1950 -- starting, running rich, long fast idle

[Gary_N]

I've only had the car for a month or so. It's running quite rich and takes forever to return to normal idle. When first trying to start cold, it fires, then stalls. After that I have to push the gas 3 - 5 times to the floor then hold the pedal to a postion that just fires the starter and no more. After a long crank she fires up. I never smell gas while trying to get it started. She also runs with a pronounced 'miss'. The driveway under the exhaust is marked with tons of black (almost liquid) spots after starting. The carb also seems to be leaking at the manifold gasket.

Per the Seller, the carb rebuilt and the electrical (plugs, points, condenser, wires) were completed or replaced within the last 300 miles. But, the car has basically been in storage for 14 years.

This is all very new to me and frankly, aside from the obvious (take the car to an expensive restoration garage), I'm not sure where to begin. Is rebuilding the carb best left to a shop (as I recall, there isn't much in there)? How hard is it to adjust the carb and choke?

Obviously, I have little experience but would rather do the work myself. The adjusting parts have me a bit worried though

Any help/suggestions will be appreciated greatly!

Gary

[Patrick W. Brooks]

Good Morning Gary: The first thing you need to do is stop any leak at the manifold gasket as it may be on an intake port and this will screw up the mixture coming from the carb. The carb correctly mixes gas and air for the cylinders and if there is a leak after the carb mixing the load delivered to the cylinder is not correct. This can lead to poor starting, idle and operation. Try to wiggle the manifold gasket and it you can it is not tight. This usually results from one of the small circular rings which are to seal the intake ports being caught up and twisted. To remedy this you must remove the entire manifold assembly and reinstall it. Check each of the rings for a burr as they are to squeeze closed inside the port. If you look the recessed port is actually beveled (at an angle) so it squeezes the metal circle closed. If you determine there is a manifold leak it must be fixed before anything else is done and you will probably have to reset the idle screw to see if it idles properly and comes from fast to slow idle properly. Hope this helps. Patrick W. Brooks

[Guest brh]

Also if it has old gas in it drain out and start with fresh.

[Guest]

Gary,

I've owned my 50 for 18 years, and I'll tell you that if you did not have a receipt from a carb re builder, then the guy did it himself. It's more out of wack then before he took it out of storage.

So, I would just take the whole carb off put it in a box, and have it rebuild for $150. The floats need to be adjusted, the needle valve set, and a new leather accelerator pump installed. I'm sure all the gaskets are dried out.

As far as the miss, the plugs, wires, and points, are simple to replace, and you can time the car by ear to get the engine tuned.

[carbking]

The starting issue could be a multitude of problems; but the long fast idle and rich running could be a defective or misadjusted choke.

On a vehicle of this age, the automatic choke should go off in 5 to 8 minutes depending on whether the car is being driven or at idle.

You can check the operation of the choke (which controls the fast idle) by removing the air cleaner, and then starting the engine. The choke plate, before the engine starts should be closed. When the engine starts the choke plate should open perhaps 1/4 inch and should slowly open as the engine warms to the vertical or wide open position. When the vertical position is reached, the fast idle cam should go out of play, and the engine drop back to normal curb idle.

If this doesn't happen, things to check:

(1) check to make sure the heat riser is not stuck in the open position.

(2) check to make sure that there is vacuum from the choke housing to the heat tube (I am assuming you have a carb with the integral choke, and not the divorced choke which sets on the manifold).

(3) check the operation of the choke spring. Remove the choke cap and coil, and place them on your workbench. Mark the position of the end of the coil on your workbench. Borrow a hair dryer from your wife or girlfriend (not both ) and apply heat to the spring. Measure the linear distance that the spring unwinds; and compare this with the linear distance that the choke arm (inside the housing) moves from choke open to choke closed.

(4) if all of the above seem normal, readjust the choke as follows. Reinstall the choke cap and spring. With the engine cold and off, and the ambient temperature at 68 degrees F. (65~70 is close enough); depress the throttle to the floor and release (this releases the choke lockout); with one hand hold the throttle about half open; with the other hand slowly rotate the choke cap until the choke butterfly starts to close, and continue to rotate until the choke butterfly just touches closed; release the throttle, and tighten the choke cap retainer screws. This procedure will adjust the choke to standard setting.

Jon.

[Gary_N]

Thanks guys for the help. I'm sure the carb did not go out to a professional for a rebuild, so, that will have to be the number one item. I'll check on all the other suggestions presented.

It's good to know there's so much knowledge out there for us old novices.

I'll let you know how I make out!

Thanks!

Gary