The compression test wasn’t the best news. Having the compression in one cylinder 30 psi less than the others could mean internal engine woes. I decided to file this information for another day and hope that a repeat test, after the engine has run for a few hours, might show better results.
I began by driving the car around our park. Some of you may know we live on the edge of a county park. Test drives are low speed, and except for our driveway, uphill from the garage. I know from past experience that I can roll home if a test drive turns ugly.
The Sunbeam ran terribly, as if starved for fuel. It turns out that one of my problems was a clog in the fuel line at the gas tank. The first picture shows the 1 3/4 inch pipe that connects the Sunbeam’s two fuel tanks, one on each side of the trunk. The small diameter tube in the center connects the fuel tanks to the small diameter hose that runs to the
front of the car. As you can see, it is clogged with hardened gasoline and paint from the inside of the tanks.
I decided to have the tanks professionally cleaned and repainted so off they went to Rockville Radiator. It turns out that there are very few shops that repair fuel tanks and radiators. The tanks were solid so no repairs beyond cleaning was needed.
Aside from peeling paint, the cleaners found a plastic dog bone inside the right tank. I am guessing that there is an unhappy dog somewhere. While the tanks were out of the car, I cleaned up the trunk. Some leaves and pine needles and one acorn.
Because the fuel line was so clogged at the gas tank connection, I decided to replace the line from the back to the front of the car. I could not find a replacement for the original plastic, so I used steel brake line. I also took the opportunity to move the electric fuel pump from the engine compartment to the rear of the car. I have read that electric pumps are best placed closest to the fuel source.
Above is a view of the underside of the rear of the car. The hump sticking down is the spare tire well. The pump is on the right; a new fuel filter is on the left. You can also see that the car is indeed rust free. But it is covered in a reddish mud.
In the engine bay I ran the steel line up from the bottom of the engine where the original mechanical fuel pump was located and across the engine in front of the valve cover. On reflection, I may later rerun this behind the engine along the firewall.
I used flexible fuel line for the final connection to the carburetors. The previous owner had a plastic fuel filter in this area. Not the best idea since it was very close to the exhaust manifold.
Did the car run? Yes, but not well…
Sunbeam 