Does yours fire right up?
 

I bought my truck last winter and have always had issues with the first start of the day. Usually takes about 5 to 7 seconds at least for the engine to start. I assumed in the winter it was just the cold weather but now that the temps have come up and it's the same thing. There's no problem starting up after the engine has been running then turned off but if it sits for longer than an hour or so after being run it's the same 5-7 seconds before she starts. Anyone else seeing the same amount of time for startup? Thanks!

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Check your choke settings. I adjust mine twice a year. Once for cold weather. It stays closed longer. Once for hot weather. Choke opens faster. Use some WD40 on the carb when it's cold.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Pump it twice and it fires right up ALMOST no matter how long it sits (month or so between useage sometimes).

When it's cold pull the air clearer off so you can look down the carb, have someone stroke the gas. You shoudl see 2 good healthy streams of gas shut into the carb. If you don't figure out why, that is your problem.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Mine has been like this for years. It drains all the fuel from the pump to the carb over night, the inline filter is always bone dry after sitting.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Not an uncommon thing on engines with carbs instead fuel injected. Also fuel injected vehicles have electric fuel pumps that builds up pressure faster than mechanical fuel pumps.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Mine if its sat for a few weeks, months or in colder weather it can be a bit of a bear but beings i just drove it yesterday i can walk out this morning reach in and crank her up.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

This is very common with quadrajets. All q-jets have epoxied plugs in the bottoms of the fuel bowl that are that way from the factory to seal up drill passages used during manufacturing. After 30 or 40 years, that epoxy breaks down and the fuel leaks out of the bowl causing hard starts because the lift pump has to fill the bowl again before fuel will get to your engine.
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Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

One pump of the pedal in the morning and it cranks right up all day.
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Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

No choke no pumping no choke horn and it fires up all the time.
A good tune makes that possible
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Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Replace the old q-jet with a new edelbrock. Starts like its fuel injected, works perfectly. Edelbrock carb even comes with a tuning/setting dvd, makes it east for anyone to roll.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

The one here, has had about 20 miles put on it over the last 4 years, it hadn't been tagged since 09, (that was a $200 mistake since Oklahoma now nails you for that) drove it 7 miles to the local gas station topped her off. Then last night our small town had a "Shoot the U" thing for the Blue star mothers, we relived my higschool days a bit by cruising town.

But if its been started regularly it will still reach in to fire up, the only thing we've done to it over the years is changed the oil, replaced the Vac lines once and 2 or 3 coil modules.

But i may add the miles (128,800) have all been easy driven miles not much hotrodding even with me using it as my first truck haha.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Most likely it's a heat issue. What happens is engine gets hot, intake gets hot, which in turn heats up the carburetor. A hot carburetor will evaporate all the fuel out of it as it sits, so it can't fire up right away. You've got to crank it for several seconds to allow the mechancial fuel pump to fill the carburetor bowl up with fuel again.

The solution is a carburetor heat spacer, which is just a piece of plastic that sits underneath the carburetor and acts as an insulator, and they usually average about $30~$40. It keeps the engine heat from reaching the carburetor, which means the carb won't evaporate all of it's fuel as it sits.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

one pump and it fires right up, hasnt had a choke on it since ive had it, 100 degrees or 0 degrees it hasnt failed to fire in the 7 years it has been my daily!

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

well what solved my problem was i replaced the starter and the fuel pump and now it fires up withing 2 to 3 secs litterly everytime lol

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

This is a classic sign of fuel drainage....nothing else. It has nothing to do with heat, cold, or anything. I, too, replaced my carb with an Edelbrock 1406 and there are no issues with this thing cranking right up after sitting a few hours or a week. My truck is a '75 350 with 123,000 miles and has the stock intake, distributor, coil, plugs, etc. I don't know about all that epoxy talk, but if your carb hasn't been rebuilt in a couple decades, it wouldn't hurt. I'm not sure if your truck has to be inspected or smogged where you are at in Illinois, but if not, start thinking about a different carburetor. It's amazing how it can bring that engine to life. Good luck man.

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Well, there ya go. That's how they suppose to work. I have a number of carburated vehicles and the only time they have a starting issue is when something is off,

Re: Does yours fire right up?
 

Before I tore my truck down for the build I had this issue. Only my truck would set months on end before firing it. It always took a while for the fuel to fill the system. I had an edelbrock on it and it would fire everyday when I was driving it but when left to set for months then it would always bleed off and take a good while to fire back up.