[Spridgets] My car didn't start either - different reason.

[crusaderchuck55 at aol.com]

Alleged vapor lock?Try the pump overheated?  Why venture this guess?   My old tow vehicle was 79 Chevy van the "L.B.1" ( Lust Bus 1). For what ever reason the mechanical fuel pump failed a number of times at the most inconvenient time!   To fix this I installed an AC Marine type tick-tick pump inline.   What I experienced with this set up was while towing the race trailer in the Florida keys the electric pump overheated!   The electromagnetic coil got so hot , it did not properly do it's tick-tick with the gusto the designers intended.   The pump was getting hot.  No not excessive resistance , ambient temperature combined with the pumps "working " temperature. Replacing the pump with a new one proved that.   What I am suspecting is your pump got hot and decided electrically to stop pumping.  In a vapor lock state an electric pump should stay pumping against a vapor lock yielding the pump sounding like the pump after it starts up and then builds pressure and the pump starts running against the built up pressure.  Even my tick-tick pump ran.ChuckJust a thought on what or why?Sent from my LG Mobile------ Original message------From: Tim Collins via SpridgetsDate: Sat, Jul 4, 2020 8:40 AMTo: Spridgets;Cc: Subject:[Spridgets] My car didn't start either - different reason.Hi guys,Vapor LockI was out for a ride yesterday in my 1966 Sprite to view damage caused by the failure of two dams in my community. This meant driving through subdivisions at low speed. Also, I stopped for about 10 minutes (engine off) to talk to an acquaintance about damage to his home. I had a little trouble restarting the car, but it did start. On the way home I stalled the engine at a stop light on a 4 lane artery (with center turn lane) and it wouldn't restart. Fortunately, traffic was light and I had an opportunity to push the car into the service drive of a strip mall. There happened to be a tree/shade at the entrance so I stopped there and opened the hood and waited for the car to cool. (I suspected vapor lock.)The (new) fuel pump (Airtex E88016E) wasn't "tick - ticking", but I attributed that to the plunger not being able to trigger the electronics because of the fuel lock. I reminded myself that banging on the pump wouldn't work because there are no mechanical points in this pump. The air temp was near 90 deg. and I was parked on an asphalt lot - it was hot! I found my way home with the help of a good Samaritan. (I'm one of the last people in the world not to own a cell phone) Several hours later I went back with my wife - the Sprite still wouldn't start. I called a flatbed tow truck ($70 - about a 3 mile haul ) and got the car home. At home I turned the key and heard the familiar tick, tick. Shortly thereafter, I tried starting the car. After a few tries things got cleared out and it started. TroubleshootingThe fuel in the tank is from last Fall (could have been a Winter blend) Shell V-Power NiTRO+ Premium. Probably too volatile for this heat. A fill up with Summer blend should help greatly. This is my #1 suspect for the cause of the problem.I suspect that the vapor lock occurred either: 1) in the fuel bowls, 2) or in the fuel filter (WIX 33031, metal can type), 3) or in the fuel line connecting the carbs (low chance) 4) or some combination of these. The fuel pump is in a "cool" (factory) location so not a suspect. Fuel lines from the tank to carbs are in factory locations - away from the exhaust pipe.The fuel filter is about the size of the float bowl on the SU carbs. I'm wondering if the size is too large thus allowing heat soak while the fuel spends too much time in the filter? What do you think?I should have walked to the grocery store in the strip mall and bought a gallon of water to try and cool the float bowls and fuel filter. Anyone had any success doing this?Your thoughts??ps: Someone stopped and said I needed a clothes pin on the fuel line. Evidently some people believe in that as a fix. I can't imagine any science behind doing that.
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