810 Vapor Lock Problem

Those of us who have dealt with 30's - 40 Cadillac and LaSalle flathead V-8's know what vaper lock is all about. At least, we know about pushing the cars out of the way whilst DEALING with vapor lock! We also know about diaphragm-style electric pump failure--in my case in the middle of the 8-lane by 8-lane intersection of Ford and Telegraph roads at 4:00 one Friday summer afternoon. People were NOT polite!! :rolleyes:

On my non-judged 40 LaSalle I solved the problem permanently with several alterations. 1) Rotary fuel pump, with filter. By-passed the mechanical pump entirely. 2) Insulated the fuel line under the hood. I used plumbing pipe wrap--available cheap at Lowe's etc--for this, and wrapped it with foil-faced tape. 3) Fabricated and installed sheet metal heat shields between the hot hot hot exhaust components and the fuel line. 4) Installed a 12-volt accessory battery that operates only the starter. That boy CRANKS. I recharge the battery on occasion during the driving season. 5) Solved an overheating problem by power-cleaning the water jackets of the block. I removed (can you say "Chipped Out?") a ton of a prior owner's Stop Leak gunk that had hardened to cement and had made an undesirably EXCELLENT heat sink in the block's water jackets.

All of the above compromise originality, of course. But--the LaSalle takes me anywhere I want to go, and it always brings me back home. I confidently drive it anywhere and everywhere on the hottest of summer days. Too bad it doesn't have A/C.

--Tom

I agree with Mike. I bypassed my mechanical pump years ago. While I still have very occasional vapor lock, it is nowhere near the problem it is with the stock setup. On a recent trip I watched the fuel percolating in the glass fuel pump bowl on an 812 Cord during a stop on a hot day. Essentially, the stock mechanical pump, especially the top-mounted one, is nothing more than a heat exchanger!

I continue to read of this vapor lock problem. The rotary electric fuel pump is the answer, but no one takes it far enough. If the electric pump is turned on when people have vapor lock and it solves the problem why doesn't everyone run it all the time through a dummy mech. pump. I have done this for eight years and 25,000 miles with not one vapor lock. A problem that doesn't have to be. That way me can have more time to worry about overheated coils, overheating engines, low oil pres. and overheated drivers. I forgot to mention the biggest worry of all, OVERHEATED WIFE'S.
CORDially Mike

Dennis, You didn't mention whether it cranks as fast when hot as when cold. If battery & generator are working properly, generally slow hot cranking is caused by under size cables or poor connections or both. The above comments by Tom & Bailinwire about coil & condenser are good ones. If looking for a coil ; see my comments under Auburn on Fri. Aug. 15 2008@ 8:12 PM. That 6 volt coil will through a spark about 3/4" long. Happy hunting! Henry . PS, Solid state pumps are OK too.

My car does the same thing and it can be very frustrating. There is still plenty of fuel, rich carb, almost flooding when this condition exists.
I am going to check the coil after it is warm to see if the spark gets weak.
Sometimes coils will have reduced output when warm. Also test condenser.

In desperation I was almost thinking the valves are set to tite and when warm they may expand and open slightly and loose compression during restart.
I was going to check compression when warm to see if the valves open enough to leak when warm.

If you don't have an electric fuel pump I would recomend that you install one close to the gas tank. Be sure to put a fuel filter between the tank and the pump. Also use only a rotary type pump with a pressure around 2 to 4 pounds. Other kind pumps (diaphragm type) don't last very long. You could also get some insulation for the gas line. They sell it at place that have hot rod parts though you can probably get it through your good auto part store.

Hello everyone,
I just picked up my new 810 Westchester on Aug. 5th. I have driven it to a Cruise Night where it was quite a sensation, of course the younger generation had no clue! I took an other ride down to see my brother on Cape Cod about 50 miles round trip. It drives and rides like a dream. My only problem is it won't restart after I have been driving it for a while, let it sit for 20 minutes or so and it starts up fine. It appears to be a vapor lock! I talked to Josh and Don Mates and they confirmed that Cords are prone to vapor locks. Do any of you have any solution for correcting the vapor lock problem?