Merz-Benz 500 Sel, sitting for a year not starting, can anyone help?

[jhummelcasserley]

Hello,
My mother's 500 SEL, 1985 Merz-benz transmission stopped working, it would only drive in reverse, (I thought this was strange as usually the forward breaks and not the reverse). I bought a used transmission replaced it about a year latter when I returned home but have not been able to get the car to run.

The car will start, and we tested if it would drive, initially it drove less then 100 feet, and forward and reverse worked. The problem is the car didn't want to stay on. We thought maybe we should have emptied the fuel and feeling like a fool, emptied it, and replaced the fuel filter. Now the car either doesn't turn on, or when we do get it to turn over, it runs only a very short time before turning itself off. We do hear the fuel pump running so I don't think it is the fuel relay (am i wrong?)... I don't know why it won't run, can anyone help please?

Additionally we have opened it up and put fuel directly on carburetor and that has worked, the car has run while we add fuel...

Thank you.

[FishFind]

You did exactly what you should have by putting the fuel in the carb.

So you answered your own question. You are not getting fuel.
I am guessing that your rails or carb are clogged. but could also have low fuel pressure.