Greetings all. I recently bought a '79 Spitfire and have spent the last few
weeks getting it road ready but have recently hit on a problem that has me
stumped. BTW, it has a single Stromberg CD4T carb.
The car starts fine cold. Turn the key and vroom. It runs great as well. The
big problem is starting when it's warm. Drive it around for ten minutes and
it won't start unless the accelerator is half pressed. Twenty minutes later
the gas pedal has to be floored to get it to start. It'll start and run at
500 rpm or so for 15 or 30 seconds and then act like nothing happened.
Anything warmer than that and it won't start. It'll turn over no problem and,
if the accelerator is floored, might run for five seconds at 400 rpm or so
before dying. Leave the whole thing alone and come back a couple hours later
and the car is as well mannered as can be. Turn the key and go.
A couple other 'clues' which may or may not be related:
1) As the engine heats up the idle speed drops until it'll stall without help
from the gas pedal at stop lights.
2) Gas mileage is awful - 10mpg around town.
My mechanic says its just fouled gas and will clear itself up after a few
tanks. I think it's something to do with the automatic choke. Who's right:
a), b), or c) none of the above?
Thanks for any help and advice you can give. It's great to know that there
are others out there willing to help out...
DJ
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