Well, those of you who remember know that Sybil (my TR-6 that is often
Fawlty) had some sort of fuel blockage problem. I suspected that the
fuel tank was yuchhy inside and needed cleaning out, but I had just
filled the tank and didn't know what to do with the fuel.
So I let it sit a while and last week it occurred to me that when I
got her, the rubber fuel line that connects the fuel tank to the hard
fuel pipe that leads up the chassis had been, uh, "perished" is the
proper term I think. It was all swollen inside and let just a trickle
through. Even though I had replaced it with certified-OK-for-petrol
neoprene it might have happened again.
So Sunday I bought a 5-gallon gas container, jacked up the rear end to
get at the line and disconnected it.
Alas, or perhaps "yay", it flowed fast and well. I directed it into
the can and let 5 gallons flow out.
At this point I decided to test the flow through the fuel pump, so I
reconnected the line, disconneccted the fuel line in the front (and
the coil primary) and cranked some fuel into a can. It seemed OK. I
hate these problems that just disappear...
So I reconnect everything and warm the engine up, making VROOM-VROOM
noises and annoying the neighbors. After about ten minutes of this
there was no problem yet.
After dinner I took her out for some laps around the block "the long
way": a trip around some major streets that's always close to a pay
phone and takes about 5 miles. Sybil sang her deep 6-cylinder song
into her headers and lifted my heart as I sped along the roads with
the Sunday evening traffic. Oil pressure good; temperature good; 1/16
tank of gas. Vrooom! Poop-Poop!
About the middle of the second lap I started to relax enough to enjoy
the cool evening air in my hair and admire the sunset. It wasn't much
as Bay Area sunsets go, but it always looks better in an LBC. "It's
been too long!" she sang to me. "I love this, why have you let me sit?"
I finished three laps with no problems at all, and now face a problem.
The fuel level is low enough that I think I can get the tank out
without a lot of pollution and fire hazard, so I need to decide if I
should go ahead and pull the tank and have it cleaned out and coated,
or should I just fill up and start driving?
I'll take a look at the fuel I drained sunday, now that it's settled.
If there's a lot of gunge in the bottom I'll probably go ahead with
the tank cleaning.
And I won't wait 2 months this time.
--berry
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