1951 chevy no start

[bobg1951chevy]

Hi Folks,

I'm new to the site.

I have a '51' Chevy that has been in storage since October of 2005. It was stored at the home of my ex.

I picked up the car in October of 2006, got it to run one time, put 60 miles on it (freeway ) . It hasn't run since, because it cranks but no start. I have not checked it out, because it is now srored away from where I live.

If the ex had put sugar in the tank, how would I detect it?:confused:

I have not drained the tank, as of yet, but am interested in what I'm facing here.

Normally, I would use Stabil when storing the car, but when the car went into storage back in 2005, I did not.

Any thioughts on this would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Jon B]

Yup, the gas could have gone bad over that time, so sugar was not necessarily lovingly decanted by your former spouse.

Does the battery turn the engine over as fast as it used to? If it just barely turns it, there is a chance that there's not enough left over for the "spark" to ignite it. Be sure the battery is in good shape.

Are you getting a strong spark when you pull one of the spark plug wires and check it?

If you suspect the gas, disconnect the line from the tank, and run a neoprene hose into a 5-gallon can of good, clean, new gasoline.

By the way, is the fuel pump actually pumping the gas? Disconnect the line, up at the carb, and see if it pumps out when you hit the starter (of course you'll want to have a cup or can handy, the catch the stuff!).

How are the points? If they are burned or even slightly gray, you might want to shine them up with a point file or emery cloth. Corrosion could have done its nasty work in the last 2-3 years.

[bobg1951chevy]

Yup, the gas could have gone bad over that time, so sugar was not necessarily lovingly decanted by your former spouse.

Does the battery turn the engine over as fast as it used to? If it just barely turns it, there is a chance that there's not enough left over for the "spark" to ignite it. Be sure the battery is in good shape.

Are you getting a strong spark when you pull one of the spark plug wires and check it?

If you suspect the gas, disconnect the line from the tank, and run a neoprene hose into a 5-gallon can of good, clean, new gasoline.

By the way, is the fuel pump actually pumping the gas? Disconnect the line, up at the carb, and see if it pumps out when you hit the starter (of course you'll want to have a cup or can handy, the catch the stuff!).

How are the points? If they are burned or even slightly gray, you might want to shine them up with a point file or emery cloth. Corrosion could have done its nasty work in the last 2-3 years.

Thanks for the reply and the ideas. Do you have any idea what sugar would look like, mixed with gas, if my former sweetie did do the deed? How would it look in a clear container drained from the tank?

[Jon B]

Ifve no idea, to answer your question.

I'm not sure that -- even if she did pour sugar in your tank -- it would do anything more than clog your gas line filter. See the following:

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2001/February/02.html

http://www.snopes.com/autos/grace/sugar.asp

Seems to me you should simply remove the filter and note whether it seems to be clogged with something. Slip in a new filter. If indeed there is sugar in the gas, it would take a short time for the new filter to get clogged as well, but in the meantime enough gas would get through to run the engine for a short time. If THAT happens (car starts, then poops out) this might be an indication that something foreign has been introduced into the gas.

Of course it could ALSO mean that the tank is corroding (not uncommon in older cars) and bits and pieces of rust and sediment are moving through your gas line. That's why it might pay you to run the engine off the contents of a 5-gallon (or one-gallon) can with fresh gasoline (by using a neoprene hose directly to the fuel line). Then you "cut out" the entire gas tank and the line coming from it, thus isolating the problem.