Reply to "Heat Soak and Flooding"

I'm bringing this thread back because it has become particularly relevant for me as I'm entering the first warm season with my Pantera.

Yesterday I took the car out in the warmest weather we've seen since it came into my possession. We topped out in the high 70s, a far cry from the 100+ days to come.

I ran some errands around town with no problems. Then left the car parked for an hour before heading home. On the way I bogged and nearly killed it a few times with acceleration. Just as I was cornerning to enter the neighborhood it died on me. I had to put the pedal to the floor and crank for a while before it would start. Once started I would have to keep the revs up to keep it from dying and even then I'd get about 100 feet before it died. Repeated this process about 10 times to make my way to the house and into my garage.

It would get harder and harder to start each time and would only do so if the pedal was on the floor. I had several large puffs of exhaust when it would finally start.

I could hear the fuel boiling before I stepped out of the car. I pulled the air cleaner to find dense vapor billowing from the vent tubes and an intermittent spray from the squirters. The liquid fuel as vaporizing as it hit the inside walls. I actuated the throttle and got the squirt I expected but then it continued to squirt after I let off the throttle.

I've got a Holman Moody intake with a Holley 750dp sitting right on top without a spacer. The fuel lines and filter have been run up along the firewall and there is some insulation between the rail and the intake where it meets the carburetor. I recently installed a Fluidyne aluminum radiator that by all accounts has been working well. No problems when I'm running around but I have noticed some 200+ temps when I'm idling or in stop and go traffic. My fans need upgrading but that's another issue. I had just come off the highway and my temp gauge had been a solid 170 the whole trip.

I've always suspected heat soak problems. My stepwise solution to the problem:

1. clean and/or replace needle and seat
2. add 1" phenolic spacer, this will require different air cleaner
3. rebuild carburetor if #1 and 2 don't fix, or
3a. replace with Demon 650

In my assessment I've got 1) a carburetor problem and 2) a heat problem and they need to be fixed in that order.

Does this sound like primarily a needle and seat issue? I'm planning on pulling them without removing the carb, any issues or concerns with that?

Any thoughts? Think I'm on the right track?