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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: Palm Beach County Florida | I have been plagued with vapor lock ever since I had the Vintage Air system installed last year on my Poly engine CRL
I replaced the four-blade fan with a six blade.
I had a Walbro electric fuel pump installed.
I insulated the under hood fuel line and the line from the tank to the fuel pump.
It will still vapor lock after a 20 minute drive and a 10 minute heat soak.
Engine temp remains normal.
On a family vacation two weeks ago, we stopped at Mount Airy, North Carolina.
We expected to see Andy and Barney at the Andy Griffith museum but we found a car show instead.
Low and behold, there was a beautiful 55 Desoto. I spoke with the 80 year-old owner at great lengths.
He restored the car 12 years ago, added A/C and converted to 12 volts. It was gorgeous.
When I asked him about vapor lock, he said he cured it on his car by using Sunoco REC 90 that has no ethanol.
Does anyone use REC 90?
A half hour down the road I kicked myself for not taking pictures of the data tag and engine number for Dave. Sorry  |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9651
   
Location: Lower Mainland BC | .
Gerard: Alcohol will definitely evaporate easier than straight up gasoline. So try a full tank of the Sunoco REC 90 (after using up or syphoning out what you have in the tank right now) and see if there is a change. My guess is that there will be
an improvement.
Up here in Canuckistan, the Chevrons have 87, 89, 91 and 94 octane gas. While all four have "Techron" (probably a bit of Toluene (??)), only the 94 has zero ethanol. The others have up to 10% ethanol. The 94 is pricier (than our already stupidity expensive gas prices - lots of taxes added on in BC), I try to run it whenever the price drops enough that I don't have to report a rape to the police. (Ouch).
As for not getting the photos of the cowl data tag, VIN and engine number on the 55 Desoto, there are three of us who currently appreciate and "file" this info for future use: frwl (Igor), RDP (Robert) and 56D500boy (me). I tend to focus only on 56 Dodges but Igor and Robert have a much wider interest.
If you were presented with a photo opportunity like that in the future, the other photos (in addition to the cowl data tag, VIN and engine number photos) would be the overall car, showing the paint combo and exterior trim, and the interior (assuming that it was using stock fabrics, etc) including the shifter cluster, i.e. PF or TF.
Good luck. Try a good tank of REC 90.
"REC-90 is an ethanol-free, 90 octane unleaded gasoline blend designed for use in recreational/marine engines which can be damaged by the ethanol found in other gasoline blends. It is also usable in some aviation engines and automotive engines, though it has not been thoroughly tested for cars and trucks."
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Expert
Posts: 3021
Location: N.W. Fla. | On my 331 Hemi, using E-0 gas, usually 87 or 80 octane, I found I had to install a phenolic spacer under the carb to keep it from crapping out at stop lights after running a ways. Also uses a HH alloy Squeeze plate. Back in the 90s-mid 2000s the 331 Hemi I had in a '47 Plym only had the squeeze plate & no problems. Guess gas had deteriorated in quality between '05 & '09 when I got the '60 Plym going. |
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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: Palm Beach County Florida | I did not get to the gas station yet as I still have 3/4 tank, but I got stuck again today. Same pattern as previously, a hot soak and subsequent stall after starting. The fuel pump was running rat-tat-tat-tat not the normal click-----click-----click. I took the gas line off the carburetor - nothing. I took the gas line off the fuel filter inlet on the chassis rail under the driver seat - nothing. I sat and waited 45 minutes and everything working normally. Last week I had wrapped header wrap on the exhaust pipe where it runs near the fuel line and gas tank. I guess that was not necessary. I have called to get a replacement fuel pump under warranty. |
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Veteran
Posts: 147
Location: Mandurah, Western Australia | Does your fuel tank cap have a working vent? |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9520
Location: So. Cal | I would go over your fuel line very closely to see if there is a kink in it somewhere - something that is inhibiting your pump from doing it's job. When I experienced a similar problem with my '67 Barracuda, it turned out to be a partially plugged fuel line from the tank. After disconnecting it from the tank & pump, I blew it out with compressed air from both ends, and crap shot out of it. After that, no problems. |
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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: Palm Beach County Florida | Gas cap vent! I was associating the gas starvation to the heat but it could be vacume. I should have thought about that. I was getting gas odor in my garage last year and I ordered a new cap. Gotta check that today. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9651
Location: Lower Mainland BC | JedRhule - 2023-09-14 6:38 AM
Gas cap vent! I was associating the gas starvation to the heat but it could be vacume. I should have thought about that.
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 VentedCapSticker.jpg (137KB - 25 downloads)
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 610
Location: Finland | The only way to get rid of odors and oil drips is to sell the classic car and buy a an EV...these are pigs on wheels after all and have always been.. |
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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: Palm Beach County Florida | Gas cap is a G-37 and I checked that it vented properly.
I have eliminated all the other causes so I assume I have a defective fuel pump. It has a one year warranty. |
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Regular
Posts: 95
Location: Palm Beach County Florida | While waiting for a replacement fuel pump, I drained the gas and put in 5 gallons of ethanol-free gas.
I drove the same route, with heat-soak time, that caused the vapor lock earlier and the car performed perfectly.
Can it be that simple?
Of course, the outside temps here in south Florida have dropped to the mid 80's from the low 90's.??? |
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Expert
Posts: 3021
Location: N.W. Fla. | JedRhule - 2023-09-23 11:36 AM
While waiting for a replacement fuel pump, I drained the gas and put in 5 gallons of ethanol-free gas.
I drove the same route, with heat-soak time, that caused the vapor lock earlier and the car performed perfectly.
Can it be that simple?
Of course, the outside temps here in south Florida have dropped to the mid 80's from the low 90's.??? Possibly. Also gas comes in Summer & Winter blends, Summer is less prone to evaporation in the heat. Never have heard if done also to the E-0 gas. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 339
Location: Wisconsin | JedRhule - 2023-09-23 11:36 AM While waiting for a replacement fuel pump, I drained the gas and put in 5 gallons of ethanol-free gas. I drove the same route, with heat-soak time, that caused the vapor lock earlier and the car performed perfectly. Can it be that simple? Of course, the outside temps here in south Florida have dropped to the mid 80's from the low 90's.??? Yes, ethanol gas becomes volatile at a lower temperature than ethanol-free gas, so that certainly is going to help your situation, possibly even resolve it.
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Vapor Lock
