Restoring the Corvair Fuel System 

This will run one way or another
Another day on the Corvair. This week I only get one day to get it running. I have three other vehicles in line for work but I want to hear the Lakewood purr so badly. After struggling to get it to idle I surmised that something must be plugging up the carburetors. It would run on starting fluid and the fuel pump passed the pressure test. I knew the problem must lie somewhere in between.
I removed the carburetors and placed them in a Pine-Sol soak to get them clean and fresh smelling. I then ordered a rebuild kit for the carburetors and left things to soak until the kit was delivered in the post.
Three days later, the kit was in hand and the refresh began. The old gasoline had turned to a sticky varnish that coated the inside and outside of the carburetors. The Pine-Sol did a good job of removing most of it. All that was left was to use the rifle brushes to clean out the passage ways and to scrape off the old gaskets with a knife.
Once everything was reassembled, I still had to deal with the 1/4 of a tank of old fuel. I crawled under the car to drain the tank and I replaced the rubber line on the tank end. With a few gallons of fresh fuel I eagerly jumped behind the wheel and cranked things over. Nothing. Not a sputter or even a cough. What could be the problem?
After staring at the engine for a good bit, I noticed a little spot of oil in the drive. I thought, I may as well see where the leak is coming from as I will have to deal with it at some point. While tracing the small leak to the valve cover, I noticed another section of rubber fuel line. This one between the hard line on the engine and the hard line on the body. It was pulled and pinched to a 90 degree angle. Surely that was quite a detriment to fuel flow.
After replacing the wrenched fuel line, I gave the key another twist. The engine roared to life and settled down to a nice idle. What a triumph! It is amazing that such little things can cause big problems.
Now that the Lakewood runs, I can focus on the next set of problems. Getting the car to stop.
~ Stay Ambitious