Problems with Carbureted DeLorean

[Nicholas R]

I found extension cord wiring in my Opel GT; couldn't replace it fast enough. The insulation was all dried and cracking; definitely a safety concern.

[mluder]

That definitely looks like a Chad Car.
(Shudder)

Cheers
Steve

[DeLoreanGirl]

That definitely looks like a Chad Car.
(Shudder)

Cheers
Steve

Wait, what exactly do you mean by that?

[Rich_NYS]

Bill's personal car has either a Renault or Peugeot cast manifold. DeloreanGirl's car has one of Bill's hand welded manifolds. I know a couple of his early hand made manifolds didn't seat properly, and he compensated for this with fatter o-rings. I'm pretty sure he ended up replacing Farrar Hudkins' manifold due to this. Point being, it's possible the manifold is the culprit, especially as the o-rings age.

I didn't realize....good catch.

[Josh]

Wait, what exactly do you mean by that?

hacked up, poorly put together, hastily modified, barely running... etc.

[DMC-81]

The electric choke is working fine, and the fuses are new. However, there is phone wire, speaker wire, & extension cords in the wiring:

Attachment 53639Attachment 53640

That's good news on the choke. As already mentioned above, I would address those wiring issues soon, especially underrated or improper wire (and connections).

Bill's personal car has either a Renault or Peugeot cast manifold. DeloreanGirl's car has one of Bill's hand welded manifolds. I know a couple of his early hand made manifolds didn't seat properly, and he compensated for this with fatter o-rings. I'm pretty sure he ended up replacing Farrar Hudkins' manifold due to this. Point being, it's possible the manifold is the culprit, especially as the o-rings age.

Interesting. In that case, in addition to the O-rings, I would also check the gasket between the carb and the manifold. To be clear, I'm not knocking the setup, you'll just want to be sure everything is air tight. Like K-Jet, Carbs don't like vacuum leaks.

[dn010]

Spray some starting fluid around where the manifold ports connect to the heads while the engine is running, you'll see if you have a vacuum leak quickly.

[OverlandMan]

In addition to what others have mentioned, check and see if you're getting fuel to the bowl. Is the bowl on the carb full? If not, prime it manually and then run the car for a bit. Then recheck and see if its still full. If it is, then you should be able to rule out the fuel pump.

If you can't make it run with fuel in the bowl, then you have an air or spark issue.

[louielouie2000]

In addition to what others have mentioned, check and see if you're getting fuel to the bowl. Is the bowl on the carb full? If not, prime it manually and then run the car for a bit. Then recheck and see if its still full. If it is, then you should be able to rule out the fuel pump.

A number of years ago I rode with Bill Robertson to visit Farrar Hudkins in New Orleans. Oddly enough, both Bill & Farrar's (carb-specific) fuel pumps died that week. Neither pump was more than a year or two old, either. So this is a definite possibility.

[SamHill]

A number of years ago I rode with Bill Robertson to visit Farrar Hudkins in New Orleans. Oddly enough, both Bill & Farrar's (carb-specific) fuel pumps died that week. Neither pump was more than a year or two old, either. So this is a definite possibility.

The in-the-tank airtex fuel pumps Bill was utilizing absolutely did not work for very long. In my opinion, it was simply underpowered for the job.

I went my own way and mounted a beefy electrical pump in the engine bay and it has been doing the job for 7 years or more.