MY 1924 coupe and experiences as a new driver/owner

[WillyR]

For the Montana 500 car, be sure to read the latest rules and build accordingly.

IT looks like I may be building one from the ground up, (24 pickup) so I should be in full compliance... and the President of the 500 is in the club so I should get the best advice....

I may not be starting my build for another year and a half... but I hope to have it finished within a year of acquisition... only $$$$ stands in the way.....

[WillyR]

so the next big project is getting the ruckstell rebuilt and up to snuff....

I'll get the housing painted at home, but will likely rely heavily on our club to get the rear end assembled then get her up on the lift and installed.

while all that is getting planned, the club is getting that center door up and running and we will work on that this next week.

at home I think I'm due to regrease the front wheel bearings, since the rear will be handled with the ruckstell install...

not quite due for another oil change but I still need to work on my heat exchanger air cleaner idea... so this sunday for that and the front wheels along with chassis lube and low band adjustment.

maybe the rockies need an adjustment? maybe not? at least an inspection....

[WillyR]

Some experimentation yesterday.....

I had some past instances, when going up a long incline, 35 mph+ (high band) where I get some sputtering part way up.... the sputtering goes away and I finish that incline and may even experience another incline with no sputtering...

This seems to only happen at around 3 gallons left in the tank.. so I haven't let the tank go below 3 gallons in the last couple thousand miles.

Yesterday I was at 3 gallons before I left for work, and ran an errand at lunch... normally I would have filled the tank once I left work, but decided not to.

on a major short incline I got some sputtering and discovered if I lowered the throttle substantially could avoid the sputtering.

two more inclines to go

next incline was as major as the first, and longer...

got more sputtering and was able to pull off to allow the carb bowl to refill and finished that one just fine

last incline is as short as he first one , but not as severe, had to pull off to let the float bowl fill again and easy on the throttle still..

stumbled into the very short incline of my driveway and accordion to my dipstick I'm a touch over 1 gallon left in the tank.

so it seems to me it's more the lack of fuel pressure due to the low volume of gas left in the tank than anything else...

so now I know the limits of my fuel system.

I will continue to fill up at about 3 gallons.

none of these inclines are ruckstell worthy, and with enough gas volume can be traversed in high band, and I didn't need to drive in reverse to get home.

it's downhill to refill at the nearest gas station...

[TXGOAT2]

I suspect you still have a fuel delivery issue.

[WillyR]

I suspect you still have a fuel delivery issue.

I haven't looked at the pickup area inside the tank, but sediment bowls are clear, and no floaty crud in the tank, looks new inside.

I understand those fibre-optically camera things are super cheap now, I keep meaning to pick one up.

[speedytinc]

Have you checked the screen in the sediment bowl?

[TXGOAT2]

I wouldn't want to run a T on a near-empty tank unless it is unavoidable. If you must run the tank low, it's best to carry some extra gas with you. I try to keep at least 5 gallons in my tank. I've read that it's best not to run modern cars with in-tank electric fuel pumps very low on gas, since the fuel pump needs to be immersed in gasoline for cooling. No car will run without gasoline, so why push your luck running low? For accurate MPG logging, you need an accurate odometer and keep a log of fuel purchased over a period of time. After several hundred miles of driving, you can get a fair idea of what your MPG is under your normal driving conditions. Hard driving cuts MPG dramatically, and urban driving also cuts MPG dramatically.