[DeTomaso] RV: A question I'm hoping you can answer

michael@michaelshortt.com michaelsavga at gmail.com
Wed Feb 16 16:36:53 EST 2011


did it emit blue smoke as it came around?  Michael
On Feb 16, 2011 4:32 PM, "Asa Jay Laughton" <asajay at asajay.com> wrote:
> Interesting. So we have a hypothesis we need to test to. Time to
> break out the scientific method tools.
>
> I'd recommend the next time you let the engine sit for the month,
> prior to starting it up you pull all the plugs and replace them with
> brand new. If the problem is not there, we can surmise the hypothesis
> is true and the problem has been identified albeit not resolved.
>
> Asa Jay
>
> Pantera Technical Research Institute, Pacific Northwest - Inland Empire
>
> Quoting Charles McCall <charlesmccall at gmail.com>:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> A few weeks ago we debated on the Forum what happens when you let your
>> engine sit for months at a time without starting it. In my case, the
engine
>> came to life cylinder-by-cylinder, and it literally took about 4-5
minutes
>> before the engine was firing on all 8 cylinders.
>>
>>
>>
>> Starting the engine the following day it fired up immediately on all 8.
>>
>>
>>
>> Chuck Engels and I both have Chuck Nuytten carburetors on our cars (how
many
>> Charles can we fit in one sentence?) and Chuck suggested that I write
Chuck
>> to ask a carb expert what he thought.
>>
>> www.chucknuytten.com <http://www.chucknuytten.com/> . Both Chuck and I
are
>> very happy with their work.
>>
>>
>>
>> Here’s his reply. Sounds like the plug gets covered in dry gas-goo, and
it
>> takes a while to burn this gunk off.
>>
>>
>>
>> This also answers the hidden question of if my engine was telling me
>> something by taking so long to wake up. Doesn’t sound like a weak spark,
>> sounds like a gunked up spark plug that eventually burns clean…
>>
>>
>>
>> Charles McCall
>>
>> 1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
>>
>> "Raising Pantera Awareness Across Europe"
>>
>> <http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=2323>
>> http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=2323
>>
>> _____
>>
>> De: Chuck Nuytten Carburetors - Tech [mailto:tech at chucknuytten.com]
>> Enviado el: miércoles, 16 de febrero de 2011 21:10
>> Para: Charles McCall
>> Asunto: Re: A question I'm hoping you can answer
>>
>>
>>
>> Any car that is left unused for any length of time experiences drying up
of
>> the fuel leaving a heavy slug or gunk. This gets loosened up and flushed
>> through the carburetor into the motor. It is thick and nasty like old
oil.
>> The missing you have recognized is the spark plug covered with this nasty
>> stuff causing the spark plugs to miss-fire until it gets washed off and
>> finally starts to ignite the cylinder once again.
>>
>>
>>
>> Fresh spark plugs installed once the motor has been started and allowed
to
>> run long enough to pass the gunk through the motor should clear up the
miss.
>> The cylinder still has to be ignited to get the rings functioning
properly
>> to dry the inside of a missing cylinder. Some times rust is formed above
>> the top ring that needs to be passed out the exhaust port too.
>>
>>
>>
>> Let us know if you have any other questions.
>>
>>
>>
>> -Tech Dept.
>>
>> Chuck Nuytten Carburetors
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>>
>> From: Charles <mailto:charlesmccall at gmail.com> McCall
>>
>> To: tech at chucknuytten.com
>>
>> Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2011 9:41 AM
>>
>> Subject: A question I'm hoping you can answer
>>
>>
>>
>> Good afternoon Chuck
>>
>>
>>
>> I am a very satisfied customer of yours from several years ago and I have
a
>> question that I’m hoping you can answer.
>>
>>
>>
>> A few weeks ago I started the engine of my Pantera (A Ford 351C) after
not
>> having started it for 3 or 4 months.
>>
>>
>>
>> It took a bit of cranking to get the engine to fire, which I perfectly
>> understand. Over the months that it hasn’t been used, fuel evaporates
from
>> the carb bowls, the fuel line, and who knows where else so I can
understand
>> that it may take a while for the mechanical fuel pump to fill the system.
>>
>>
>>
>> When you rebuilt my carb you milled off the choke, so my car has no
choke.
>> This is not a problem.
>>
>>
>>
>> When the engine finally fires, it ran on perhaps 5 cylinders for perhaps
60
>> seconds, when a 6th cylinder joined the party. It ran very rugged for
>> probably 2 minutes (real minutes) before another cylinder started to
>> function properly. And it was probably 4-5 minutes before all cylinders
were
>> contributing.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the meantime, the garage filled with exhaust fumes until the engine
began
>> running on all 8 cylinders. My intake is a Weiand Xcelerator.
>>
>>
>>
>> I don’t believe that I have any problem with the engine or with my carb.
IF
>> the engine is warm or has been used regularly, it starts immediately and
>> runs on all 8 cylinders.
>>
>> Starting the engine the following day for example, it fired up
immediately.
>> If I let it sit for 3 months, then it wakes slowly again.
>>
>>
>>
>> My question is more a philosophical question than anything else. What is
>> happening that causes an engine that has not been started in 3 or 4
months
>> to not fire on all cylinders until it warms up? With a common intake
plenum
>> and a common carb, fuel should be reaching all cylinders. The whole root
of
>> this question was that I was wondering if my engine was trying to tell me
>> something – for example I have a weak spark in certain cylinders or ???
>>
>>
>>
>> If you could shed any light on this question I would be quite grateful.
And
>> the DeTomaso forum would be grateful as well.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>>
>>
>> Charles McCall
>>
>> 1985 DeTomaso Pantera GT5-S #9375
>>
>> "Raising Pantera Awareness Across Europe"
>>
>>
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