Poor lil thing's been sitting derelict on my back lawn for over two years now. I fully admit the neglect... i think its been started up maybe once in that time, and only cause i bought a new (used) rad and had to see if it worked. My tiny little Pinto battery was dead, so that didn't help. Anyways, today i had some time and decided to get going on this project. So i waded through the swarms ov wasps, isolated their nests (more like colonies) and fogged the lil bastards with Holley carb spray (i'm outta brake cleenz, and the Fist ov Steel is less than effective when dealing with massive numbers...). Then the first good news ov the day... my brand new battery i got for my 68 Cadillac (high comp 472) actually FITS in that little battery tray.
But man... i forgot how cranky this thing is when i wake it up. I dont think i've ever had a car that was such a hard-starter as this thing... even when it was running its best and driving every day. It just does NOT like to fire when its cold (and i get going at like, 5PM). My old battery was pretty weak though... this new one rips that thing right over for minutes on end (and i needed those minutes today). Anyways, I get it fired and sit there tap-dancing the throttle for a good ten minutes before it will actually idle on its own. The car had sunk deep into its ruts in my lawn (always rains here, ground is always soft), and last time we needed to move it we had four big guys pushing on this tiny little car to un-stick it. Third bit o good news for the day... i was able to launch it out ov its ruts on my own. Nice... and definitely a first. So i drove it around the yard (on one flat, dammit) and parked it in the driveway, where it will now receive the attention it needs.
The list ov things to do is long, but easy: got a couple bulbs to change, a tire to fix (two are expensive, two are crap, guess which was flat...), some two year old gas to burn off, plugs to change, gotta permit it and tear around like a maniac for a couple days... then gotta run it through Air Care (emissions) before i can insure it. After that those ridiculous bumpers are gonna 'accidentally' fall off and disappear, along with the brackets (i'll bloody drive around without bumpers till i find some 71-3's), the entire exhaust is gonna get tossed for an aftermarket header (gotta figure out which brand to buy yet) and a 2 1/2" mandrel Borla exhaust with no cat, got some nice Z-rated Dunlop 275/40/17's to put out back and some flat black to touch up. Exhaust aside, thats an afternoon ov work to get 'er running and ready for that 100 mile commute i'll have in the fall.
Hopefully these mods will cure some ov that crankiness... this thing just does NOT like to wake up. Never had another car this bad, but then again, i've never driven anything without a V8 before either. Maybe its just a 4-banger thing... Even just driving it 'round the yard and briefly down the street... i dont know what it is about this damn car though... like no other, it just puts a smile on my face.
Should be an adventure...
:D Thank you for my chuckle of the day. Your posts are so fun! :D
Maybe it is a Pinto thing, the srarting them up. Both of mine are reluctant drivers, but the good news is I only have to tap-dance on the accelerator for a minute or two. Good for you getting her to drive out of her ruts. ;D
It probably didn't want to start because the carb & fuel pump were dry.
Try this next time.
Remove the spark plugs. Spary fogging oil into the cylinder and immediately install the spark plug.
Repeat for each cylinder.
Next spray some fogging spray into the carb.
I bet it fires right up and the oil helps lubricate the cylinder walls.
Once gas gets pumped into the carburetor it should keep running.
Pouring gas down the carb takes away any lubrication from the rings.
If it won't keep running, you may need to spray a little fogging oil occasionally into the carb to keep it running.
Oh, i do realize that not running a car in two years will make it a bit cranky, but it was always a cranky car. Daily driving it was no different. Starting has always been a chore. Maybe a some new plugs and a little tune up and my huge new battery will change things a bit.
But... that said, my 68 Cadillac has gone at least that long without firing more than once, and at best got started and run two or three times a year when it was in storage (was in storage over 10 years)... and it ALWAYS fires in seconds, and runs smooth and strong right off the bat, NO tap-dancing necessary. Two different worlds i guess...
I'll have an electric pump on there too someday, along with some killer ignition. If THAT dont fix it, i'll just have to fix it with a V8!
When I had the 2.0 in my car, it would fire as soon as you hit the key, everytime. I also put a 2.3 out of an '80 Pinto into my old Ranger trash truck, the car had been sitting at least 5 years. Pumped the gas a few times and it started so fast it took me by surprise! :amazed:
My guess would be the carb needs to be thoroughly gone through correctly, and then tuned properly.
Two quick stories, not to steal your thread, but I tend to ramble. I knew a guy in high school who thought he knew more than he did about carburetors, it took the loss of his eyebrows to prove that. :surprised: Turns out the wire for the electric choke was grounding out on the intake manifold, and someone had wired the choke open. That's why his car was such a pain to start. Another story, I have a friend right now with a Chevy pickup I am rebuilding a Qjet for. They were having issues with it running rich. I took the carb off and took it back to my workshop without really giving it much of a look. Once at my shop, I noticed that there was a zip-tie holding the secondary air flaps shut. No wonder it ran like crap when they gave it throttle. :lol:
Well, y'all could be right, i admit i've had the battery in and out, the rad swapped and checked the oil twice in all the time i've owned it. I haven't even opened the air cleaner yet to see whats in there. While this thing is a very hard starter, it still started, every time. If it had stranded me then i'd have looked further, but i git lucky i guess. Winter was a nailbiter...
When i got this thing, for all intents and purposes it was a shell i was going to put a 89-up 5.0L/5-spd powertrain into, thats it. I insured it on a whim and ended up tooling around in it for half a year (before it sat for two). Now that my plans have changed and i want 30mpg (so i can commute 100 miles a day), i'm going to have to take a good look at whats powering it now and hope i didn't do much damage to the poor lil boat anchor while i was driving it. Suddenly its not so expendable. In fact, i'm kinda getting a bit excited about an efficient but fast little 4-banger Pinto...
If it IS the carb and it needs so much as a cheap rebuild, i'll just swap in a better system for power and milage instead. Not sure yet what the optimal system would be, i'm thinking Holley 350 or 390, ram-air and some sort ov aftermarket aluminum intake(??) but i'll figure it out.