<VV> carburetor problems?

[Chris & Bill Strickland]

the Perryman Orphanage Master wrote:

>Hmmm. I thought that was normal.  :)
>

The Sage Mr Helt added:

>I suggest a little diagnostic work.
> 
>... are your accel pumps  working? Please verify visually [fuel squirting into the throttle bore when the linkage is actuated]. Does [sic] the this help the starting?
>  
>

I really don't see how verifing the fuel shot would "help" the starting 
-- it would help the diagnosis, though.

>... the fuel in the bowls is gone.  So the first thing to do is verify this. Let it set for several days and then remove just the covers of both carbs and note the fuel level in the bowls.
>

And I have to agree with them both -- providing two different solutions.

1) add an electric fuel pump to refill the carbs before you try starting 
the engine.  Will give the appearence of having solved the problem, and 
probably also give you the results you want, if we are guessing correctly.

2) fix the problem with the carbs, or whatever, by first following 
Helt's good advice.  Among other things, plugged air bleeds can create a 
siphon effect that can just suck the fuel out of the bowl over a period 
of time.  If you had a QuadraJet (you probably don't - you'd have told 
us if you did),  I would suggest repairing the main jet metering well 
plugs, but that is not a normal Corvair issue.  Carb rebuilding is more 
than just taking it apart, dumping out the fuel and re-assembling it 
with new gaskets. It is making sure all the internal passages are clear 
and that everything works properly.  If you rebuilt the carbs so they 
are working properly, this hard starting should not be happening, and 
the cause probably lies elsewhere. Unless the fuel bowls are 'really 
dry', the accel pumps should give you enough fuel to start the car 
easily, regardless of what the chokes do.  My old 6 volt Porsche will 
start in the cold just fine (remembering that everything is relative) 
and it doesn't even have chokes, never did -- just the accelerator pumps 
and a manual throttle advance.

Someitmes I wonder if our modern port injected cars that start on the 
very first compression stroke haven't lead us to loose sight of how a 
new car typically started in 196x?  And you younger fellows never even 
had these experiences. 

Lots of possiblities exist, including the ignition system, so help us 
help you out a bit, and do the diagnostic work as suggested.  I mean we 
can guess at what's wrong, and suggest lots of good ways to part you and 
your funds doing all sorts of great stuff (the Carbmiester loves guys 
like you) that may or may not give the results you seek, but without 
some facts that you can provide, we are doing just that - guessing, 
maybe good  educated gueesses, backed by personal experience, but still 
just guesses as it pertains to your situation.

my 4¢ (inflation),

Bill Strickland