Car won't start
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 357
Likes: 0
From: Sayville New York
Car won't start
I have an 81 that won't start. I haven't tried starting it since the fall. When I try to start it it turns over and over and over and over etc. But never fires up. I know I am getting fuel bk I had my wife try starting it and while pumpming it I could see fuel going into the carb. I know the battery is good. I checked to make sure the plug wires were all on the plugs and the cap. Any one have any advice?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,672
Likes: 1
From: New Cumberland PA
There are only a few things needed to 'fire up" and engine. A compressed fuel mixture and a spark. Pretty simple but problems can arise. Not only is a spark needed but its needed at the right time. Since no one as played aroud with the engine it's more than safe to assume the ignition timing is correct. Check for spark by either pulling a plug or if you have an old one, use that. make sure it is laying on top of engine so it's grounded. You should see a spark as you crank the engine. If not, then you got an ignition problem. Best to double check it so you don't waste time and money. If you have spark, then you have a fuel issue. Again, it is safe to assume you have compression since no one worked on the engine. Old gas may be the problem, but I think it should run on it. I prefer to try and start it on starting fluid. Give it a 2 second squirt down the carb after removing the air cleaner. It will start a car that has been slightly flooded.
Safety Car
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 3,758
Likes: 3
From: Surrey
If there is a spark (as described above) then it may be old fuel, or fuel that's dried out, that's causing the issue (recently had to strip a pair of carbs completely to remove the "jelly" & brown varnish the old gas had clogged it with. Carb cleaner took care of the "jelly" but I had to use wire wool on the varnish 
). What I did to initially start my '81, after the fuel system had been drained, was to pour about an eggcup of fuel down the float bowl vent. Then I held the throttle to the floor (as you would for a flooded engne) & spun the motor over a few times. It fired a couple of times & then burst into life, coughing a bit until the pump had moved gas up to the carb.
As a long shot, how old is the fuel filter? I once had a problem with a car that turned out to be a blocked filter. It had run perfectly for ages, one night I parked it up & the next morning it refused to start as the filter, overnight, just stopped flowing fuel!
good luck
). What I did to initially start my '81, after the fuel system had been drained, was to pour about an eggcup of fuel down the float bowl vent. Then I held the throttle to the floor (as you would for a flooded engne) & spun the motor over a few times. It fired a couple of times & then burst into life, coughing a bit until the pump had moved gas up to the carb.As a long shot, how old is the fuel filter? I once had a problem with a car that turned out to be a blocked filter. It had run perfectly for ages, one night I parked it up & the next morning it refused to start as the filter, overnight, just stopped flowing fuel!
good luck
