----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, October
07, 2005 5:20 AM
Subject: IML: Starting
Problems = Was: re: Alison's car
The problem with having to crank for ages
is very common in carbureted cars. Those of us who drive Fuel
Injected cars are spoiled by the instant start performance of an electric fuel
pump leaping into action as soon as you twist the key!
In the olden days, when our collector cars
were driven every day, this problem didn’t get a chance to show up
as frequently, but now, when we drive them seldom, the carburetor bowl is
always empty when we go to start them. There are a couple of sure cures:
- Fit an electric booster pump in
the gas line back near the tank, wired to a separate switch, so that it
will run when you turn on the key and then the fuel pump for a few seconds
before you try to start the car, thus filling the carburetor bowl before
you begin to crank.
- Be prepared with an ounce or
two of gas to put in the top of the air cleaner lid (loosen the wing nut
first, the gas will run down the screw threads and prime the engine).
But, the right way to fix this, of course,
is to determine where the fuel is disappearing to, and cure that problem.
The only hitch in this git-along is that
the fuel bowls are all vented to the atmosphere in our older cars, and the gas
will evaporate sooner or later no matter what you do. However, this takes
a couple of weeks, so it isn’t the main problem with these cars.
A somewhat more likely cause is a carburetor that has been
“rebuilt” too many times, and/or left in the cleaning solution too
long, so that the aluminum or pot metal bowl is porous, allowing gas to slowly
seep through the microscopic pores of the bowl. If this problem is severe
enough that the car demands long cranking after only a day or so, you would
smell gasoline in the garage if you have this problem.
The most common cause of this is a leak somewhere in the carburetor that is
allowing gas to drain into the intake manifold while the car is sitting.
This is a serious problem, as it will dilute the oil in the pan sooner or
later, and could even lead to a serious engine fire if the leakage is bad
enough. The worst scenario is when a cylinder has enough liquid
fuel in it that it balks the starter or even breaks the piston .
The way to check for this problem is to remove the carburetor, making sure the
fuel bowl is full, then set it on a level surface with a paper towel
underneath. If the fuel is leaking down out of the carburetor, it will
show up on the paper towel in an hour or two.
Just to mention it, there is an old
wife’s tale about gas being siphoned back into the fuel tank due to a
failure in the check valves in the fuel pump. This is hogwash – the
fuel line which connects to the fuel pump enters the carburetor above the level
of the fuel surface in the bowl, so even if both check valves were bad, that
could only cause the fuel pump and associated lines to drain back – it
could not possibly drain the carburetor (remember the bowl is vented).
NOW< on a separate subject:
In your particular case, you mention hard
starting when hot – this could be because fuel is boiling in the
carburetor and spilling down into the intake, flooding the engine (but
you’ve added a heat insulator, right?).
It could also be that your timing is set
too far advanced, making the engine “kick back” as you start to
crank it. You can tell which by listening to the starter – if it
seems reluctant to turn as you begin to cranks, try cranking it with the coil
secondary pulled out of the distributor cap and grounded. If then it
cranks normally, your timing is too advanced.
If, on the other hand, it cranks just fine
but won’t fire up right away when hot, you are probably suffering from
fuel boiling – more and more a common complaint over here with our
reformulated fuels, but I don’t know if you suffer from the same malady
down under – is your EPA equivalent making you use oxygenated fuels
too? If so, you may just be stuck with the problem. Keep the
carburetor cool is the only cure, I’m afraid.
Dick Benjamin
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Harmsworth
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005
8:22 PM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: Alison's car
Yes you are correct Dick. I got the car with the Edlebrock
fitted and the original carb in the Edlebrock box in the trunk along with the
original air cleaner. The Edlebrock had some pretty horrendous vacuum
leaks when I first got the car & after fitting a spacer under the
carb to lift it so the air cleaner would sit on it properly I managed to turn
both idle screws in 6 turns would you believe. It had been running so
rich it was like it was running on coal rather than petrol, leaving black sooty
marks all over my driveway. It's running as sweet as ( the dogs nuts )
now. It explodes into life from dead cold although is a little hesatent
to fire up when hot. Anyone got any ideas?? and if left idle for a week
then I have to crank for ages to get it to fire. Lack of fuel maybe?? Thanks
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, October
06, 2005 4:31 AM
Subject: RE: IML: Alison's
car
Yes, Torrance is a suburb of LA.
Alison’s car previously was owned by Norm Silverman (AKA
“Watchfatha”) and was a very nice driving car - I drove it. I
believe Alison converted it to an Edlebrock carburetor to cure some problem
with the AFB – I hope you got the original carburetor with the car.
There’s nothing wrong with the Edlebrock conversion, but you might want
to put the car back to original someday. There was a problem getting the
air cleaner to fit, so I think the car had an aftermarket (ugh) air cleaner on
it.
Dick Benjamin (who used to work in
Torrance)
From:
mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Harmsworth
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005
3:31 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: Alison's car
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.10/119 - Release Date: 4/10/2005
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.11.10/119 - Release Date: 4/10/2005
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network