<VV> 110 Engine Dies at Highway Speeds

[hugo at aruncoaches.co.uk]

Blocked fuel cap vent?

On 2018-02-01 20:22, Bill H. via VirtualVairs wrote:
> 
>                                                                                                               B”H
>
>  
>
> Hi all, I hope everyone has a happy and successful New Year! 
>
> I have a problem upon which I hope perhaps one of our Vair
> Expertsmight be able to shed some light.
>
> My car is a 1966 Monza Sport Sedan, with a 110 andPowerglide and
> factory A/C.  The ignitionis a CraneCams XR700 and she has a
> Clark’s-sold electric fuel pump along with aHolley fuel pressure
> regulator which sets the fuel pressure at around 3 psi goinginto the
> carbs.  The pump is(was) protected bya Revolution Electronics
> controller that sends power to the fuel pump only witha tach signal. 
> I fitted an “OK” indicatorlight to show that 12v was being fed to the
> pump from the fuse box.  The pump is mounted on the frame rail next
> tothe fuel tank.  The fuel pump (andfilter) is brand new, I replaced
> it about a month ago.
>
> Up until a few months ago, I had the car running as good as
> brandnew.  She idled nice and smoothly and couldcruise up to 70 and
> beyond (if I pushed her which, which I don’t. I usuallydrive between
> 55-65 on the highway).  Shehandles like a dream with good tires, 
> heavy
> duty shocks, and bushings, etc. allkept in good condition.
>
> For short distances (less than 50 miles), no problems.  Even if I
> start the engine after sitting fora couple of weeks, she fires up on
> the first try.
>
> What happened was that about 2 months ago on a 100 mile roundtrip to
> my Mom’s(she lives 50 miles away in Monsey, NY), she drove great. 
> Just before I reached Mom’s, I felt s “skip”in the engine but it was
> negligible.
>
> On the way back, I got about 30 miles toward home when allof a sudden
> the TEMP-PRESS and GEN-FAN warning lights went on, and the engine 
> just
> died.  I coasted off the highway, tried to re-starther.  The green
> indicator showed that thepump controller was not feeding 12V to the
> pump, so as an emergency measure I bypassedthe controller to an 
> on-off
> switch (but kept the tach wire connected to thecontroller). Voltage
> was back to the pump and the ”OK” light went back on.  She cranked,
> the fuel pump was buzzing, but shewouldn’t fire.  I waited about
> 5-10minutes, tried again, she fired up instantly, I got back on the
> highway and shedrove like nothing was wrong.
>
> 10 miles later, same thing. Had to coast off the expressway, had to
> wait about 5-10 minutes, thenshe started and we were back on the
> way. 5 miles later, same thing.  2miles after that, same thing.  It
> gotworse and worse and eventually I got her off the parkway.  From
> there on local streets, she drove likeabsolutely nothing was wrong. 
> Since thenI haven’t been on the highway with the Monza, but in local
> traffic she drivesperfectly.
>
> The above (trip to Mom’s) scenario happened twice, exactlythe same
> each time.  I’m now afraid todrive her any distance until I can
> isolate the problem.
>
> Yes, I am aware that I have to add a fuel pump shutoff, butI want to
> isolate this problem first.
>
> I suspect:
>
> 1.      Fuel pressure regulator?  Maybe 3 psi isn’t enough to keep
> the enginefueled at 2500-3000 rpm at highway speeds
>
> 2.      Ignition? Could the electronic ignition fail at high RPMs but
> work fine at lowRPMS?
>
> Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
>
> Thanks everyone…Bill Hershkowitz
>
>
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