1985 firebird SE, originally 305 with a quadrajet. 350 motor swap, egr deleted, and no more snorkel air cleaner.
last week, i decided to do a routine fuel filter change. the metal fuel line was too tight on the carb fitting to get it off, so i figured i would replace the fuel line and the fitting. when i broke the fuel line loose from the mechanical fuel pump, it cracked the bottom of the pump. now i have a new fuel pump.

all of this installed, the car would not fire up at all. i assumed it was just a bad fuel pump or something, so i went and replaced it with another. this time, the car would fire up and run for a couple seconds, and sputter out and die.

so i removed the spring that's inside the fuel filter, and left the little check ball thing in the filter. i had looked at the filter that i pulled out originally, and it had no spring in it. with that done, the car started up and ran just fine about a day and a half. Started it up again one morning and, nothing. no fire or anything.

went ahead and got another new filter (they're only about two dollars) and a carb fitting seal, and the car ran great for another day. No leaks, the filters ARE being installed correctly, and the car ran great every day before i decided to replace the filter.......but the next morning (today) it'll fire up if i pump some gas into the carb, but won't continue to run for very long at all.

does anybody have any ideas to help me get my baby back on the road? i've been struggling with this for about a week now. what will let a car run one day, drive probably 20 miles (started it maybe four separate times) and then not start up the next day? seems like every time i replace the filter it runs for another day? should i just do this for the rest of its life?

 

Check all your work again. It may be the wrong fuel pump for your car/ or it may be not working properly? Check the lever length against your old pump and make sure you install it correctly. Check your fuel line from the pump to the carb, perhaps there is a kink or an obstruction along the way. I really don't think it is a fuel filter issue. If you can get a fuel pressure gauge that will tell you if you have enough at the carb.

 

Make sure all of your lines are hooked up. should have a fuel return. If that's not hooked up, could mess things up a bit. Also make sure you're pressure is good.

 

If you changed the FP I would be FIRST checking the pressure from the replaced unit. Just because it is new, you can't assume it's working properly. I can't begin to remember the new parts I've had to replace because they were faulty.