almost since i bought my car I've been struggling with a problem.

I'll be driving along and when I go to give it gas it will bog down instead of going. (still running) then it will die. when I pull over I wont be able to keep it running. it will start and then die 15 to 30 sec later. sometimes i could get about 1/8 a mile before dieing. the last few times this happened I was able to get it going again simply by disconnecting the fuel filter right before the carb and then reconnecting it. at first I'd run the electric fuel pump for a sec and then reconnect. I hear a little pressure being released when i disconnect. just doing this would get me on my way and let me drive just fine the rest of the day. though the last time this happened i had to do this 3 times in about 4 miles to limp home. It's never needed it that often. This seems to happen the most when it's warm and when I've had to idle a lot in stop and go traffic but it's not limited to that situation. for example it's never happened on my way into work but has a few times getting home but the traffic is worse going home.

I didn't figure out this trick for a while and so I used to end up stranded and needing a tow. At first I thought it was a vapor lock problem and have put insulation on the fuel lines by the engine. I also switched to an electric fuel pump back by the tank. we've bypassed the manual one in an attempt to troubleshoot this. We've replaced the coil in case it was going out. The distributor has an ignitor. all the spark plug lines have been tested. the fuel tank seems to be venting correctly.

The bigest problem is that this doesn't happen consistently so I can't reproduce it for the mechanic. He's looked at it a few times and can't find the source of the problem. his best guess's are that maybe the ignitor is overheating or possibly one of the fuel lines is having a problem. mabye even a small flap of fuel sometimes blocking things. the ruber fuel lines have almost all been replaced though and I can run the electric pump and get plenty of gas when this occurs. right up to the carb. I don't think it's necessarily a heat thing because once when it did this i waited a few hours and when it finally got towed to the mechanic it still did it that night. of course it worked fine in the morning when the mechanic got there. since the mechanic doesn't know what's wrong I don't want to just pay and throw parts at it.

At the moment I'm thinking it's a stuck or slightly sticking needle valve in the carb. I'd like to try rebuilding it. any ideas beyond that?

I agree, Carb rebuild. It could be in the fuel-lines, etc, but the carb inlet seems suspect too.

Does it run Ok except for these intermittent problems or does this happen almost all the time?

What carburetor are you using?

sry should have posted that. Holly 1920. I'm still trying to figure out exactly which one so I can get the kit. https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...e=0#Post4671731

It has been running OK most of time. drives for a few days without any problems. I may be just imagining it but seems to be when the weather is nice say over 80. it cooled off for a week or two and then it was happening only every few days. driving every day. I drive about 50 min one way to work.

Does it also happen in cooler weather? I suppose it could be vapor-lock (warm days) but definitely replace/adjust the needle-seat.

I haven't been driving it enough to know about cool weather / cold. it did still occur after waiting a few hours for a tow. well after the sun had set so that's why I don't think it's heat or vapor lock

Try to drive it with the gas cap off the filler and see what happens. It could be a plugged vent.

I had that happen to me. I had rebuilt my car over a few years and when it was finally on the road that same intermitting problem would occur.
I finally found a small marble size ball of crud in the small filter, in the gas tank pick-up tube.
If you wait until you are around a 1/4 of a tank you can take the sending unit out of the tank and check it out. The small marble would block the pick up tube from getting gas but never consistently. Good Luck!!

Take the float bowl off the carb replace the needle/seat(buy the kit if not available seperately) replace the float & set the float level(just measure the dimention of the old one & set the new one to the same height). all done. Kit & float are cheap & dont have to R&R the carb for this.

I had a similar problem years ago I recall wiring the heat riser open It really seemed to help the heat fuel issue

well the rebuild kits hard to find for that exact model of 1920. napa's got one for a different 1920 so i'm going to try that needle valve tonight and see if it goes away. i'll try the heat riser and gas cap if it doesn't

i just need it to work for a few months since I hope to switch over to a 2 barrel super six soon just have to do a bathroom remodel first.

so far so good. all I did was replace the needle valve with the one supplied in the kit. (wrong kit but for a 1920) they didn't look exactly the same but had the same length (effecting float lvl). I did spray a little carb cleaner around and did pull the main jet and clean it out. the carb had been recently rebuilt so I decided for expediency not to tear it apart. I just need to know if it's a sticking needle valve causing it to die.

so far it seems to be working. however the problem has always been intermiten and the car would often run several days without problem. If it happens again I'm going to pull the tank and clean it out. I'm starting the gasket/filter search now so that I'll have them ready if it happens again. eventually i need to pull the tank anyway since it's dented and after 40 years it would be good to know exactly what state it's in.

Well so far so good with the carb needle. though it's run for a while before....

These are problem carbs. Lots of info over at http://www.slantsix.org/ Do a search of your carb and check things out good. I have a Weber 2bbl on mine and can't give you any good intel as to your problem. Good Luck