The gas in my tank is probably ~6 months old at this point and the car had been sitting for around 2 months (without fuel stabilizer in the tank) while I am redoing its interior.

I was traveling a lot for work and when I returned and tried to start the car, the battery was dead. After charging it, I found that the car wasn't starting and traced it to the fuel pump. After a lot of poking and prodding with the test light I found that the wires to and from the pump were getting pretty hot so I gave the pump a few smacks with a hammer, as some orange gas was starting to sneak its way out around the hose (not a great color for gas), and it started right up and I let it idle for ~20 minutes while I added fuel stabilizer.

Question - the car ran great, do I need to dump the tank? Should I replace the fuel pump if it's working now (its only about a year old)? did the pump somehow rust shut internally (the tank is around 3/4 full with 93 octane fuel which probably has ethanol in it).

Edited 22 hours ago22 hr by chaseincats

2 hours ago, chaseincats said:

The gas in my tank is probably ~6 months old at this point and the car had been sitting for around 2 months (without fuel stabilizer in the tank) while I am redoing its interior.

Question - the car ran great, do I need to dump the tank? Should I replace the fuel pump if it's working now (its only about a year old)? did the pump somehow rust shut internally (the tank is around 3/4 full with 93 octane fuel which probably has ethanol in it).

I just got my '71 240Z back on the road last week after it sat for too long - longer than your car did. It wouldn't start for me so I had it trailered to a mechanic. He put in a new battery (Old one wouldn't hold charge, replaced under warranty), cleaned the carbs, drained the tank, and put in five gallons of fresh gas. When I picked it up it was a little hard starting and rough running until warmed up. His advice was to run it every day. After three days it starts easily and runs smoothly. It has a 20 year old electric fuel pump that continues to pump well.

I'm guessing your pump is OK. But I'd drain the tank and work with fresh gas.

Edited 19 hours ago19 hr by psdenno

Modern fuel goes bad quickly, by design...

You could:

Drain it

Dilute it

or get it running and run it out, then add fresh

3 hours ago, Patcon said:

Modern fuel goes bad quickly, by design...

You could:

Drain it

Dilute it

or get it running and run it out, then add fresh

so far its running and ive been doing just that. thoughts on what clogged the fuel pump even though there was an in-line fuel filter between the tank and pump?

I had a knee replacement last November and didn't touch either one of mine until a week ago. I had to tap my carbs with a hammer to unstick the floats after hooking it up to a gas jug with new 93 octane and let it run straight from the jug to the fuel pump. It spit and sputtered, smelt like she-it but only for a few minutes.

I followed Phillips recommendations on removing the tank, so read over the first of his "tips and tricks" to drain that fuel out.

https://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fuel/gastank/index.htm

4 hours ago, siteunseen said:

I had a knee replacement last November and didn't touch either one of mine until a week ago. I had to tap my carbs with a hammer to unstick the floats after hooking it up to a gas jug with new 93 octane and let it run straight from the jug to the fuel pump. It spit and sputtered, smelt like she-it but only for a few minutes.

I followed Phillips recommendations on removing the tank, so read over the first of his "tips and tricks" to drain that fuel out.

https://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fuel/gastank/index.htm

Were they stuck with gelatinated gas or internal rust?

I suspect the pump was fouled by crystalized fuel. Could be rust but I doubt it. Unless it's a cheap pump. Most internals in fuel pumps are aluminum or coated in some fashion.