yellow
it may..
if theres not alot of the yellow gas left you could fix it by adding a bunch of new gas though
if theres only like 5 or so gallons of it in the tank
also while youre at it if its been sititng not running for a long long time then take the air compressor hose and a rag and stuff a blow gun in the fuel tank neck and the rag around it and blast the tank real good a few times to prime up everything and also check for leaks
leak between the tank and the fuel pump
leak will mean it is sucking air instead of sucking fuel from the tank
and this is really bad it, wont fill the carb up
have had this problem a few times on different old trucks and stuff over the years,
good luck
ours do, our 54's anyways
check that
on the bottom in the middle of the tank bottom cant miss it
if it has one
it will be very obvious
if the gas is real yellow colored then its bad and not gonna run good or at all, or at least will smoke alot and have no power
closer to clear the better it is more octane left in it
i dont evne know if octane booster would help if its really yellow
it may..
if theres not alot of the yellow gas left you could fix it by adding a bunch of new gas though
if theres only like 5 or so gallons of it in the tank
also while youre at it if its been sititng not running for a long long time then take the air compressor hose and a rag and stuff a blow gun in the fuel tank neck and the rag around it and blast the tank real good a few times to prime up everything and also check for leaks
leak between the tank and the fuel pump
leak will mean it is sucking air instead of sucking fuel from the tank
and this is really bad it, wont fill the carb up
have had this problem a few times on different old trucks and stuff over the years,
good luck