Fuel system health opinion

[z28z11]

I decided to rework the fuel pump to carb fuel lines on the (L48) Z11 which were mangled by the former owner, when I discovered the frame to pump line(s) were originals, both dated 11/23/68 and should have been replaced a long time ago, I decided to rebuild the carb and pump/replace the old gas out of the tank.

Hooked my old Holley electric up to the frame line and pulled all the gas I could pump out of the tank through the line, which had a see through fuel filter attached - the pic is what the filter trapped. I have to assume this trash came out of the lines (as the pickup strainer should still be in place). Opinions ? think it's excessive ? With the new repro filter and the bronze Rochester carb filter in place, I think anything else that might come loose can be filtered out before reaching the carb.

I wasn't too unhappy with the end result - after all, 46 years is a long time to expose the tank and system to dirt, crud and neglect. Keep on plugging, or pull the tank and replace ? I'm leaning towards leaving it as is until a "have to" shows up -

Regards,
Steve

[ko-lek-tor]

 I'm leaning towards leaving it as is until a "have to" shows up -

Regards,
Steve

Hmmmm, "have to"! Only problem with have to is, going by my experiences, the worst possible time and or circumstances. Like, when you are hot and tired after a long day at the car show and she lays down on you on the way home, especially in front of others from same show (humiliating, embarrassing, frustrating), or when you are stuck in the far left lane of a 4 lane and everyone is wizzing by at 70+ mph as your car is sputtering to a stop on the berm and you are praying to God that you get out of there alive and without someone totalling your ride, or when you break down in a neighborhood with a constant drone of sirens, gun fire, and used needles and condoms litter the sidewalks, again, praying you get out alive! Last, when float sticks from some crud and fuel fills intake till massive inferno errupts scorching hood, so you pull your shirt off and start batting flames only to catch your shirt on fire, now, standing half naked, employees from McD's come running over with extinguisher (yea, it happened).

Point is: I do not like being stranded and especially with a prize ride in bad circumstances. For peace of mind and safety's sake, make sure fuel system is top notch,nuff said.

[z28z11]

 I'm leaning towards leaving it as is until a "have to" shows up -

Regards,
Steve

Hmmmm, "have to"! Only problem with have to is, going by my experiences, the worst possible time and or circumstances. Like, when you are hot and tired after a long day at the car show and she lays down on you on the way home, especially in front of others from same show (humiliating, embarrassing, frustrating), or when you are stuck in the far left lane of a 4 lane and everyone is wizzing by at 70+ mph as your car is sputtering to a stop on the berm and you are praying to God that you get out of there alive and without someone totalling your ride, or when you break down in a neighborhood with a constant drone of sirens, gun fire, and used needles and condoms litter the sidewalks, again, praying you get out alive! Last, when float sticks from some crud and fuel fills intake till massive inferno errupts scorching hood, so you pull your shirt off and start batting flames only to catch your shirt on fire, now, standing half naked, employees from McD's come running over with extinguisher (yea, it happened).

Point is: I do not like being stranded and especially with a prize ride in bad circumstances. For peace of mind and safety's sake, make sure fuel system is top notch,nuff said.

Jeez, after that mental picture I think that I'll get ahead of the game and put everything on eBay in the morning. I'm the paranoid type anyway -

I had a good friend of mine burn his '64 Impala SS nearly to the ground on Broadway in Nashville one night, two blocks from the fire station. Culprit turned out to be the gas line - sprang a leak right onto the headers. Chevrolet flambe -

I have an NOS tank in stock - I might consider replacement if I get another flush like this one. The gas that came out (2 gals) was in good shape, powered the lawn tractor this weekend without a burp. Non-ethanol, about 2-3 years in age.

Regards,
Steve

[2timms]

Having gone through this last year I can tell you that the gas tank is probably in need of replacement.  I removed my old gas tank, cleaned it out and reinstalled it, about a year later sure enough car sputters and dies, it turns out that the bag filter at the end of the pick up line in the tank had finally rotted out allowing 45 years worth of junk in the tank to find it's way through the fuel system. $140 spent on a replacement tank is cheep insurance.

[z28z11]

Having gone through this last year I can tell you that the gas tank is probably in need of replacement.  I removed my old gas tank, cleaned it out and reinstalled it, about a year later sure enough car sputters and dies, it turns out that the bag filter at the end of the pick up line in the tank had finally rotted out allowing 45 years worth of junk in the tank to find it's way through the fuel system. $140 spent on a replacement tank is cheep insurance.

I hear what you're saying. I'm going to flush it with a couple of gallons of fresh gas before I button it up - if I get another flow like this one, I'll pull the tank. At least one good thing - '69 L48's had double filtration, with a large AC filter before the carb (after the pump), and then the bronze filter in the carb inlet. If I can get it to run clean, I might wait a bit before I do the tank swap. I bought the NOS GM tank a bunch of years ago for my X77, and shelved it, along with a new SS gas line and NOS GM pickup for the restoration, and then quit for too many years. The only reason why I haven't used it yet - I'm considering buying a repro SS tank because of today's ethanol.

Thanks for the opinions and comments -