John, I am answering your question about hard starting rather belatedly.
Having driven LBCs in the wet Puget Sound area for many years, I agree with
Dick T. that humidity is likely the major factor in the hard starting. I
believe that the problem is with the high voltage side of your ignition
system. Ignition wires are especially prone to cause moisture-related
problems, so if they are old, I would replace them. Stay with quality wires
with good tight fitting boots at both the distributor and plug ends. Stay
away from spark plugs without ribs on the outside of the insulator. The
ribs make a much longer path to ground, and help prevent shorting out when
there is moisture or water present. Check the distributor cap for small
cracks. Even the smallest crack can cause big problems in humid conditions,
so if in doubt, replace the distributor cap and the rotor. Of course, if
you are still running breaker points, make sure that they are like new (no
metal transfer from one contact to the other) and correctly adjusted. (I
like to set them with a feeler gauge and double check running with the dwell
meter) Also, I would replace the condensor and carry a spare in the glove
box as the quality of the condensors for our distributors seems to vary and
carrying a spare is cheap insurance. One diagnostic check that you can try
is to start the engine (if you can) when it is really wet out and observe
the engine running in the dark. Quite often leaky spark plug wires or other
bad high voltage parts will produce a blue glow around them (a corona) or
you may actually hear a zap-zap sound of the high voltage escaping to ground
through the damp air.
Good luck!
Rex Townsend
Bainbridge Island, WA (yes, it's raining again!)
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