Beginner needs help!!!

[mvl5010]

I just bought a 73' convertible last week that has a 302 in it and i finally got the chance these past couple days to put some serious miles on it and here are some things that have happened and I want to get some feedback/suggestions. After driving for a couple hours I stopped to get gas and the car wouldn't start back up. I was stuck at the gas station for about 45 minutes and then it fired back up. Any idea what caused this and how to fix it? I've also had the car start and then shut off seconds later multiple times, again any ideas? 

 

[ArtBBQ]

You need to add more details about what it does or doesn't do when trying to restart it. Does it turn over? Does the starter click when the key is turned ? Did you maybe flood it with gas trying to restart it?

 

[mvl5010]

So before I get into more detail I should add that I really don't know much about working on cars or car parts. So when it happened at the gas station it was trying to start but wouldn't turn over. I am almost certain the engine wasn't flooded, I was pretty cautious about not hitting the gas pedal too much. Actually a guy at the gas station said he had some old car and mentioned something about a liquid boiling in the carburetor or something like that when the engine gets hot. As for the other issues, ive only driven the car about 10 times and id say half the time it fires right up and the other half its takes a few tries. But at least twice after getting it started and putting it into gear the engine shuts off. I hope thats enough information 

 

[ArtBBQ]

So it sounds like the starter is turning the motor over when you turn the key, but the engine just doesn't fire up ? Then after cooling off for 45 minutes it fired right up. 

A couple things come to mind. It sounds like it's just overheating to me? Have you checked the antifreeze level in the radiator? If that is full and it's of decent quality, maybe the thermostat is stuck closed and not allowing fluid to cycle through the motor. Is there antifreeze on the garage floor from the previous time you drove it? One thing you can do is take it to your local auto parts and have them check the antifreeze quality and quantity. If those two are good then look at the thermostat. Even with basic tools you can remove it and replace it fairly easily. There's a YouTube video for everything. Be careful driving it if it's overheating you could do some serious damage.

The second thing that comes to mind is sometimes either the starter will get too hot from exhaust being close to it or either the ground wire or the hot wire might have a bad connection on it and it's not allowing the motor to turn over fast enough to start the motor. But my gut feeling is it's overheating

 

[72MustangSprint]

Manual choke? 

 

[Mac]

Two things come to mind:

1) If the wrong gage battery cable wires are used, they could be undersized, become over heated and must cool down before they will allow current to flow properly again to start.

2) Vapor lock.  The gas in carb can boil if a spacer block is not used between the intake manifold and carb.

Just guesses.  Good luck.

 

[delawarebill]

keep a can of starter spray with u for kicks.. does the rad have fan shroud? if not get one. might be time for new rad too. ck the timing it could be off. i'd also suggest u run the engine for a few then shut it off and look into the carb. if it's dripping then a carb rebuild is in the near future. with engine running do a voltage test across the battery. 14.7 volts running.