Bought a -51 buick special with a straight-8 some time ago and tried to crank it up today for the first time without luck. I'm not into these engines so was just wondering if someone could put up a small "guide/walktrough" on what I should start out checking the get engine running. I have charged the battery and the starter is running but the engine isn't reacting/firing at all. I can also se that there is abit of fuel leaking from the carburator...maybe I have flooded it with all my cranking...I dont know. So please where should I start looking?
Fuel lines, fuel filters and connections, distributor cap,rotor, points, sparkplug wires, sparkplugs. All electrical connections including grounds. Check timing and firing order. Straight 8 firing order should be 1-6-2-5-8-3-7-4 More info would be helpful. Like what changes were recently done to the car? When was it running last? Did this just start happening? Stuff like that.
The first thing I would do is check for spark. Pull the coil wire off the distributor and then have someone spin the engine over while holding the coil wire close to the engine block. You should get a nice blue spark. If not, check to see if the points are gapped correctly.
Thanks for your replys... So I bought a can of startgas and sprayed the inlet and cranked it up today and voila it started up on the first run! So the ignition part is all good, but it seems like the carb isn't doing it's job. I disconnected the inlet fuel line port on the carb and started up the electric fuelpump and fuel comes out of the fuelline with what seems to be a good pressure. I also noticed one of the ports on the carb wasn't connected to anywhere nor was there any hoses/pipes to be seen nearby to connect to the open port?? The port in the middle of the pic. Any ideas? Will try to clean the carb and try it on tomorrow, anything special I should be on a lookout for?
that port is to connect a small tube that transfers heat from the manifold to the choke mechanism. It has no bearing on the way the carburetor performs, other than if it is cold enough to require the choke. Without the tube, the choke may remain on longer than you would like. perhaps your engine was flooded, as you suspected. Perhaps the carb needs rebuilt, but first, I would check the fuel pressure. You will only want about 3psi at the carb. If it is more than that, you may be flooding the engine due to high pressure pushing past the needle/seat in the float bowl. The electric fuel pump could very likely be creating pressure at a higher level than desired. A pressure regulator may be in order.
Kanter makes a really good rebuild kit for those Carter carbs. Got one for my 51 and it came out great. Happy to see another 51 ressurrected! Good luck!
The choke is closed right now as it should be for starting. Once it warms up the choke will open IF it is getting hot air. There should be a tube in the exhaust manifold that feeds hot air to the carb. Incidentally your model of Buick is supposed to start when you push the gas pedal to the floor! There is a special switch on the carb for this, with a vacuum mechanism to make sure it does not work when the engine is running. Many have been disconnected and replaced with a ****on on the dash.
Is there old gas in the tank? I usually clean out the tank on something that hasn't run in awhile. Blow out the line to the carb, too. I am amazed how many times I can get something running by cleaning out the fuel system, cleaning the carb, and manually timing and checking spark. Often I can dis***emble and thoroughly clean the carb and at least test run without a kit. Get a kit, though.
No offense intended, but judging by your questions, it seems some basic understanding of automotive mechanics is in order. I would recommend buying yourself a Motors/Chiltons or shop manual for your year Buick (you will have many opportunities to refer to it, and to learn from it). Good luck, it is a learning experience, worth the effort.
ok, so I cleaned out the carb today, Found alot of **** in the inlet port and around the strainer. I pulled everything apart and soaked it with wd40 and then blew it clean with compressed air in every port and corner i could find. Had the carb put together again and installed on the car, but still no luck. To start it up I had to poor a couple of s****s with fuel directly into the air horn, then it cranks up straight away and stalls when the fuel is gone. I checked the port on the side where the float bowl is to check the fuel level, when I removed the bolt fuel came out and poored out for a few seconds. And if I remember correctly the fuel should only be touching the lower threads of the port. So I I'm going to check the pressure on the fuel line where it connects to the carb tommorrow. Is it correct that it should be about 3psi?
pull hose off carb put in can .. does it fill the cup with fuel when you crank ?? if so its carb is blocked
I see that choke is closed...and no heat pipe connected.... it'll run "uber-rich", after it does start. Rebuild the carb, and fab a heat pipe for the auto-chole, and it ought to be ok.
He stated that he had done that in one of his posts in the thread. Electric pump. Killermurf it sounds like your knowledge level of old American car engines is rather limited. Right now I'd suggest buying the correct kit for the carburetor and taking it to someone who can properly rebuild it. Using WD-40 rather than Carburetor cleaner to try to clean the carburetor is the first thing that gives me that indication. I would suggest buying a factory service manual that is specifically for that year and model of Buick. One other thing, If you feel that you need help with the basics of how cars/engines work PM me as I may be able to send you something that can help with that.
just a quick question,when you operate the throttle by hand is it pumping fuel out the jets?if not,take the 2 screws out of that top section.that should be the cover for acc.pump,put a few squirts of oil to soak the acc pump ring.when i got my lasalle it had sat many years and that done the trick.operate it a few times by hand after oil,see if it squirts. good luck. jack
This is right with the Stromberg Aerotype carb, I m not sure those Carters have the vacuum switch to start the engine this way. Do they ? I have both carbs, and the Carter ( WCD IIRC ) doesn t ..
The check valve might be stuck. The floats actuate a check valve when the bowl is full, the check valve prevents fuel from over-filling the bowl. It is easy to miss. Pull it back apart and look for this valve. Use some carb cleaner to clean all the little ports, let it sit for 20 minutes then repeat, after you think it is clean blow it out with CDA and re-***emble. See if you can find some numbers on the carb and do a little google search -you will probably find some good info out there.
You are right about my knowledge on cl***ic cars, limited as this is my first I used to fool around with turbocars whit electronic injection when I was younger but today I mostly work on motorcycles (68 bonneville/64 supercub/96 fireblade). My initial plan was just to get the car started up good enough to drive it to my bigger garage 15min away(I didnt want the h***le of renting a car hauler), the place it sits right now is a tiny place where I don't have the tools I need or room to work on the car. I appreciate all feedback...
Yes it is pumping out of the jets when I operate the linkage by hand. it didnt to that before I cleaned the carb out though. Thanks for your tip
I can confirm that this Carter type carb has the vacuum switch and cranks up on the acc pedal. It took me some trying before I figured it out, It's a cool feature
Well the "check valve" isn't stuck. I cleaned it out and used compressed air to blow it clean and dry, I also inspected it operate correctly. And the fact that I installed an empty carb after cleanout and it filled up the float bowl when I started the fuel pump means it isn't stuck. But as I posted in an earlier quote the fuel level in the float bowl is to high(over the sight screw hole) so I am suspecting to high fuel pressure from the pump. Thanks anyway
Great advise here! Get the proper rebuild kit for your carb. Change the fuel llines you have running now. I have included a picture for you to look at from the day I got my 50. Are you still running a 6volt system? I would keep feeding that carb small amounts of gas to keep it running and maybe it just needs to prime? Good luck! Chuck
Sorry I just read one of your last posts again. I think you should either have your original fuel pump rebuilt or get a rebuild kit to do it yourself.
Yep, I measured the fuel pressure from the pump today at where it connects to the carb, it measured 7psi which is abit to high. According to a manual I have it should be about 4-5psi which explains the overfilled float bowl. So I'm gonna rebuild the original pump together with the carb at some point. But anyways, I just couldn't wait to get the car running for a testdrive so I drained the fueltank together with the fuel lines and tweaked the carb a little bit and filled fresh fuel in the tank...and bam it started up and kept running good on idle
The Jalopy Journal
