Purchashed a 1990 Firebird. The owner had swapped it over to carb. The way he had set up the fuel system was stock pump and lines into a Mr.Gasket regulator into a clear Mr.Gasket fuel filter then into the carb. The carb is a edelbrock 9906.
Now here is my problem. I turn the key on to prime the system. I can see the fuel moving in through the filter. Then I start the car and it dies shortly after. When the car is running, the pump isn't pushing out fuel. I know this because I can't see any fuel going the filter and I can't hear the pump running.
Any I ideas? Thanks in advance.

 

Once pressure is up, the fuel should just sit there in the filter static, looking like it's not moving. Is there fuel in the bowls?

Disconnect the fuel line after the regulator, and stick it in a container. Run the pump to verify output.

Btw there has not been a lot of love on these forums for those particular filters due to stories like this:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/carb...llett-car.html

 

Disconnected the fuel line after the regulator. When I turn the key on, fuel comes out then stops (fuel comes out for about 2 seconds). When I turn the car on, no more fuel comes out. The car ran fine the day before. Then this morning it wouldn't start at all and found it was a bad fuse. Swapped the fuse and now this.
basically the pump isn't staying on when the car is on.
In talking to some people about this set up, they said Mr.Gasket products are just terrible.

 

Yeah, I had a pair of MG exhaust gaskets that lasted less than 2 months. Suddenly blew out within 10 mins of each other, just amazing, it's like one couldn't live without the other.

Sounds like you've got some detective work to do with the fuel pump power supply, no telling how the PO wired it up after the computer delete.

 

Is the ECM gone? That 2 seconds is what the ecm does when the key is first turned on. Then it waits for the ignition module signal to turn the pump back on.

 

There is a back-up power path through the oil pressure switch (if it's still on there). With a carb, the prime should be enough to get enough fuel into the carb to start the car and get oil pressure up enough to keep the pump running.

Now, you need to get rid of that fuel pressure regulator and clear fuel filter. The regulator will kill the fuel pump (needs to be a return-style regulator), and the fuel filter will burn the car down when it melts/breaks.

 

I just rewired it temporarily so it runs. I really hate that its still running off the computer. In a couple of weeks, I will be switching out the distributor (to a vacuum and mechanical advance) and the fuel pump system to a mechanical pump setup (have all the parts but the pump push rod). After all of this, I will remove the computer and its wiring.

 

Personally, I'd take an in-tank electric fuel pump with return style regulator to an engine mounted mechanical pump any day. But, I've only been doing this stuff about 40 years, so maybe there's more for me to learn.

 

I'm just setting up the car with stuff I know and have in hand. Once I do more research and have more cash on hand, I'm sure I will do a more efficient fuel system set up.

 

I'd even take an in-tank electric pump feeding an internally-regulated block-mounted mechanical pump.