Fueling issues... ?

[rjohnston79]

So this is something I've been wondering in 2 years of owning my 63' Daytona... when the weather is warm, it is very hard (sometimes impossible) to get the car to start. It takes 2 ppl, and a teaspoon of gas down the carb at just the right moment. Once it fires up, it runs like a dream.

When it gets cold-ish in fall or spring, it becomes easy to start - usually fires up on the first crank. But once its going, it runs rough, sputtering and coughing and revs going up and down.

It hasn't been a real problem since the car is not yet road legal, but its getting closer all the time, now with brakes, and fully functional electrics. It just seems odd; this is almost the opposite of all my experiences with carburated cars....

I am planning to rebuild the Stromberg 2bbl this winter, so hopefully the problem will go away, but just curious if this is familiar to anyone?

[StudeRich]

You need to check out that Presto(crap)lite Distributor! The inconsistent idle is common with worn bushings in the Dist. causing cam to wobble, and the pins that hold the centrifugal weights wearing through the holes in the weights jamming the advance, bad vacuum advance, worn points etc.

Carburetor issues can be also contributing to the problem, mainly you have a frozen Choke vacuum piston and or wrong choke setting causing the starting issues.

[rjohnston79]

Thanks Rich - I'll check out the distributer when I do the carb. Thats part of why I asked... a nagging feeling that the carb might not be the problem...

[Chucks Stude]

I wound up replacing my pile of junk Prestolite with a Delco, when the advance plate broke. Glad to hear that you are going to rebuild the carb. Coming from someone in a hotter part of the country, part of this problem seems to be a result of alcohol in our fuel. When my car is cool, or at first start, it fires right up. After it warms up, it does not want to start. If you let it cool back down, it starts right up. I put spacers under the carb to isolate it from the heat. I have purchased thru Amazon, of all places, a Carter P60504, electric fuel pump. The pump is a pusher type, with an attached filter. I think the max pressure is about 4 to 5 lbs. It installs close to the fuel tank. You do not need to remove the mechanical fuel pump. Along with this, I have purchased a Ford inertial cut off switch(or tip over switch). I got it used from BC Broncos in Ingram Texas. The pump with frt was about $60.00 US, and the switch with pigtail, and frt was $25.00. I will post pictures of the installation after I get it done. I know there will be a lot of disention on the forum as to the route that I am taking with this, but the problem does not seem to be so bad as to run return lines, pressure regulators etc.
Anyway, just my $ .02 worth, soon to be $ .04 worth, the way things are going.