1955 Fleetwin wont run with choke off

[ShoestringMariner]

I am having problems with a new to me 7.5 hp fleetwin. The PO sold it me for a decent price, and then did some NC work on it when it wouldn't run right for me (no top end, would not rev). I got it home and did a barrel test t see how it ran, it was hard to start, but finally did and it ran quite well for about 15-20 minutes.

I let it idle and then run in gear at a few slow speeds and all of a sudden, there was a motor "kick" and it ran poorly and died. It would restart with the choke every time but would die after closing the choke. It would run for a bit with 1/2 choke, but it would lean sneeze and finally quit. Pulling the choke on and off alternately would keep it going.

I assume this is a carb issue? High speed circuit?

The PO did find some debris in the high speed circuit during the "warranty" service, so I wonder if there's junk in my tank getting sucked in?

The PO even went as far as to rebuild my tank and float assembly for me and I'll feel like a **** going back (plus the 1.5 hour drive each way) so I think I will try to solve this myself.

I am still using the old style pressure tank, which is holding pressure well. The glass bowl on the carb seems to stay full

Is there anything I should check before I pull the carb? Plugs look good, running on both cyls.

EDIT: Can I put an inline fuel filter on this motor, or is the sediment bowl supposed to catch any crud?

Thanks in advance

 

[F_R]

Sediment bowl probably is the problem. It caught the crud and now the filter element is plugged up. They are very difficult or impossible to clean, you are supposed to install a new one. Consider just removing it and install an in-line filter instead.

 

[ShoestringMariner]

Thanks, I will do just that