Trouble on Mother's Day!

[bonsaiwino]

So, we took our 79 carbureted spider 10 minutes away to a nice restaurant for Mother's Day dinner. We got there fine, but the car stalled out in the parking lot. It would not restart. I went out to the parking lot a couple of times during dinner, but it still wouldn't start. It turns over fine. I sprayed some ether into the carb and tried to start it again. It would only stay going for three seconds until the ether was gone. My uneducated guess is it's some kind of fuel pump problem. Give me some thoughts guys! Thanks again, Don

[SunnySideUp]

Process of elimination - just start with the easy stuff and work your way down to the more complex items. Hopefully it's something simple and easy.

If you are sure it is a fuel issue I would start with the fuel filter. If it's clean, make sure all the fuel and vacuum lines are in tact (no holes, splits, etc.). Then make sure the fuel pump is working properly (has power, isn't plugged, etc.).

[So Cal Mark]

try loosening the gas cap to see if there is a vacuum in the tank

[bonsaiwino]

I've been keeping the gas cap loose since last fall. Back then I did notice a vacuum in the tank every time I would loosen the so. Tonight I just went out and checked it. There was no vacuum, probably because I have not been tightening the cap all the way down.