RE: [VintageLambo] Re: Cold weather starting...

Leave the fuel pumps working for a "few moments" (very scientific measurement of what might be 15-20 sec? at most), then a few taps on the accelerator about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way down, then hold the pedal in that position and it will start usually on the first turn of the key, at most a second try. I think we have had a discussion of this before, but is my "method" unusual or fairly typical? That"s what I do. I find the engine needs a pretty healthy prime before it will light. Perhaps five or six pumps. I crank it over with the choke off until the alerte light goes out on the oil press gauge, then stop to check the pressure (while you"re cranking the gauge doesn"t get enough voltage to register pressure, so in the first moment after you stop cranking, watch the needle as it will jump to a pressure reading before tapering off). I then pull the choke and fire the engine. It usually catches around 800 rpm and slowly rises to 1000 by which time oil should have moved through every orifice so nothing is running dry. I never worry about lubrication at the cranking speed (maybe 150-200 rpm?). It"s so slow that the parts don"t suffer any real wear unless they are completely bone dry, which shouldn"t be the case unless you"re running mineral spirits in the sump. After suffering repeated difficulties getting my ITA RX-7 started on cold mornings, I have learned that rich-running engines in a cold start situation typically don"t get enough fuel rather than get too much fuel. One or two pumps won"t do it with these big motors, they need a lot of gas. Especially if one or more of the accelerator pumps isn"t working well. I have yet to flood my engine, perhaps because the NGKs are pretty resistant to dousing or my MSD wires are still pretty healthy and deliver a strong spark. BTW, I drive off immediately after the car starts, taking care to not rev the engine past 3000 or so until the gauges begin to move, then gradually rev the engine more as the engine warms. Also, I skip 2nd for the first few miles (usually only a couple of times when starting from traffic lights -- all on level ground, so no lugging). Comments? Yep, I let the engine warm for maybe a minute or two, enough to get a good oil mist going in the crankcase but not fill it with blowby fuel and condensate. No revs over 3k with very long lazy shifts to let the syncros wake up. On cold Michigan days the engine simply doesn"t want to breathe that frigid air. The fuel condenses as soon as it hits it, and the engine basically runs on what amounts to a continuous liquid prime for the first few minutes. A fair amount of spitting through the carb is normal. I always run the engine until full oil temp is achieved, so as to burn off the contaminants from the cold start. AR