I got my car running pretty good after a bottle of Seamfoam, timing, and carburetor tweaking so I took it for a drive up and down the neighborhood. The car at this point has maybe 2 gallons of gas in it... When I'm driving uphill the car wants to cut out and the fuel pump starts racing. When I took a corner the car wanted to cut out and the fuel pump was racing, but when I was going downhill it seemed fine.

Do these cars not have tank baffles? I know it has to do with me being low on gasoline, but is this pretty normal? I guess I should fill it up at a 1/2 tank every fill up to prevent sputters?

 

There is a baffle running front to rear in the tank. The SE tank also has a 'cup' that the pickup and return lines sit in. Moral of the story, put some fuel in it.

 

I lost my job about a month ago so I was short on cash. I just started my new job today though So the SA will be getting a full tank of gas and a few other goodies withing a couple weeks.

 

The fuel delivery system on FBs is not very tolerant of low levels. Most newer cars can run the tank almost totally dry without suffering fuel starvation. Their pumps are mounted inside the tank in plastic reservoirs that have one way valves and an ingenious venturi fill system that keeps fuel around the pump. There are real fixes for this, butthey're all fairly involved. Keeping some fuel in your tank is the cheapest solution.