brianspony Posted September 10, 2015 Report Share Posted September 10, 2015 I need some help......kind of stumped here. I have only driven my 66 yearly for it's annual inspection sticker for the past few years. I tried taking it this past Tuesday and could not keep it running. I'm afraid even though I have been adding Stabil to my gas I'm afraid the little bit of gas I had has lost it's power. I added 3 gallons to a nearly empty tank and was able to get it started, but it ran rough. I added another 5 gallons of gas and a bottle of Heet thinking it needed some for the moisture that was in the tank, but it seemed to still idle very rough. A friend of mine suggested adding a gas additive Lucas to it and said if that doesn't help I may need to rebuild my carburetor. He claims the gas with the ethanol is killing our older cars. I restored this car 10 years ago and rebuilt the motor and only has roughly 10,000 miles on it since. The car has plenty of power when I open it up, but still runs very rough. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denstang65 Posted September 11, 2015 Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 I need some help......kind of stumped here. I have only driven my 66 yearly for it's annual inspection sticker for the past few years. I tried taking it this past Tuesday and could not keep it running. I'm afraid even though I have been adding Stabil to my gas I'm afraid the little bit of gas I had has lost it's power. I added 3 gallons to a nearly empty tank and was able to get it started, but it ran rough. I added another 5 gallons of gas and a bottle of Heet thinking it needed some for the moisture that was in the tank, but it seemed to still idle very rough. A friend of mine suggested adding a gas additive Lucas to it and said if that doesn't help I may need to rebuild my carburetor. He claims the gas with the ethanol is killing our older cars. I restored this car 10 years ago and rebuilt the motor and only has roughly 10,000 miles on it since. The car has plenty of power when I open it up, but still runs very rough. Any suggestions? I had a similar problem. Sounds like a lot of crap in the fuel lines and carb. Check the timing two. Two things I had to do; Rebuild the carb and replace the fuel tank with a new one. The carb was cleaned, cleaned out the jets and the float was checked for proper adjustment. As far as the fuel tank, just to be sure of cleanliness and age, I replace it with a new one, replaced all old rubber fuel lines and blew out all aluminum fuel lines with an air compressor. While installing the new tank, I went ahead and replace the fuel sending unit with a new one. Once back together, timing adjusted, new spark plugs and inspection for good plug wires were done, she purrs like a kitten. I had a speed shop do the carb and timing adjustments, while I installed plugs, fuel lines and the tank. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianspony Posted September 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2015 I had a similar problem. Sounds like a lot of crap in the fuel lines and carb. Check the timing two. Two things I had to do; Rebuild the carb and replace the fuel tank with a new one. The carb was cleaned, cleaned out the jets and the float was checked for proper adjustment. As far as the fuel tank, just to be sure of cleanliness and age, I replace it with a new one, replaced all old rubber fuel lines and blew out all aluminum fuel lines with an air compressor. While installing the new tank, I went ahead and replace the fuel sending unit with a new one. Once back together, timing adjusted, new spark plugs and inspection for good plug wires were done, she purrs like a kitten. I had a speed shop do the carb and timing adjustments, while I installed plugs, fuel lines and the tank. Hope this helps. I wish I had drained what little gas I had in my tank before adding fresh gas this week. I replaced the fuel tank 10 years ago when I restored the car and added a new sending unit as well. I will go right thru it over the next few days and follow what you did to yours. I was looking into the Sta-Bil I have used over the years as a winter storage gas additive, and was reading an article on the 360* Sta-bil for ethanol gas. Might give that a try this winter. Thanks for you input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denstang65 Posted September 12, 2015 Report Share Posted September 12, 2015 No problem. Hope it helps you. Good luck and let me know how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhr1961 Posted September 16, 2015 Report Share Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) If you stored the car for an extended period the ethanol may have separated and the fuel at the bottom of the tank could be as much as 40 to 60 percent ethanol and water. Before doing any of the above suggested fixes you may want to simply drain the tank and fuel lines and refill with fresh gas. Pouring fresh gas into a tank that has ethanol and water that has settled out does not "reblend" with fresh gas and can cause intermittent stalls and rough idle. Edited September 16, 2015 by mhr1961 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Johnston Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 First, I would tell you to enjoy your 66 and drive it at least once a month. Gas separation from the ethanol is only a small part of the problem as the fuel system is not sealed as it is in fuel injected cars. Corrosion can set in anywhere from the tank to the carb float bowls. Adding Seafoam (which is far superior to StaBil) will help, but a year takes its toll on the entire system, including the brake lines, cooling system, points and such as well as the fuel system. We run our 65 and 66 Ponies at least every few weeks on the road until the engine has run at operating temp for at least ten minutes. No need for a battery tender or worries about the fuel separating. You might want to ditch the points for Petronix system (or similar) also. If you can get non-thanol fuel (usually available for boaters) use it. Most places near marinas or boat yards have it at 89 or 91 octane. