Just for fun we trailered my car up to Scottsdale for the GoodGuys car show last month. I unloaded the car and drove it to the registration area. After collecting my paperwork I started the engine and drove it over to the display area and parked it there for the day. Only two or three people knew what it was; not surprising since it is primarily a street rod show. I left it parked overnight but forgot to switch off the battery. The only thing that was powered up overnight was a small 12V indicator light but in the morning I tried to start the engine and only got a loud "thunk". Later that evening I got a pair of jumper cables but it still only went "thunk". Uh-oh, bad starter.
After getting the car home and into the shop, I pulled off the starter and tried it with a battery-- it spun just fine! I tried to turn the ring gear with a big screwdriver but it wouldn't budge. I could turn it in the opposite direction, though. I also then saw that the oil level in my wet sump looked about a quart or two higher than it was before. Now I think I know what the problem is- gas drained from the Holley down into the engine and past the rings into the pan. A cylinder was probably hydraulically locked so the starter couldn't turn it over. I pulled the plugs (they were totally black) to let the gas evaporate while I was back in Nashville for a week (flying back to Tucson this afternoon). When I get home I'll re-install the starter and check that the engine will turn over. Obviously it was running WAY too rich so fuel was leaking somewhere.
The mystery to me is "how did all that gas get into the intake manifold?" The electric fuel pump was not left running (unless someone was fooling around with the switches after we left for the evening) and the fuel tank pickup is much lower than the carb so it could not have been syphoning gas. The needle and seat may have been leaking around the o-rings but does that cause the fuel bowl to empty out with the fuel pressure shut off? Hmmm.....
Suggestions are welcome as to what may be going on.
Regards, Neil Nashville (for now)
Any suggestions?