Starting issue

[weber_seth]

Hi guys I'm new to the forum and a proud but confused 24 hour owner of a 84 4 eyed gt. Car runs great news a few things, but after it gets warmed up it won't start back up until it cools off if I turn it off. Thanks in advance. Pfa


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[erratic50]

What if you give it a few pumps of gas before you crank it? could be a misadjusted choke

what if you hold the gas to the floor - could be its loading up with gas and flooding due to a carb problem.

[Matt J]

If you want good advice from folks here, you'll need to provide more information, such as is it fuel injected or carb? Do you know if it's the original motor and/or has it been modified at all? Also, if you can provide a little more information about it not starting, it would be helpful...like will it only start when the engine is ice cold, does it turn over, does it sound like it tries to start and kicks a few times, can you smell gas when you crank it and it doesn't start? It's going to be either fuel or ignition if it cranks but doesn't start. If you just bought it the last owner might be able to shed some light on it too. You've come to the right place for information, welcome to FEP!

[homer302]

Yep. Welcome for sure! Glad to have more members. The more the merrier! That being said, when you say it won't START, what does that mean? Does it turn over and not fire, does it not even turn over, does it run briefly and then die, does it make only a clicking sound, do the dash and headlights work when you are trying to start it, is it a carb, EFI, V8, 200CID 6 cylinder, is it an automatic with a neutral safety switch or a manual with a clutch safety switch?
Lots of questions, LOL. Good luck and let us know some of these answers.

[weber_seth]

All good guys sorry I didn't specify. It's a 302 has a carb. I don't think it is the original motor. After it's warmed up it turns like a weak starter but never start clicking just like it doesn't have the power to start. Car runs a little rich so I can't smell fuel more than what's already there. After it gets up to operating temp and I turn it off, it won't restart until I let it sit for about 30 min. The starter doesn't have a heat shield and the hose the carries fuel to the carb sits on top of the block


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[erratic50]

Sounds flooded. Don't pump it before trying to start. Hold it to the floor and crank it - should fire if it's loading up


Nexts lets figure out why. It shouldn't do this.

[Walking-Tall]

^ ^ ^ X2. I'd hazard a guess the choke isn't backing off when it should. Though, you mention an apparent continual rich running condition. Maybe carburetor rebuild time, carburetor tuning time, ignition tuneup and/or checking timing time, etc...

[erratic50]

Totally agree. Try disconnecting the choke or backing it way off before trying to start.

[Matt J]

You also mentioned that it sounds "weak" when turning it over, so you might also have an issue there with the battery or the starter. You'll likely find that the car has several issues that you'll need to work through, it's a 30 year old car that no doubt has been tinkered with for a long time. Some tinkerers are better at it than others... You said it's running rich, so you don't smell more gas than normal, do you actually smell gas while the car is running? If it's running rich it will stink some out of the tailpipe but it shouldn't actually smell like raw gas...if you smell that you might have a leak someplace. A lot of people take the cats off the exhaust over the years, which can make the exhaust stink like crazy, but that's actually kind of normal for the car without a cat. If you're not much of a mechanic yourself, it doesn't hurt to bring the car to someone you know and trust to help diagnose and fix some of the problems. If the engine was swapped, it's pretty tough to know what they did to it, what internals they might have changed (cam, valves, springs, pistons, etc) and what jets they put into the carb. Usually guys who aren't pros with carb tuning will overdo the size of the carb or the jets , which is a pretty simple thing for a person who knows carbs to fix. There's definitely a knack to it, though!

Find out all you can from the previous owner while he might still take your calls...what year the engine is, where it came from, anything he knows or thinks he knows about the modifications to it. It'll save you a lot of trouble in the long run if you know that stuff. You'll get it figured out!

Oh, also make sure you have a good fire extinguisher in the car, and that you have full coverage on it...protect yourself!

[weber_seth]

Thanks for the help guys. I've decided instead of messing with figuring out where/if they went wrong, I'm just building my own engine to drop in. And the cats are gutted so there is my smell


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