Guest Tim Romans Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 So I have two rebuilt carbs back on my '41 in addition to a new fuel pump. I drained out some gas that was about a year old and blew out the lines for good measure. I put about 3 tsp worth of gas (about 1 tsp) per try down in the primary carb. She tries to catch and fire so I'm almost there. I have about 1/4 tank of fresh new gas in her. Aside from pumping the gas pedal all day (which doesn't seem to work BTW) could someone advise on the best way to get her started again? Many thanks as always!Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 On long term storage cars and dry systems I like to use a My-T-Vac pump with the brake bleed bottle attachment to draw fuel up to the carb. Then reconnect and the float bowls fill quickly.I have posted about this tool in the past and some were unfamiliar with it. I have that little Amazon store now so I just added the item to " Special Tools I Like To Use" The link is in my signature.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Full choke and a good battery should be enough to flood it in less than two minutes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 An empty mustard or ketchup squeeze bottle, cleaned, and then filled with fresh fuel.Squirt the fuel into each carburetor through the bowl vent filling the carburetor. The engine should start on the first revolution. Saves the battery, the starter, and the good disposition of the operator!Jon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Romans Posted June 2, 2013 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Heh, heh, that put a smile on my face! Talk about in the nick of time! I just emptied a ketchup bottle. I'll get to cleaning it. Dumb question and I know I could probably check the shop manual, but where are the bowl vents on the Carter WCD? Just to also add, I put the battery on charge when I first posted this (around 8 hrs ago) and it's at 75% charged which means it was waaay low. Probably didn't help me much to have a low battery. Even with that low of a charge and a little bit of gas she tried to come back to life. Hope that's a good sign. I have the fire extinguisher standing by just in case too.I may get one of those pumps for the tool collection anyway. Thanks for the tip and definitely handy to have. For anyone else looking for one of those pumps, be careful if you type in "T-Vac pump" in Amazon, you'll get bombarded with male enhancement products and not the pump you're looking for Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest frazer51 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 Pumping the gas pedal does not put gas into the carburetor. This is the job of the fuel pump, and after the gas has arrived to the carburetor them the pumping of the gas pedal injects gas into the intake manifold. I dislike the instant starting an engine that has not run for awhile. I would rather give it short burst with the starter until there is a chance for the oil pump to put some lubrication to the moving parts. If after this attempt and your car will not start you may want to prime the engine by adding 1 or 2 shot glasses of gas into the carburetor, NOT WHILE CRANKING THE STARTER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I used to help service 201RY, a '34 PII Continental, back in the 1990's. The rule for springtime start up was to crank the engine by hand until the oil pressure needle lifted off the peg. What a joyous annual event that little needle moving was. On that car lube and saving the starter were most important and cranking they engine took three of us in rotation.The method I mentioned above is the one I use. Disconnecting the fuel line at the carb and drawing from the tank usually gets stale fuel out of the line on cars that have set. It wets the fuel pump innards, and brings fuel to the carb.Oh, "201RY" in Google images brings the car right up.Bernie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 An empty mustard or ketchup squeeze bottle, cleaned, and then filled with fresh fuel.Squirt the fuel into each carburetor through the bowl vent filling the carburetor. The engine should start on the first revolution. Saves the battery, the starter, and the good disposition of the operator!Jon.While they don't necessarily squirt, there are smaller (about 1 quart) plastic bottles out there for mixing 2 stroke fuel. I use one of these, in part because it was made to contain gasoline and is easy enough to handle to get a small amount of gas in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 If the idea is to fill the empty fuel line, full choke will make the engine suck the gas from the tank through the fuel pump check valves. Although it is not very safe, I have seen many dry fuel system starts with an old mechanic holding his hand over the carb until the engine either kicks, starts or floods.A 41 Buick might require two hands to make this work, but the engine should pull a lot more fuel than a little fuel pump. You might try sealing the carb intakes and cranking the engine with the coil disconnected just to wet the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Romans Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Sweet sound of a Buick Straight 8! I cranked her under full choke a couple of times at 10 second intervals or so and then primed both carbs with 1/4 cup of gas. Took me a couple of tries, but I got her to fire and run. Then, I heard a noise like something spraying under pressure. Carbs were good and not coming from there so I opened the hood on the other side and saw the fuel pump squirting gas and shut her off. I disconnected the battery for the night after letting the vapor dissipate. Not sure where it's coming from, but I'll probably have the wife start her tomorrow while I hold the flashlight to see where the gas geyser is coming from. It seems I have the worst luck with brass fittings and never seem to somehow get them right the first try and almost blow myself up in the process. Hope I'm not the only one in this boat as it leaves me feeling like a bit of a moron. I double checked to make sure everything was good and snug (not overtightened,) but I guess not. Does anyone use thread sealant on their lines or any other tricks of the trade to make sure you get them on there correctly the first time out? Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 (edited) Tim - I personally am against the use of any thread sealer on fuel fittings, but if you just have to use it, then ONLY on tapered (pipe) threads. And NEVER use Teflon tape on fittings. As an aside, I finally found a good use for Teflon tape. I tie it around the small trees I set out each spring to mark them so I can see them when mowing!Suggestions:(1) ALWAYS start all the fittings in the system before tightening any of them.(2) Give your 142 year-old great grandmother an open-end wrench and ask her to tighten all of the fittings!Jon. Edited June 4, 2013 by carbking (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 If it isn't a fitting, it may be a cracked fuel line. Most original prewar cars have a loop near the carb to absorb vibration. Don't eliminate the loop if you replace your fuel line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tim Romans Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Thanks guys, got her started back up again last night and the fuel leaks are gone. Jon, I avoided the use of thread sealer and teflon tape. I did use a smidge of motor oil around the threads which made them easier to start and grab on to the fittings a little better. She started at about 1 1/2 revolutions of the starter! She idled well, a little fast I beleive, but started to backfire, small "pop...pop" noises every so often out of the exhaust. I may have to retime het I believe? Last time I set the timing was when I had crappy carbuetors. Going to take her for a very brief run around the block tonight. I've been doing all this stuff in conjunction with some performance issues I have been having. I'll start a new thread and detail what I've done up to this point and what the performance issues are. Thank you all for helping me to get her running again without burning down my house Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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