[1965GTOTempest]

I took my 1967 Firebird from my mechanic's shop to an auto parts store as I needed a right front parking light socket assembly and the parts store needed to see the car to be sure he had the part in stock (he did).

Anyway, my mechanic told me to put gas in it since it was on E. Started right up, no issues, stopped at a few lights, no issues.

Took 16.089 gallons of gas and I assume it's a 16 gallon tank. Went to leave and she would not start. Took several attempts but she started. At each stop light, she'd die so I had to put her in neutral to keep it going.

Once I left the auto parts store she was fine, didn't even come close to dying.

I figure it had to do with a lack of gas at first? My mechanic said the same thing, wondered how big the tank was ....

So, could that be the issue ... a lack of gas maybe created air in the line (if I'm wrong, do not laugh at me!!) and that caused a few burps?

[Bjorn]

not sure why it died, but your tank is 18 gallon, I have never been able to put more than 15.5 in mine...they claim there`s an air bubble , because of the tilt of the tank....so when you run out , you can usually only put in 15-16 gals...

you could have been "just out" as a you filled , sounds like you were at 16 plus gals...

[1965GTOTempest]

Is there anything I should mention to my mechanic to steer him in the right direction of figuring out why she's stalling like this?

[north]

Float level on carb,
dirt in carb filter or carb (common especially if you ran a tank very low)
dirt on sock of fuel pick up and in the tank itself
water in fuel system
fuel pump (normally causes a stumble at first, similar to acel. pump problem)

[RR67GTO]

I do not buy gas when the tanks are being filled at the station. All the crap in the empty tank gets washed to the top, and I know for a fact it can cause a problem. So, maybe they just filled their tanks. Just my dimes worth. < Mike >

[boater bill]

Check the hose clamps for the fuel lines.

one of those not being tightened at the tank will not allow fuel to be pumped to the pump.

Been there, done that, then kicked myself.

Hope that helps.

[1965GTOTempest]

I took it over for a stereo/alarm and it's still there. On the way over I had a few stops but she didn't even come close to stalling. My mechanic did adjust the carb to bring up the idle a bit and I think that fixed it. I'll know more in 3 hours when I go pick it up and drive it home, but this time I'll take the main roads and not the highway so I'll have to stop more.

The car doesn't need much but it's the stupid little things it needs -- license plate bracket, battery tray clamp -- that are ticking me off!

[1965GTOTempest]

Was fine at first but after 15-20 minutes of driving, it began to come close to stalling but I threw it in neutral.

Can't figure out what's going on

[Tom-Brandl]

Different possibilities besides fuel, fuel lines and carb misfunction...

Did you check for example if it´s because the car´s getting hot?
Water temperature, oil temperature?
Did it occur during stop and go - will say at low idle?
When it dies - does it restart easily?
Is your water pump working correctly?
Does your fan show the biggest dimension possible?
Do you have a fan clutch; does your car have the optional upper and lower filler panels to channel the airflow?

All things that your mechanic will have to check; most of them will be fixed easily... Don´t become desperate - it´s a regular thing with a "new" old car. Been there, done that...

Thumbs up

Thomas

[Bjorn]

I`ve heard of similar problem with overheating automatic tranny....

[1965GTOTempest]

I never had that problem with the Mustang which is why I'm panicking

I still haven't even figured out what the gauges are ... I've been in the car so little, but tomorrow will definitely familiarize myself with the interior.

The car gets hot inside after 15-20 minutes of driving it, almost feels like the heat is on. (The 'Stang takes a good 30 minutes to get that hot and then I feel it on the shifter on the floor).

It didn't die today, but when it did last week it took many, many tries to restart. Uhm, how do I put this? It didn't sound like it was trying to catch when I'd try to start and give it gas ... if that makes sense.

As for the other mechanical questions, I can only show you a photo of my engine bay ... never learned that stuff with the Mustang and am still in the early learning stages of a Firebird.

[Tom-Brandl]

Just take your time. Rome wasn´t built in one day - as the old saying is going... Me, too, I made the mistake of buying a vintage car, thinking it must be as reliable as any new high-end car. Don´t get me wrong - it can be as reliable... but most of the time you will have to fix a lot of failures that the pre-owners are responsible of. After all your car´s 40 years of age!
That could have been modifying the car´s engine without having the knowledge (that´s the experience I made most of the time...), that could have been missing necessary servicing. To catch up will take some time...

