My 74 Spit has been running well, but I have been having trouble with starting.
The car does not start easily, even when it is 90+ outside. I have a brand new
starter, and the car started more easily when it was below freezing outside. I
have to have the choke on and pump the gas, regardless of the engine temp, and
when it finally starts, a puff of black smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe. I
think that sometimes I smell gasoline at this moment as well. After about 10
seconds, the engine will stall if I don't keep my foot on the gas. The car
stalls at stop signs if I decelerate too quickly. When I turn the car off, It
has a tendancy to run for a little while after I have taken the key out. To
avoid the embarassment of this, I generally leave it in gear and ease my foot
off the clutch after I have taken the key out. When I inspected what happened
under the hood as it ran with the ignition off, the engine's final
post-ignition puff blew some sort of vapor out of the carburator t!
he wrong way. I had the carburator (single stromberg) professionally tuned
about 6 months/300 miles ago. (I was at school, so my car wasn't driven from
January until May.) About a month ago, the little screw in the top of carb that
stops the throttle return vibrated out. I had attributed the stalling at stop
signs to that, and until I could get the proper screw, I just left the choke
slightly on. I have put a makeshift screw in its place, but the problem has not
been solved. Also, I am doubtful that the tough starting and the black smoke
are attributable to the screw missing. I have checked, and there was oil in the
carb when this started, and the engine has new oil. While driving, the engine
runs fine. Any ideas about what is going on here?
Kris Powell
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