1939 Dodge Coupe engine hard to start

[41Rocket]

Hello friends.

Soon bought a 39 Dodge Business Coupe with flathead engine.

Everything is fine just one issue keep bothering me:

The car always very hard to start, just cranking, no fire. But if I put some petrol or start-up spray, then immediately fire up until you turn it off.

Even the engine is warm, I must repeat the same process to restart it. With mechanics checked everything include good compression, still no idea what's going wrong.....

 

NEW spark plugs, New carburetor Stromburg BXV-3 (checked, originally equipped with that ), New battery, New fuel pump.

Just curious where is the problem, guys please advice. Thank you !

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by 41Rocket (see edit history)

[Bloo]

Is the accelerator pump in the carburetor working?

 

Next time it's cold and you know it isn't going to start, with the engine off look down the carb throat and open the throttle. There should be a quick squirt of gas.

 

If there's no squirt of gas, either the accelerator pump doesn't work, or the carb is empty of gas. Try again when it has just been running, so you know there is gas in the carb. If there is still no squirt, the accelerator pump needs attention.

 

Does the choke work? Is it manual or automatic on this car?

 

 

 

[41Rocket]

10 minutes ago, Bloo said:

Is the accelerator pump in the carburetor working?

 

Next time it's cold and you know it isn't going to start, with the engine off look down the carb throat and open the throttle. There should be a quick squirt of gas.

 

If there's no squirt of gas, either the accelerator pump doesn't work, or the carb is empty of gas. Try again when it has just been running, so you know there is gas in the carb. If there is still no squirt, the accelerator pump needs attention.

 

Does the choke work? Is it manual or automatic on this car?

 

 

 

The manual chock work.  I have noticed that i tried to start it just after running, but can't get started.

[Bruce W]

Something else to consider is an issue related to the fuel supply from the tank. I once had a fuel tank that someone had poured in a product that was designed to line or coat the inside of the tank. After many years this coating began to peel off . Now chunks of coating were floating around and could easily block or partially block off the fuel supply. Another time I had a leak in a fuel line fitting that would allow air to be sucked in and not fuel. Because the leak was above the height of the fuel tank it did not leak fuel. It only sucked air. In both of these cases my car would run but it was hard to start. Anyway, that's two more ideas. If you find the problem please let us know. Most everyone has had a similar problem at one time or another. Best of luck.

[Bruce W]

I forgot to mention my clue to the air leak in the fuel line was I could see air bubbles in the glass sediment bowl on the fuel pump when the car was running.

[JACK M]

I had a old Jeep wagon that would do something odd on occasion.

In chasing it down I took all of the hard lines apart.

I found a very small pebble that had made it to one of the line couplers and couldn't make it thru to the next section. It acted like a tiny valve as it could fall back when the pump wasn't working, but once in awhile would move to block the line.

I slept better the night after I found that.

 

I have also seen that leak in a rubber line that would suck air but not leak fuel that Bruce mentions.

Edited December 20, 2020 by JACK M (see edit history)

[Studebeggar]

my 39 starts very good except when it set for 4 months or more,pour a bit of gas down the carb will do it..if car has not been run for years then you need to do lots of refreshing.