Dodge Repair: Bad Gas?, chrysler lebaron convertible, chrysler lebaron

Question
Hi Russell-

I recently bought a 1982 Chrysler Lebaron convertible with the 2.6/Auto. The car idles great and when you step on the gas it hesitates for only a moment then takes off. The in between, holding a steady speed, the car lurches and hesitates. The car had not been driven in 3+ years and was filled with gas probably a few years before that. My first thought is to drain the gas tank, then put in fresh gas with some fuel system cleaner and drive it to clean the system. The gas tank is about 1/2 full, is there a drain plug I can take out or how do I empty the tank if there is no plug?

Thanks,
Jim

Answer
There is no actual drain plug on these tanks. You will need to remove the fuel hose that leads to the front of the vehicle and siphon the fuel out from there. As far as the hesitation you are experiencing I believe you may need to have the carburetor rebuilt or replaced. This would be especially true if you live in an area that blends Ethanol into the fuel. The Ethanol tends to cause all kinds of problems with carburated vehicles.