Vapor lock, anyone ever done a return line system with a carburator?

[shelbycharger400]

To start the story out  my 78 dodge has been having small issues occasionally with fuel.
I have never had a problem on quick short runs from house to 2 blocks away ect.  I drove it all over last year throughout summer ect.  2 weekends ago, darn thing died on me on hwy 10.just before st cloud.. tried everything, on the side of the road,  including a new fuel pump,  put in new lines, tried even another steel line. switched to different tank. fresh gas,   basically nothing solved it.  buddy towed it home.  next day, took the pump off..checked  everything including the essentric.. put it back together , bear to start...ran.. took it 2 miles down the road, DIED. both times wife was not far away,the neighbor towed the truck home. I drained the tank behind the seat, and used 2 paint filters in a funnel to a few gas tanks in the process. I did the easy method, one long hose, and a quick shot of pressure to the vent port..established a flow rather nicely.  well i have taken one tank out cleaned it and about 3 handfulls of rust junk out of the tank. left the tank in the bed, to bake in the sun for a day or so, put it back in today and Fueled it back up with the "great" ethanol gas.  i have left it run for about 2 hrs or more here in the driveway, goosin it a few times, hood shut, drove it round  back ,can here it spudder a bit, pop the hood and  Yep, can see the fuel bubblin way in the fuel filter.  exhaust runs 2 inches away from right frame rail.  U guessed it fuel line is clipped to right frame rail, and the frame rail gets rather warm.
Any ideas for insulating the fuel line, or heat shield.  I have read about the only thing that appears to work is a return line system, that way the pump can pump all the time and purge heated fuel,  I have another fuel sending unit i could braze in another port.  3/8 line is rather cheap,  and i found a mrgasket 2015 regulator for about $40

[Slabs]

Hmmmmmm!!  Makes me wonder if there isn't a pinhole leak in the line from the tank.  I've seen lotsa fixes for vapor lock at the drag track back in the 60's but that doesn't seem to cover your problem.

Vapor lock seems to be a hot weather problem.  Is that your situation?

Some years ago a buddy had a problem in a continental with intermittent fuel exaustion problem.  He had installed an electric pump to bypass the mechanical one.  We had the car out at my shop and ran things up only to find out that the electric pump ran all the time without the engine running whereas it should have shut off after the fuel requirement was satisfied (autopulse pump).  Turned out that there was an air leakage beteween the tank and the pump.

Hope this gives you a few ideas in troubleshooting.

Good luck

[trim4u2nv]

I have a 1986 dodge and have had air leaks and vapor lock both cause fuel problems.  The most effective fix for me was to replace all short rubber hoses on top of the fuel tank taps where they connected to the steel lines (air leakage.)  This was a stake bed so I just removed a couple of deck boards  and worked from above.   The next thing the steel lines rusted out, and after making 4 splices i replaced all the steel lines from the tank to the fuel pump.   I also had vapor lock problems which I could solve by removing the air filter and slowly pouring ice water on the carburetor and fuel pump and she would start right up.  That was caused by a worn fan clutch.  Hard to figure but a 3 row radiator kept the engine cool while moving but on a hot stopover it would vapor lock.   Also if you have the T-shaped fuel filter there is a right/wrong way to plumb the hoses.

[slider]

i you go with a return system then all you have to change is to a different pump and some way of taping back into the tank,is this correct.

[shinnlinger]

If you want to
Insulate the line, put a piece of sheet metal between it and the exhaust it will deflect the heat. 

[shelbycharger400]

new mechanical pump, all new rubber lines, all have hose clamps on them.  mrgasket fuel filter after the pump, even ran a new steel line to the carb.   i did have the tank out ect.

the frame rail is gettin hot from the exhaust..so i do need to fix that issue first.   just dont want any of this happening again.

slider.. it appears i can use the mechanical or an electric with a return style regulator

yes, it is a hot weather problem..  i do have a few electric fans around, thinkin i might put one in on a thermo switch too.

[easymoney]

 you can get fuel filters at any auto parts store that has 3 connections for lines one is for the return to the tank.  a bonus in some cases the carburetor might flood if the float valve does not seat good this will bleed off the fuel pressure when you shut off the engine preventing flooding.

[Al_Smith]

Oldest trick in the book .Install a bunch of clip type clothes pins on the fuel line .

[sandhills]

Been following this and my first thought was use that tinfoil backed insulation they use in stock cars on the inside of your frame rail, can't think of the name of it off hand but get a issue of  "Stockcar" magazine and you'll find it advertised. 
Al, what do the clothes line pins do?  I've also heard of that, just never figured how they'd work  ???

[rbhunter]

Oldest trick in the book .Install a bunch of clip type clothes pins on the fuel line .

I have seen this work before.

[Magicman]

Sorry I just clicked on this thread.  I had a Dodge with the exact problem.  My solution was to use "rubber" fuel line and reroute it to the opposite side of the frame.  This was an instant fix and I never had a vapor lock again. 

This is so simple and easy and guaranteed to work.