ELECTRONIC IGNITION

[studequest]

Hello Friends:

1963 R1 with air

NEW BATTERY, REBUILT CARB,. GOOD SPARK PLUG WIRES, CLEAN PLUGS, ORIGINAL DISTRIB, ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP

I have noticed of late, after sitting for a few weeks> car is hard to start. Needs a nip of starting fluid

Lights off and runs fine.

BUT> i want it to start without the hassle of the kick of 'joy juice'

Will electronic ignition help me?

Pertronix or

Dave Thiebauilt system with Mallory distributor he sells or

can I keep my original distrib and use pertronix and if so which model #

Should I add a fuel pressure gauge to the line?

Much appreciated

Keith

Edited August 10, 2014 by studequest

[Gunslinger]

Your problem sounds like it's caused by today's gasoline blends. It's not uncommon at all for a carbureted engine to behave exactly like that.

Outside of that it's possible your carburetor float level is misadjusted but the gasoline blend would still be a prime culprit...especially if has alcohol in it. Today's fuels are blended for fuel injected engines which are closed and pressurized. In a carburetor the gasoline quickly evaporates and you have to wait for fuel to get pumped to the carburetor and atomized then into the combustion chambers.

If it's truly fuel related then electronic ignition will be of little help. No matter how good a spark you have, it can't ignite anything until the fuel mix gets there. That's not to say don't change to an electronic ignition, it's just that it can't fix a problem that not of the ignition's making.

If you have the original Prestolite distributor, they're known for bushing wear. If you can grab the rotor inside the distributor and feel a lot of side play then the bushings are worn. Either rebuilding or a different distributor is the solution. You can also connect a dwell tester and see if the dwell holds steady or changes a lot when running the rpm's up and down...that can also give an indication of worn bushings.

[Guest dapy]

In addition to Gunny's advice try holding the accelerator in half way position while cranking.

[studequest]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the advice

I did hold the accelerator down and was thinking I flooded the car

after atomizing with starter fluid (and it takes but a drop) I notice the idle is not high as it would be with the choke on.. but the choke is functioning

It is the original Prestolyte distributor and I can have that checked

Pressure gauge in line to carburetor a good thought or forget it

[GlennW]

Maybe a long shot, could be a worn mechanical fuel pump. Somtimes they won't pump at the lower starter rpms but the kickover w/starting fluid gets the pump going and then it sustains itself. If you can pump the pedal prior to starting and see gas with the air cleaner off, then obviously it's not the pump. FWIW, even with non-ethonal fuels I have to give my R1 5-8 down to the floor pumps before turning the key if it's sat for a few days.

[Gunslinger]

He said his car has an electric fuel pump.

[GlennW]

He said his car has an electric fuel pump.

oops! You are correct sir.

[Warren Webb]

I agree that todays gas contributes to a lot of problems. I haven't driven my Avanti in years, however I recently converted my 62 Champ from the factory Prestolite to a Delco window distributor that already had a Pertronix 1 module installed. There was a definite difference between the two. Now the Champ starts almost immediately whereas before 2-3 seconds went by before it fired up. Some don't like the Pertronix but I have had all good results with them in both my Champs & my R-2 Hawk.

[Paul K.]

I don't doubt your good luck starting your Lark, but I think tis issue is fuel related as suggested earlier. Try this: Instead of cranking the engine right away turn on the key to activate the electric fuel pump for 10 seconds before cranking. See if it starts faster. If it does, then the fuel bowl was dry and the problem is not ignition. Either the fuel evaporated since its last run or the fuel drained from the fuel bowl. Not sure if the Carter AFBs had plugs in the bottom of the fuel bowl but this is a common problem on many old carbs. If a carb does have these plugs, JB weld is used to reseal them with good results.

Don;t overlook the choke setting. When cold the engine should idle high around 1500 rpm. If it doesn't or it stalls, then it is too lean which would cause longer cranking times.