74 satellite won't start

[aris_unlimited]

Alright guys here's the problem. 74 satellite,318,2bbl,auto,mechanical fuel pump. Ran it out of gas on purpose. As I needed to drop the tank to replace the fuel sending unit (which doesn't appear to have fixed the problem as my gas gauge still reads empty with 7-8 gallons in it right now). Get it all buttoned back up again and yes I hooked up all the lines lol. Car won't start. Sat out there for about 15 minutes cranking it over, hoping to get some fuel up to the carb. Even poured some gas into the carb directly to get it started, and it would run just until whatever gas I poured in was gone. What are your thoughts?

[JS27N0B]

Make sure there is no pin holes in the rubber hoses and it is sucking air instead of fuel is the pickup in the fuel? Did you pull all the caps of the end of the sending unit? Did you push the sock on too far and it has blocked the end of the pick-up?

[aris_unlimited]

Don't think there should be any holes in the fuel hose, as I had no problems with it before I pulled the tank and reinstalled. I think the pickup should be in the fuel, as it is down near the bottom of the tank, and I have 7 or so gallons of gas in it. I checked the sending unit before I put it in, didn't see any caps on the lines at all. By sock do you mean filter? The filter was on the sending unit when I ordered it, so I didn't have to install it.

[dutch]

was the filter on the sending unit still in good shape?  Maybe some residue was sucked into the pump.

[Super Blue 72]

Disconnect the fuel line at the carb and at the tank and blow it out with air to make sure the line is clear then make sure the connections at the carb and especially at the tank are tight.  As JS270B stated you don't want to be sucking air.  I replaced a fuel pump once and it didn't work because the connections weren't tight and it was sucking air.  If you can remove the sending unit from the tank make sure that isn't clogged either.

If everything checks out then check the fuel pump is working ok.

[torredcuda]

Run a line from a gas can directly to the fuel pump and crank the starter to see if it`s pumping fuel.That will tell you if the fuel pump is working or not.

[aris_unlimited]

Ok, so today I blew out the gas lines from the tank all the way to the front. Got those cleared out. Replaced the fuel filter while I was at it, as it looked pretty old lol. Got fuel flowing through the lines. But I was having a hard time keeping it running, and now it won't run at all. But at least it is getting gas now. Did a little poking around and my coil to distributor wire is pretty much fried, so I wasn't getting any spark (It would spark a little in the distributor but never actually left the distributor cap). So I need a new set of wires. Also noticed that the carburetor is now leaking from one of the gasket areas  above the float bowl and fuel line. So rather than just go through the hassle of dealing with that, I figured it is time to convert over to a 4 bbl lol. Already got the intake manifold for it, so just need the carb. Any other parts you guys can think of that I might need to make the conversion work (other than air filter lol)?

[Super Blue 72]

Might have to mess with the throttle cable/bracket/carb attachment point to make it work. 

Make sure the throttle doesn't hang up on anything.  Might get stuck at wide open throttle. 

Don't ask me how I know this....

[aris_unlimited]

Might have to mess with the throttle cable/bracket/carb attachment point to make it work. 

Make sure the throttle doesn't hang up on anything.  Might get stuck at wide open throttle. 

Don't ask me how I know this....

lol, this may require a story.

But on the bright side, I put in new wires, cap, and rotor today and it started right up. Doesn't appear to be leaking from the carb anymore, figure maybe it was overfilling with the fuel pump constantly pumping in and no spark to burn it off. Took it for a ride and all was well, ended up having to adjust the idle up a little bit as it kept stalling under load while idling. Not sure what changed as I never had to mess with the idle before, but oh well at least it's working lol.

Now on to the next project installing the new stereo (AM gets old after a while lol) replacing the dash speaker, and getting some small speakers meant to be hidden. Hopefully it will improve the sound and be more modern.