355 - No start and a simple...fix?

A couple weeks ago, I attempted to start the car for the first time this season. It cranked strong, but did not fire. A shot of starter fluid got it to cough a bit, but that's all, so I figured it's a fuel issue of some sort.

Hadn't had a chance to do anything with it til the other night, when my girlfriend's sister and her husband came over for dinner. He's a truck mechanic and offered to help see if we could diagnose this a bit further. Having repeated the starter fluid test (could hear the fuel pump and got a fuel smell from the exhaust), we figured maybe it's a fuel pressure issue. He asked where the fuel tank was. We put the car in the air, popped the undertray covering the fuel tank off, and he told me to smack the tank a couple of times. So I did (with my hand, not a hammer), tried the key and it fired right up.

He said he's often seen this work on trucks he works on that have been sitting for a while, like the fuel pump takes a set and a little smack gets it going. (Car has been in the barn since November last season; I don't start my cars during the winter). I've started an old Farmall with the help of smacking the starter a few times, but this is a new one for me.

Started the car yesterday, fired right up, took it for a ride locally for an hour or so (AAA card and tow hook handy, be prepared) and it ran like a top.

While I'm glad it started and all seems fine, I'm thinking once I run the tank down (still filled with added Sta-Bil from last fall) I should pull the fuel pump and replace any crumbling rubber, etc., but wanted to put this out there and see if the 355 braintrust had any thoughts?

 

That's pretty much what I was thinking...but it was weird, a few smacks and it fired right up, after many attempts both the other day and a couple weeks ago to zero effect.