That happened to me when I tried too much advance on the dist. Too much advance to start because of the strain on the starter. Make sure you make marks on the dist and some other non-moving part so you can get back to original timing - then - turn the distributor ever so slightly clockwise - maybe even a half inch on the outside diameter of the dist. Try starting see what happens and let us know.

 

Is the battery going dead?

 

A backfire up through the carb is a sign of a lean condition. Without the choke plate installed, and with the flame up through the carb, you are lean and not getting fuel. If your accel pump is not working right and you have no choke, the car will be very hard to start. A vacuum leak during cranking is irrelevant. Check your accel pump for proper operation and install a choke.

 

This is what I would do.

When the engine is cold, verify that there is gas in the carburator. Look down in there and pump it by hand a few times. The gas could be draining out of the carb and it takes that long to refill it.

Check the voltage at the + side of the coil. The coil gets ~9 volts while running, but ~12 volts while cranking. If it's not getting ahigher voltage while cranking, it will probably be harder to start when cold.

 

Sent you a PM

 

Hi, I love all of the experts. Basically sounds like ignition (weak ignition). Voltage to coil. Basically you have to start with static timing. Align your mark at pulley to timing tab, with #1 cylinder valve cover off, and distributor cap off. Since your car started, then this must be close enough. Next no way to put a timing light on the motor until it is running, on the battery cranking over the starter, the motor isn't turning fast enough to realistically read the timing mark, but you can check your dwell and adjust that on the battery cranking it over. If you turn that thing over more than 5 or 6 attempts, you should recharge the battery. You can tell if the cranking power is going away. Next I truly think that if you have all of the above right even with a bad adjusted carb in warm weather climates, just a splash of gas or quick start should get you a moment of promise where it sounds like it will start. Becareful because it doesn't take much to flood one of these. Then you need to air out the carb. In other words too much fuel and you may need to open the throttle all the way open and blow down the throat to dry it all out, distribute the flood fuel before your next attempt to start. Basically since you were able to get it to idle at all was a good thing. Normally weak spark or starving fuel would cause it to drop off and die immediately. If the fuel feed is sufficient then the car will run rough at higher rpms but die when you drop off to idle. I would leave a plug connected to the plug wire and ground it out (the connected up spark plug electrode) to the engine block to see if you are getting a good firing to the plug. Good spark jump. If not back to my suspicion! If no spark, then back to the coil, coil ground, coil voltages. Coil ground through an aluminum intake manifold should be grounded to the block just for better conduction. Change the coil also. With a vette and when driving one since the coil sits on top of the engine, you should always have a spare. Hope this helps.

 

Don't know how I did it or why it did it. But I recharged the battery and I coaxed it to life.

The vacuum leak is still present is coming from near the master brake cylinder and the firewall area.


Thanks for all the tips guys. I appreciate it.

 

Maybe the diaphram in the power brake booster is leaking. Try disconnecting and plugging the vacuum line into the brake booster and see if your leak goes away.

 

Thank you for allowing me the privilege of trying to help you with the problem you are having with your car. I always like it when someone asks for advise then wants to argue with the people giving it. For future reference, it would have been a good idea to include all this information in your first post. Things like:

1) This is a new problem, not something that has been going on since I got this POS.
2) Oh, by the way, there is no choke mechanism on this POS.
3) I wonder where these capped off vacuum lines go to on this POS?
4) It doesn't matter that I don't know what I'm doing on this POS because my tools are half way across the country.
5) Did I mention that my car is a POS?

Yes, it sure would have been easier if we had known all this from the beginning.

I'll probably be on my way to camp for this post, but after having to put up with someone talking to you like you're dirt, a vacation might not be so bad.

BigBlockk

Later.....

 

Brookman I will check that out.

I got the car running again this afternoon. Got the idle to the books recommend setting. Everything seems fine. I added another gasket to the carb. It started, well leaking isn't a good word, it was spewing, just like a fountain, gas. Lovely day I have been having. lol

Everything seems fine. The real test will be tomorrow morning after it has sat all night.

I truly do thank each of you, who have offered advice. I really appreciate it.

Now BigBlockk,

Sir I don't know what I did to aggravate you into the state you are in. I sure you have a reason and whatever it may be, I apologize. Some people just don't get along well. Acceptable fact of life.

Now my parents raised me right and the U.S. Army ingrained into me to call ever person Sir or Ma'am. A sign of respect. I don't mind showing you respect. But I find that hard to do when you insult me, my vehicle that I have great pride in, and my intelligence. You are trying me, Sir, but I still give you that respect.

The beauty of this thing called Internet. Somebody makes you mad, frustrates you, whatever. You can ignore them, Sir.

I am not even going to bother with responding to what you wrote. It is just an attempt to get a rise out of me. I really don't care.

I am not going to say anything to the mods or owners or any of the higher up people. Simply because I am a new person here and you have been here for awhile. We can use your experience here just as much as anybody else.

You may have a nice decked out, chromed, new part this, mod that, 69 corvette. You know what my POS is to me?

