VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 235 DIFFICULTY STARTING

Hi. Just new to the site. I saw sometime ago a post about someone having trouble starting their 235 engine after being driven for a while.

I have the same problem. After driving for a while, and then stopping for a break, I have to add gas through the carb to help it get running again. This is time-consuming and takes away from the pleasure of driving. I believe there was a post that was replied to with a reference to a vacuum solution. Does anyone know where this post is?

If the problem is not enough gas in the carburetor for a hot restart the problem is most likey the gas and heat. If the heat riser is stuck in the warm-up position (won't turn and bottom of weight is horizontal) the carburetor is being overheated. It dosen't take much to boil off the gas today.
Try leaving the hood open right after you shut off the engine so the underhood heat can escape....or add about a pint of kerosene to each gallon of gas in the tank.

I replaced the fuel pump after my initial post and have had a chance to go out on two good drives, and the problem has not repeated itself. Knock wood.

Point of note: My father-in-law (whom I inherited it from) had the same problem. After I took the pump off and took that glass bowl off, there was a lot of crud that came out. Could have been gunked up, or could just be a faulty pump.

Its common for these cars to be hard to start after they sit a few weeks (shorter time in hot weather - longer in winter) due to the gas evaporating out of the carburetor. The pump needs to refill the carb. and this takes a lot of grinding with the starter.