Last September I posted the following, "I have a Plymouth PA. It has run like a top. Last evening I was driving it, and it began to sputter. Luckily I was close to the house. By the time I hit the driveway, the engine stopped. Tonight I started troubleshooting. I have spark. The fuel pump works. I pulled the bowl and checked the fuel filter. The car turns over but does not fire. The carburetor is a Carter BB-1 Model 245SD. I am a new owner (I bought the car three years ago), so I am still on a learning curve. Do the symptoms sound familiar to anyone?"
@TodFitch suggested that I clean the carburetor well, so I did it last week. The car had gotten hard to start when it would start at all. On the occasions I could get it started, it wouldn't stay running.
Cleaning it definitely helped! I took the carburetor apart completely and cleaned everything. I put on a new idle adjustment screw and spring. I also put on a new gasket. The car starts right up and stays running, but it still acts like it sometimes wants to die. I am going to try to imbed two YouTube videos. The first link is me giving the engine gas and then letting it idle. The second is me starting it, letting it idle, giving it gas, and letting it idle again.
Before I started having issues last fall, it ran smoother than what you see in the videos. I am open to suggestions.
Here is additional information I failed to add. I have adjusted the metering screw a half a turn both ways and it seems to have no impact. The idle adjustment screw does not seem to be the problem either. The gas in the tank is probably a year old, but it is ethanol-free, and I always add Sta-Bil. So, I don't think that is an issue.