Ok, I Am Officially Getting Tired Of This Crap

Once again, I have brought Willy for our home in Texas (800’) to our cabin in the mountains of NM (6500’). He has been home for couple years and been running fine, even on warm days. I bring him up here, and like last time, he seems to run fine for a short period of time, then out of the blue in the middle of the road, it just looses power and dies. Won’t start up, then couple minutes later it will start and run for 10 yards and same thing (at least I got out of the road). I can see fuel in the fuel filter plastic bulb. Wait 5 minutes and it will start and run but seems like just on the verge of lack of power.

I know what I think it is and a possible solution but I want to hear input from y’all.

 

Needs nitrous?

 

800 to 6500
re-jet time

 

also a 10 deg timing advance

 

This sounds more like vapor lock to me... maybe the fuel lines are getting hot enroute to the carburetor? Less vapor pressure required to boil. Sounds like the weather is not an issue.

 

Yes. Less atmospheric pressure lets the fuel molecules escape the liquid more easily, lowering the boiling point.

Cakes take longer to bake too.

 

This.

 

I believe there were/are various different metering rods for the YF carb.

As an aside - I once took a wrong turn and accidentally rode my Harley (with passenger) up the dirt track on the back side of Mount Lemmon, AZ. The rich mix at that altitude (9,000 feet) "blued" my exhaust pipe chrome.

Also gave me forearms like Popeye from wrestling the bike up the rocky trail, first gear all the way.

 

The fuel pump might be getting tired too. Similar symptoms to mine prior to total failure at altitude in Colorado last year. I did re-jet and adjust the timing for the altitude. It ran great while the fuel pump was working.

 

One word : ethanol...

 

What fuel is in it? Fuel from TX?

 

Just for the record, it has the timing adjust. If it was timing, it would happen all the time, correct? And I was, and had been, on basically flatish to down hill roads for the over mile leading up to it cutting out. If it was carb rods, it would do it all the time, right? Let alone after it happens then sits for 5 mins then starts right up and drives. It does have the Texas 10% crap in it but I don’t know of any place here that sells pure fuel. There is in Durango, but not that I have found here in Ruidoso. All the pumps here are also the 10% ethanol. The fuel line is the factory style that runs close to the front of the block. I was questioning vapor lock but then it has never happened in Texas, even when 100 degrees and the temp gauge running on the high side because driving 45-50 for extended time. Today it happened and it was only 60 here in the mountains. I didn’t have a screw driver to take off the carb horn to look down the carb to see if it was able to squirt gas. Tomorrow I’m taking that horn off so I will be able to see if it will pump gas when it happens next. As for the fuel pump, that could be it even though it only has maybe 3500 miles on it. I got it from Walcks, but I’m sure it’s the Chinese crap. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring up the NOS AC glass bowl one I’ve had and been meaning to put on. I guess next trip it has to come. I’ve been having issues where when it sits for several weeks without running, the carb goes dry so it takes some cranking. That problem is definitely the carb going dry as I’ve pulled it to check. Why it’s going dry, I can’t tell you except to say there are no leaks and the fuel filter bulb does have gas in it. This going dry issue has been discussed ad nauseam here by me and others. Because of that, I’ve been thinking about adding an electric one on a switch. I’ve been told that if you experience vapor lock, you can flip on the electric pump and solve the issue. Not sure if that is true but I'm seriously considering the it because of the dry issue. I’m sure they didn’t have this issue back in the day but then their fuel was different. In any event, I can’t develop trust in it with this going on, let alone the wife trust it.

 

Is there any Ice on the carb when it gives this trouble?
Is the heat flapper free at ALL Temps?

 

What heat flapper? If you mean in the exhaust manifold, there isn’t one back in ‘58 AFAIK. No ice.

 

I'm with the others on vapor lock and or questionable fuel pump. I once had a piece of silicone floating around the fuel tank that caused this also. No fuel for a while, stop, the clog floats away, runs, then sucks into the line again.