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Tom,
First off, does the gauge work and exactly how much
gas is in the tank now? And are you running on
only untreated two year old gas, or have you topped it off,
additives? Either way, I would shut it down.
If you have topped it off and diluted the old gas,
all the better in my opinion. I would still however remove what you have
in the tank and get new gas at all costs. Because if you do drive and
fail, AAA will rescue you, but you still have a problem. Only worse.
If you have AAA, just have them hook it to your house and drain the system some
how. Under duress, this is what I have done.
You say the gas cannot be drained. By the fact you
are idling fine is not necessarily an indication of a clean, or especially
when under load, fuel system that is road ready. For if you "ask"
for it and she begins to cough and sputter because every filter is jammed with
sediment and the like, I guarantee you failure will happen at the WORST
INTERSECTION IN YOUR BACK ROAD JAUNT, and you will not "feather that
pedal" home. It is just Murphy's Law. So first thing is change every
fuel filter in her (I am not greatly familiar with the '63 and how many there
are).
Then disconnect the fuel line from the fuel
pump on the inlet side so you have a straight shot to the tank. This only
if it is truly not drainable from the tank drain plug, if your model has
one. Once you have the inlet side tube accessible, note what OD the pipe
is, or size it through your FSM. Go to your local hardware store and they
will have a small drill operated pump used by plumbers to drain hot water tanks,
kind of looks like two male hose connections with a post which your drill will
drive, about the size of the palm of your hand, to pull the gas
out of your tank. The outlet of the pump of course is easy as you just
attach a garden hose, the "make up" for attaching to the gas line from the tank
can usually be attained through adaptors on the inlet side with clamps,
reducers, hoses, brass, what ever it takes to get a seal on the gas line. Make
sure the fuel tank cap is off and before you attach the homemade adaptor to
your feed gas line, then you should, at the variable speed of your choice, but
not too fast as to inhale all the sediment, but just slow enough to
pull what sediment/varnish/growth is possibly in there while trying to attain
good flow. Then, with a clean couple of gallons, repeat the procedure and
see how it pulls through your gas sump/filter that is in the bottom of the
tank.
IF you are lucky, the tank and the fuel
lines will perform. Your first tank full should be 93 octane and
with an additive (members chime in as to preference) to help dissipate the
remaining pollutants in your tank. There is no doubt without actually
pulling the tank whether you have "cleaned" thoroughly enough,
which under these circumstances is probably not really. But if on the
second pull through, the gas is clean (just look into the vessel you chose
to pump into) you may be one of the lucky ones. I would still keep her
somewhat local for a period with "two exit" highway runs to really push the fuel
through and without leaving the comfort zone of your mechanic's reach!!
ybshore
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