These Birds always had some tendency to run hot (compared to modern cars they have some big engine blocks running on not a hell of a lot of oil) and this gets worse the less the car was serviced. Most of all I think your car needs some TLC. Find a mechanic who´s experienced with these cars and don´t panic. Forget your perfectionism for a few weeks/months and plan your actions carefully. No need to waste a lot of money. Get in touch with other Firebird owners at local car shows and benefit from their experience and expertise. It´s a must to be informed but face the problems back-to-back, don´t fight different battles at the same time. Good luck!

Regards

Thomas

[1965GTOTempest]

From what I can see of 3 years of owning classics, Firebird owners in this area are rare and down to 2 cars -- a BondoBird that is used year round (in New England salted roads) and one where the guy has major issues as he has to continually peel out in front of people to show off.

No local shows other than a yearly Mustang show. One cruise night but I've never seen a Firebird there.

I just want to drive it before the winter storage when it will be worked on. With the Mustang, I bought it and 11 months later got it back from restoration. With the GTO, it's been there since last July being restored. This is the first classic I can actually drive within 2 weeks of buying it, and I don't want to spend all the time at the mechanic since there is really only a month or so left in the season.

Finding a local mechanic is a lot easier said than done, been there done that with the Mustang and so-called "expert" mechanics. The guy who REALLY knows Pontiacs was fired (in the midst of restoring my GTO) and the other guy who knows cars in doing the GTO ...

I don't want to drive it and ruin the pistons or anything else due to engine issues. She runs very hot but again, I'm comparing it to a Mustang that was totally and completed gutted and started from scratch.

I'm trying to learn all I can about Firebirds but I don't want to cram it all in and then forget, plus hell I'm just old and forget easily. I learned a lot with the pony but had a mechanic who would point things out and teach me ...

[fdb]

My car did the same thing a while back. The problem was the gas tank was sealed so tightly that after you would drive a few minutes pressure inside the tank would climb and cause the carb to flood. When it does this loosen the gas cap and you will hear the pressure escape. In order to vent the pressure I used my pocket knife to make a small opening in the seal of the gas cap to vent out the pressure and theproblem was solved. Hope this helps.

FDB

[1965GTOTempest]

Most everyone thinks it has to do with the carb. The carb is new (Edelbrock 4bbl 840 cfm?) but I think something is set very wrong. It's still being worked on and I'll go see it later today and see if my mechanic has worked out the issue yet.

I've replaced quite a bit already which can't hurt!

[Bjorn]

re ,about that the "heat is on" feel...,there`s a rubber gasket that goes around the bottom end of the steering column...closes off to the engine compartment...that could be broken or missing...gets all the engine heat in.

reason I know is , mine was missing when I bought my car and it got really hot at my feet , until I figured that one out.

[1965GTOTempest]

So 800 cfm is too big for my 326 engine?

My mechanic wants me to get a Holley but I like Edelbrock ... any opinions on what I should replace my new carb with?

[north]

Originally Posted by fdb

My car did the same thing a while back. The problem was the gas tank was sealed so tightly that after you would drive a few minutes pressure inside the tank would climb and cause the carb to flood. When it does this loosen the gas cap and you will hear the pressure escape. In order to vent the pressure I used my pocket knife to make a small opening in the seal of the gas cap to vent out the pressure and theproblem was solved. Hope this helps.

FDB

Sounds like you had a Vacuum rather than pressure problem, also depending on model you either should have a vented tank or a vented cap. Sounds like you had a car that needs a vented cap.

[73GA]

Good to see you've got an edelbrock. There is a mystery spot in a select few edel. carbs and it is only present on certain engine/fuelpump/camshaft combinations. Edelbrock addresses this in the tuning manual. If this is your problem the car will want to stall when it is under high g-forces, such as a hard stop or a hard turn, it will chug and sound like it's running out of gas but again this is easily repaired. I've even seen it on some of the old original carter AFB's that came on 60's buicks. If the fuel pump is old just replace it, you will have to eventually anyway and it will rule out that theory. while the fuel pump is being replaced blow compressed air GENTLY back to the tank with the cap off to clear any obstruction in the lines top off with a new filter installed before the fuel pump oooooh and check your vacuum advance for leaks as this is a very likely culprit as well although it would be more consistent. hope it helps

[73GA]

I didn't see you had a 326, and yes an 800 is WAY too big, that's what we run on 467 strokers. A 600cfm would be great, it will feel different but it will be much more driveable with the 600. It could solve your problem entirely