Anyone else had problems with thier clipper not being able
to pump up the gas to start?   '75 Dodge 360 2bbl.  
New carb, new fuel pump, new filter, new hose up front.  

The gas evaporates out of my carb, and I can't get it to start
w/o dribbling a tiny bit of gas into the carb.  

Any Ideas?    

I could put in a electric 'boost' pump.....But I don't understand why
it won't work in stock form.  

The lines to the evaporation can are blocked off from my tank.  
Could this be why?     Or maybe collapsed lines at the back?

It seems to run great once it gets fuel going /starts.  

I'm kind of stumped on this one.    It had gas in it from 1998 and I
changed it and went through 3 fuel filters and rebuilt the carb many times..... eventually I found that the carb power valve plunger
was worn in the carb lid / top.... now it runs great and has fresh
clear fuel....

But still can't pump to start itself.  

If you ever need your old gas syphoned just leave the lid off and
the neighbors will do it for you......    
Now thier cars don't work.........LOL

I have had this same problem, however I have a 440 with a four barrel. New carb, new filter and even a electric pump back by the tank. I'm also curious on this. It takes her a while to start but once started get out of the way.

Den

I have a 440 with 750 cfm Edlebock carb and Edlebrock intake.  I also have 2 in-line electric fuel pumps.  The electric pumps are connected to the ignition switch and a toggle switch on the dash.  If it sits for a couple weeks I have the same problem.  However,  if I turn the key and the toggle switch on for a minute before turning the starter, it takes much less time to start.

Well I'm glad I'm not the only one having this problem. My calf muscle gets plenty of excercise as I'm pumping my gas pedal after a week of so of sitting. I have a chevy 400 with thermoquad.

I guess that the nature of our beast.

There has to be a way to fix it.     I'm going to try buying one of those
compressed air tanks and blowing back though the lines to make the
tank bubble.    Then I may temporarily run the compressed air into
my capped vapor canister lines - to positive pressurize the tank a bit -
and see if it helps.  
I wonder if the tank has a screen in it or a sock.


If not, I guess I'll have to mount some pull tab cloth handles onto the side
of the doghouse.....

I too have the same issue. I figure it just either evaporates out of the carb bowl or flows back down hill to the fuel tank.  I have no apparent leaks.

Where would be the best place to install an electric fuel pump?  I have one but I haven't had the time to install it yet.  Close to the tank or closer to the carb?  Should I leave my mechanical fuel pump in line?  I don't see why I should remove it but...

Dodge 360 2bbl

install your pump as close to the tank as you can it's also a good idia to put another fuel filter before the pump leave your engine pump in I removed the other filter and put in a replaceable filter with a cartrige makes it real easy to change

I installed a electric fuel pump back by the tank. Seems to help on hot days or long hills. Doesn't seem to help on starting, I think the oem pump stops all flow at its place, it may help I don't know. It takes me about three minutes to get her running. It's even a pain to start after sitting for two days. I'm wondering if its flowing back down ? If so couldn't one install a one way valve in the fuel line after the pump ?

db

when the elec is running itll go past the engine driven just like you can turn off the elec and the engine will pull through the pump when you start let the pump rum for a min you can hear when it pumps up it slows way down then you should have gas in the bowl

Hard starting - my experiences.........
First episodes were due to a backflow valve in the mechanical fuel pump which failed - then, gas runs back out of the carb line, through the pump (which it shouldn't) and back towards the gas tank. When the gas tank was full - it wasn't as bad as when it was less than half full - don't know why, maybe back pressure?
Note that when I replaced the mechanical fuel pump, the "new" one's back flow valev failed immediately - so had to get another one.

The next time it happended (this is a bit embarrasing quite frankly) was because of two bad plug wires. I could not for the life of me figure out why my rig was having a hard time starting after sitting for a few days. So I slowly started checking everyting, and voila - two plug wires were cooked a bit, and since the actual copper was exposed a little, there was some rust, thus electrical flow at start time was compromised. I really had to check the wire, as in pull it off the plug to discover the breach. (Note that once it started, it ran like a champ. Note also that these wires weren't that old, but they weren't the best wires either if you know what I mean......lesson learned)
So, off I went to the parts store, and bought some top-of-the-line plug wires - and ever since then my Clipper starts right up - even after 2+ weeks.
Here's my "cold" starting routine - may work for one of you.
1) I crank the engine for 5 seconds (without touching the gas pedal)
2) I push the gas pedal to the floor twice, and let it up - wait 3 seconds - then crank the engine again (without pushing on the gas pedal). Usually it will start here, and as soon as it does I give it a little gas to get it going and set the choke. Then warm-up a for a few minutes, pump the gas a little to drop the idle/release the choke, and I'm off.
3) If it didn't start after 5 seconds of cranking in Step 2, I wait about 10 seconds - push the gas pedal to the floor once (and let it up) - wait about 3 seconds, and then start cranking again (but not for more than 5 seconds)
4) If it still didn't start , I repeat step 3 - but I hardly ever go past Step 2  :-)

How did you know that the new pumps (backflow valve)
failed immediately?    You could see the gas in a clear
filter drain back out?

"Immediately" is a strong word I suppose - more like about a week or so as I recall.
What happened was when the new fuel pump was installed, things were fine. The, bingo - hard starting again. So my mechanic checks out the fuel pump - takes it out and tests it by putting just a very light back pressure on the unit - and gas just ran right on through........ - so, off to the parts store for a free replacement - been fine ever since.

Thanks Horst, this works great. I'm going to give her a complete tune up this weekend, only can get better.

Thanks Again, Dennis

1) I crank the engine for 5 seconds (without touching the gas pedal)
2) I push the gas pedal to the floor twice, and let it up - wait 3 seconds - then crank the engine again (without pushing on the gas pedal). Usually it will start here, and as soon as it does I give it a little gas to get it going and set the choke. Then warm-up a for a few minutes, pump the gas a little to drop the idle/release the choke, and I'm off.
3) If it didn't start after 5 seconds of cranking in Step 2, I wait about 10 seconds - push the gas pedal to the floor once (and let it up) - wait about 3 seconds, and then start cranking again (but not for more than 5 seconds)
4) If it still didn't start , I repeat step 3 - but I hardly ever go past Step 2

I know this thread is old but I posted this cause I think I figured out why.

See other post about fuel tank replacement.  

I'm fairly sure it had something to do with old soft mushy hoses
back at the tank.    :roll:

Been through all of the problems, attempted cures, and symptoms that everyone has described.  The poblem turned out to be a hole(small split)in the fuel line.  Check the rubber portion of the lines where they go from the steel lines along the rear of the frame into the tank.  The only way to really check them is to drop the fuel tank.  Sorry, but that's the only way; besides, if you haven't changed the lines recently it's time to replace them considering their age.