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shel-b001 Posted September 19, 2015 Report Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) I wish I had drained what little gas I had in my tank before adding fresh gas this week. I replaced the fuel tank 10 years ago when I restored the car and added a new sending unit as well. I will go right thru it over the next few days and follow what you did to yours. I was looking into the Sta-Bil I have used over the years as a winter storage gas additive, and was reading an article on the 360* Sta-bil for ethanol gas. Might give that a try this winter. Thanks for you input. I would start by removing the carb & cleaning it sounds like you have some dirt in it causing the rough idle, put some fresh gas in it & I think you will be good to go . This has happen to both my 65` s over the years. No matter how much sta-bul you use it doesn`t stop fine particles of dirt from entering places such as jets & adjustment needles. Edited October 3, 2015 by shelby001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denstang65 Posted September 22, 2015 Report Share Posted September 22, 2015 First, I would tell you to enjoy your 66 and drive it at least once a month. Gas separation from the ethanol is only a small part of the problem as the fuel system is not sealed as it is in fuel injected cars. Corrosion can set in anywhere from the tank to the carb float bowls. Adding Seafoam (which is far superior to StaBil) will help, but a year takes its toll on the entire system, including the brake lines, cooling system, points and such as well as the fuel system. We run our 65 and 66 Ponies at least every few weeks on the road until the engine has run at operating temp for at least ten minutes. No need for a battery tender or worries about the fuel separating. You might want to ditch the points for Petronix system (or similar) also. If you can get non-thanol fuel (usually available for boaters) use it. Most places near marinas or boat yards have it at 89 or 91 octane. Good luck. Good point about the Petronix. Hmmm? Look at that, I made a joke! I have used Petronix and it has lasted years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianspony Posted October 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 Update. I added a full tank of 93 octane and a bottle of Lucas fuel treatment a few weeks ago. With the car off I cleaned the carb with carb cleaner and pulled off the fuel filter and blew it out with air. I restarted the engine and cleaned the carb again with cleaner with it running. I have run it several times since and it is running much better. I plan to remove the carb this winter and tear it apart and clean it good. I have also bought a bottle of the 360* StaBil for ethanol gas and will add this to both my Mustang and Shelby this winter. Also when I restored it 10 years ago I switched it over from points to the Petronix and was so glad I did. Thanks for everyone and their input. I need to start it more often and drive it more often. Thanks again to everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shel-b001 Posted October 3, 2015 Report Share Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) Update. I added a full tank of 93 octane and a bottle of Lucas fuel treatment a few weeks ago. With the car off I cleaned the carb with carb cleaner and pulled off the fuel filter and blew it out with air. I restarted the engine and cleaned the carb again with cleaner with it running. I have run it several times since and it is running much better. I plan to remove the carb this winter and tear it apart and clean it good. I have also bought a bottle of the 360* StaBil for ethanol gas and will add this to both my Mustang and Shelby this winter. Also when I restored it 10 years ago I switched it over from points to the Petronix and was so glad I did. Thanks for everyone and their input. I need to start it more often and drive it more often. Thanks again to everyone. I have used Petronix when they were first made available for Mustangs & they are still going strong . Edited October 3, 2015 by shelby001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07gt500conv Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I have similiar issues with my 71 Bronco. When I used to run the ethanol blend and the truck sat, I would end up with rust colored gas in the gas filter. Stopped using the ehanol blend and went to using just "real" gas and all my problems solved. Here in Florida, you can get "real" gas, but its a special trip to a Fuel Depot about 20 miles away. Its a PIA but it solved my problem...worth the extra money and mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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