It's my dream car! I got it while I can enjoy it! It was within my price range. Some people in life aren't handed everything. We have to work for it and make do with what we get. Some of us have a tad bit unhealthy careers and are life expediency is shorter than men that stay in air conditioned garages with all the new tools. All my work has been done in the parking lot in front of the barracks, in the rain and in the heat. I am about 95% certain that I will getting deployed with then next 4 months. Sir you make me wonder why I agree to do things I do. I got the corvette I could afford. Not much since in waiting until I am old and have the same amount of money. When I possibly might never becoming old. What do you think about that logic?

If you see a post by me and you don't like it. You have every right to ignore it!

Have a good day, Sir.

P.S. My POS car starts and runs just fine without that choke plate, call it a mechanical miracle.

 

It would've eliminated a lot of confusion if you had originally stated that this was a NEW problem. From the way your first post was worded, some people, including myself made the assumption that this was a long time issue. We all need to look at these things from both sides.

Let us know how it works today.

 

I don't know where the "respect" and "sir" come from. It certanly seems that I am being talked down to in your earlier posts. But that is beside the point. Our personal differances aside, back to the subject.

Carburetors are not very good at vaporizing fuel in cold engines. Choke systems were designed to get around this problem. They will even cover up for vacuum leaks when starting the engine. I know you don't want to hear this but I would say that 80% of your starting problems would be solved with a properly functioning choke. A choke will apply itself at any tempreture below 75 begrees. Even when it is warm outside the engine needs the choke.

I believe the reason this is a new problem is because of the differances between winter and summer fuel formulations.

You say that the car runs pretty well when it is warm. If it idles good when warm that would tend to rule out vacuum leaks unless the idle mixture has been cranked to get around them. If that were the case I would think the idle speed would be unmanageable.

Your car may have other problems but getting the choke right will help a bunch. Go to the salvage yard and get the nastiest Qjet you can find that has the proper choke blade (there are different shapes). Strip the choke parts and use them on your carb. You should be able to get something that will work for under $20. Even if you have to get a manual choke rod from NAPA get that choke working.

I wish you luck with your car.

BigBlockk

Later.....

 

Take the top of the air cleaner off pour a small amount of gas down the carb, put the air cleaner lid back on and try to start it. If it starts this way it most likely the accelerator pump is not working like it should or it means that with out the choke you will need to pump the gas pedal 10 to 15 times crank the engine over a few times pump the gas pedal some more and start the car.

 

I was waiting but no one said anything the carb seems to be dumping all the gas out have you smelled youre oil if it smells gassy dump the old and find out why the float is not shutting the gas flow off . It kept getting worse is why they all think its the choke but it started fine in the winter .So its got to be something else.

 

(Yesterday)
This morning at around 5:30 it didn't want to start. I didn't have to time to mess with it, so I got a ride. Tried it again at around 10 and with a bit of coaxing it fired off. I ran it a good bit today. around 3 hours, then another short drive (15-20 minutes), sat for four hours, then about 2 hours of stop and go in town traffic and sparatic errands. So it wasn't always on during the 2 hours.

Now that the idle is reset, I need to adjust the carb settings a bit. But I will just have to do it again as soon as I get a choke plate. Soon as I get a day off I am hunting up as many junkyards as I can to find a choke.

Reseting the idle, helped a hell of alot.

I am going to get one of those meters that reads the rpms, volts, dwell, and points tomorrow also.

Now it turns over for a bit, few seconds, then either sputters or chugs to life. Either one requires me coaxing it with the gas pedal, but it starts alot easier.


(Today)
I started it up at around 10. It took a while, it just turned over and over, without firing off. I can here a knock as I am turning it over. Usually after it starts knocking it fires off pretty soon after.

Today it would fire off and die, repeatedly. I then pressed the gas pedal so many times that I figured that I flooded the carb and I tried it a few more times and it started up.

It seems that once I get it started each day that it is good for the rest of the day. I drove it a lot today, never had any problems starting it up except for the first time today. I noticed that there would be a small delay and would continue to turn over without firing off and then it would roar to life. I almost certain I need to reset the idle mixtures.

Thanks again for all the advice and input.

 

my guess is timing with a combination of tweaking on the carb. Tell us what you find.

 

I am getting a carb and choke parts from a member here, this town doesn't even have a decent junk yard!

I am getting use to the way its starting. The accelerator pump seems to be sticking a bit some times.

I took me about 30 minutes but I finally got it started. I checked the plugs and they looked black but not liquid black like oil. Oil damage to plugs (so the book says) can cause hard starting and that likely a seal is broken somewhere in the engine. I truly hope this isn't the case.

So I had it running. I was fiddling with the idle mixture screws. Got the carb to were it wouldn't hesitate when I punched the gas. That took about 15 minutes of the 30 minutes.

Took it out for a test drive and to get lunch.

Then a car pulled out and hit me in the drivers side door!

So now I get a new door pretty much and an interior panel. Slowly redoing the interior, but it isn't exactly the way I planed!

Nobody was hurt, somehow my car bent her bumper and caved in the headlight on her Mitsubishi.

Glad it wasn't worse, but that woman has terrible timing!