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
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network