Earlier this week I stopped by my new mechanic’s shop to talk about the vapor lock issue with the Plymouth. I told him that I’m fine with installing an electric fuel pump, but first I wanted him to make sure the cooling system is working properly.
Why my suspicions?
The heat under the hood is just too damn hot. Why would a car traveling at highway speed quit due to vapor lock unless underhood temps weren’t way out of line?? Before resorting to changing the fuel pump, I think the cooling system needs to be checked, particularly the flow of coolant through the engine block. I had been driving 20 minutes at highway speeds, stopped on the side of the road 30 minutes, and the wrecker guy last Saturday couldn’t hold his hand on the fuel line it was so hot. If the cooling system checks out, then its time to go for that electric fuel pump. Joe said some folks have luck using a spacer under the carb, but I really think the issue is the fuel line, not so much the carb.
I’m going to have him make the measurement I need to get a replacement driveshaft, and probably ask him to check the brake lines.
There’s a car show at a little Baptist church next Saturday, and I might try to drive over there. Keyword = might.
Tomorrow I plan to take the radiator cap off and start the engine and see if the thermostat seems to be working and the water pump pushing coolant through. If its working correctly, once it reaches operating temperature, the radiator should start heating up. We’ll see. I’ll update later.