Hard Starting

[Logan]

After my 53K has sat for a day or more and I go to start it I pump the gas a couple of times, and crank it, and it fires briefly, then dies.  Then, it takes a lot of cranking, like maybe 20 seconds, before I can get it started.  After that it runs fine.  And if I use it earlier in the day and wait a few hours, it will start up fine again, but if it sits for a few days, it's like I said: hard starting.

[Jim B PEI]

It really sound like you are not getting enough gas, when you need it most at cold startup. Pump could be weak, filters or intake might be gummed up. Not seriously, but just enough that when the gas has evaporated after a couple of days it takes an effort to pressurize up again. Is the accelerator pump on your carb giving a good squirt too? Needle and seat clean with no blockage? A 6 volt electrical pump on a separate switch for occasional use might be the answer, just to prime it up, and to provide a bit of backup pressure in case of hot day vapour lock/carb boiling with the new fuels/hard starting when hot.

[boatingbill]

LOgan: If in normal driving and you give a stomp on the gas and it accelerates normal and will hold speed, then I think the fuel pump, filter and accelerator pump are fine. Do you smell gas when it sits in a confined area like a garage? It may be a cracked carburetor bowl allowing all the fuel to evaporate over time, causing the fuel pump to refill the carb before it can start. If your vented gas cap was plugged, the car will not hold speed, so let us know how it runs when being driven.

[Logan]

It runs well at speed, and responds right away and smoothly when given gas, so I think the accelerator pump work with no problems.  I haven't noticed a gas smell, but I haven't torn the carb apart since I bought it, just made some adjustments, so it could very well be evaporating.

[superk226]

After the car was not ran for a day, did you remove the air cleaner and look to see if the automatic choke was closed? Sounds to me like the choke is not working or needs to adjusted.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

I had a similar problem with the 1952 Kaiser I had.  It runs well but try to get it started!  There are several things to check:

1.  Is the flexible fuel line rubber, old neopreme or new neopreme type?  Rubber and old neopreme will deteriorate due to current gas formulas that sit in the flex line.  If you haven't replaced the line in the last few years, this is one possibility.

2.  Do you have a fuel filter on the pump, on the fuel line (especially if a 1951 Kaiser; they came with one installed) or between pump and carb?  I found that again, with today's gas, there was a problem with sediment that accumulated when the car sat...apparently there is enough fuel flow to such the stuff through.  Check the filter and give it a good cleaning.

It helped for me, but of course, every situation is different.

[Logan]

It was just the choke set too lean.  I turned it a little richer and it starts right away now.  It seems obvious now, but I didn't think of it.  Thanks for all the advice.