Cold Start reality check

[Morris]

I dont' get many opportunities to test the cold starting capabilities of my MegaSquirted Midget, but we are having an untypically cold winter here. So far I can report that down to the high twenties, it will idle on the 3rd crank and is ready to drive in under 30 seconds from the first crank.

Of course, this can't compete with my modern Toyota, but it blows my past experiences with side draft carbs away. However, all of my past experiences with side draft carbs where with worn out side draft carbs.

So those of you with well tuned carbs... whaddaya think? How does my cold starting experience compare with yours?

 

[Guest]

I'd kill for that as we are havin similar weather right now. I have a DGV and with the timiong set at 12*BTDC, it doesn't want to turn over that well if at all. I have to use the charger/start to get it going. I don't have the choke hooked up and I'm driving around it. it doesn't take much to get her to run, it's just turning over. I should retard, but I don't like the way it runs once it does. Once she's hot she's fine.

I didn't realize you had MS. Fiddle with it and you should be able to get a little better out of it (I would think). I want to go that route. Been thinking more about it since the weather hit. You got it on a 1500 or 1275?

 

[Gundy]

Takes me about three tries to get my BE to fire and idle
with choke in this cold weather. I cranked 'er up at about 14 degrees the other day just to see if it would start. Once running I let it warm and decrease the choke as the idle speed rose. In about 5 or 6 minutes the choke could be pushed all the way in. The temp gauge had yet to move.
I suspect if I had just set off when it first ran it would have sputtered it's guts out. This is with a single HIF6 carb and a hotter cam and a header.
On my Land Cruisers I've found that having headers really effects cold weather performance. The stock exhaust manifold
provides some heat to the intake and headers do not.
For my 40, which I love to drive in the snow etc, I found I had to add an intake heater which is just a plate on the bottom of
the intake for radiator water to flow underneath the intake.
Make a BIG difference. Before it spit and bucked badly until warmed.
Of course once the engine reaches operating temps all is fine even without the intake heater.

 

[bthompson]

This is Nigel's first <span style="font-style: italic">really </span>cold winter with me, and he always starts, but <span style="font-style: italic">barely</span>. I have the DGV, manual choke, rattlecube fuel pump, and the timing's way advanced. (No vac advance, so I just set it to 32 deg at 3000 rpm and let it fall where it may. One of these days I'll fix it...)

I have a "method" when it's really frigid first thing in the morning. Ignition on, let the fuel pump run, trans in neutral, choke full out, three slow pumps of gas (it's a Weber, remember!), clutch in, cross fingers, and crank. AAAUGH it's slow turning, but five agonizing revolutions and it fires up. Clutch out, choke half in, and let it idle at about 1200 for 30 seconds or so. Let it settle into 1000 for another 2-3 minutes, and we're good to go. By the time I'm out of the neighborhood and onto the main road the needle's in the N zone.

For the rest of the day it'll fire up instantly on half-choke, but that first start is, well, it's like <span style="font-style: italic">me</span>, first thing in the morning.

One thing I've sure noticed, this cold weather is <span style="font-style: italic">killing </span>my fuel economy!

 

[Guest]

I noticed a drop as well. You got the heater lines hooked up to the mainfold?

 

[CraigZ]

Mine sits in a carport. Fired it up today for the first time in about ten days. I need to adjust the carbs as I'm getting some but not full choke...I went ahead and used starting fluid. Let it idle for about 5 minutes to get warm and off we went. The issue that's also appeared in this cold weather, but may be unrelated, is it misses above 3000 rpm, almost as if starving for fuel. Pulling the choke doesn't help. I'll tackle it when it warms up enough so that I can feel my fingers when I work on it!

 

[DrEntropy]

When we lived 'up north' (western PA) the beasties would always light off after one or two cranks with full choke. SU's or side-draft Webers, even in sub-zero temps. I *know* the reason was that I fettl'd with 'em, constantly certain the points were gapped and clean, plugs and wires in good nick, carbs set/synch'd. Now that we've been in the semi-tropics for thirty years I've sorely neglected the stuff. Paying the price for that this "winter"... The Daily sat from a few days before Christmas 'til two days ago without being used. When I tried the usual "two squirts" an' a spin-up, it just sat there whirrin' on the starter. No fire. Had to put th' toy charger on the battery and really mess with key/gas pedal to get it lit. I'd put a choke cable on the thing with the engine replacement in Y2K but never NEEDED it until now. The cable was craminated to the point it wouldn't allow choke movement. Haven't even LOOKED under the dizzy cap in a year, plugs at least that long ago, too. It always just <span style="font-style: italic">started</span>. Now that this "warming" has set in the digits don't function well enuff to DO any of the things it shoulda had done in September...

:madder:

 

[JPSmit]

On my New Year's day run she started after about 3 tries - turned over fine, just needed to get the fuel up I suppose. Once running she was insanely happy - she may be a California/ Florida car but she LOVES cold air!

 

[bthompson]

I noticed a drop as well. You got the heater lines hooked up to the mainfold?

Yep. I know that Webers guzzle more than SUs under the best of conditions, but jeez louise, I don't think I'm topping 20 mpg.

 

[Guest]

I noticed a drop as well. You got the heater lines hooked up to the mainfold?

Yep. I know that Webers guzzle more than SUs under the best of conditions, but jeez louise, I don't think I'm topping 20 mpg.

Makes mega squirt look all he more better.

I put a large piece od cardboard in front of the radiator to help it warm up/ get warmer. It helps. I've got a new HD 180* stat in it but it still seems like it's not up to temp. I would go 195*, but I don't want to change stats every 6 months. It gets HOT here in the summer. (plus, I spent 12 bucks on the stat.)

 

[bill_powell]

On my New Year's day run she started after about 3 tries - turned over fine, just needed to get the fuel up I suppose. Once running she was insanely happy - she may be a California/ Florida car but she LOVES cold air!

It's been in the high 'teens here. I keep my daily driver on a trickle charger each night. Single HIF6, header, Pertronix, mild cam. No failure to start next morning so far. Yes, I'm cold. Real cold. But smiling anyway...