[michaeld]

I haven't had a car with a carburetor for a good ten years now. You forget a few things after that long.

I'm wondering if I've got a problem or not. If I do, it's clearly either a fuel pump or a carb issue.

When my Grand ville sits for a while without being run, I've got to crank it for a good 5 seconds to start the engine. However, if I drove it yesterday (for example) it will start up so quick that I say, "ATTAGIRL!"

My fuel injected cars can go weeks and fire right up. I frankly can't remember how a carbureted car does its business. But that five seconds seems like a LOOOONG time when you're used to your cars firing right up. Should a carbureted engine and a well-functioning fuel pump fire right up even after the car has sat for a week or more?

I also haven't checked on something: did Grand villes have electrical or mechanical fuel pumps?

[65gto69]

Depending on how long your car sits before starting it, the float bowls which hold fuel in the carb. might go low or dry, and the gas in the fuel line will creep back to the lowest point. Now in this old car you should have a mechanical fuel pump which works off a fuel pump cam. The only way the mechanical pump will work is while cranking the motor over. While the motor is spinning the fuel pump cam will move the fuel pump lever up and down to draw the fuel forward through the fuel line to the carb and fill up the bowls once again.

If your car is sitting less than a week, it is possible that your carb bowls are leaking into the venturies and dripping into the motor emptying out your bowls.

Your new car fuel injected car has an electric fuel pump and fuel injectors. When you turn your key, pump kicks on and injectors shoot fuel into the cylinders. Instant fuel.

Hope this helps, others should chime in on this also.

Mark

[Jeff Walker]

When the engine is cold are you remembering to pump the gas pedal once or twice before you start it?

[Mark C.]

I read somewhere on here that today's fuel evaporates much faster than fuel did when our cars were new. My 86 F150, my TA and my Bonne all do the same thing. If they sit, the fuel evaporates and you have to fill the bowls back up. Using the mech pump, like stated above you must spin the motor over.

[michaeld]

Originally Posted by 65gto69

If your car is sitting less than a week, it is possible that your carb bowls are leaking into the venturies and dripping into the motor emptying out your bowls.

Thanks for the fuel-delivery lesson, Mark. I had a basic understanding, but your explanation helped me learn a little more.

If my carb bowls ARE leaking, is there a fix short of a full carb rebuild?

And are you implying that a carbureted car that sits for less than a week ought to fire right up if everything's mechanically O.K. (or am I just inferring that?)?

You know what, Jeff? I'm frankly not sure. Like I said, I haven't had a carburetor for going on 15 years. You just kind of forget about doing such things.

One of the other funny things about having multiple cars is deals like accelerating and braking. You know how every car is different? You get used to braking one, and then you get in the other and smash your nose into the steering wheel...

If the fuels evaporate faster, or if carbs just "lose" fuel-delivery-ability faster, or whatever, that's fine. I really just wanted to know if I had any reason to believe I had a problem. For now, it's no big deal.

Sadly, I have to park one car right behind the other one, which makes switching them a pain.

I don't envy Jay Leno his money or his fame: I envy him for his garage!