[DeTomaso] Why is it hard to start cars that have been sitting for months?

[larry at ohiotimecorp.com]

Charlie,

This is a common problem as it approaches it’s 40’s. If you just don’t use it, well it is just 
difficult to get it up and going when you want too. There are many factors that may cause such 
problems. There are even “miracle” oils that say they help with such problems (not for me). 

All I can say it to take that bad boy out and use it more often, even abuse it once in a wile 
so it knows who is in charge. In a very short time, even as little as 30 seconds, you will feel 
satisfied that all is working well again.


Larry (wanting to take it out right now) – Cleveland





On Wed Jan 12 13:53 , Asa Jay Laughton  sent:

>What color was the smoke that filled the garage?
>What did it smell like?  Oil or fuel?
>
>Typically this would be caused by a bit of oil leaking into the  
>cylinder which makes it harder for the spark to ignite the air/fuel  
>mixture.  After a few minutes it all burns off and you're good again.
>
>As I recall, you had the heads serviced a while back. I presume it got  
>all new valve stem seals, did they get the stock umbrella seals or  
>positive lock type?
>
>Asa Jay
>
>Quoting Charles McCall charlesmccall at gmail.com>:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>>
>>
>> Please note that this is not a problem, it is curiosity more than anything
>> else.
>>
>>
>>
>> Last weekend it was unseasonably warm. It had rained the entire previous
>> week, washing the salt away. My wife commented that we were out of sherry (I
>> don't drink the stuff but she likes it) so I decided to take the Pantera out
>> to buy her some sherry. The Spanish equivalent of two states away. It took
>> nearly 4 hours for me to get to the supermarket and back, mostly on deserted
>> backroads. Am I self-sacrificing husband or what? I don't know if she'll let
>> me go out by myself in the Pantera to go shopping anymore though.
>>
>>
>>
>> Anyway that's not the point. The car hadn't been started for probably 4
>> months, literally. During that time, all the fuel evaporated from the carb
>> and fuel line, so it took a while for the engine to fire. The battery was
>> fully charged (thanks Thomas!!) so turning the engine over was no problem.
>> All that I see as perfectly normal and understandable.
>>
>>
>>
>> When the engine fired, I think it was running on about 2.5 cylinders for the
>> first minute. Then another cylinder joined the party. Probably literally two
>> minutes after starting the engine, another cylinder began firing. The car
>> rocked and shook due to the imbalance, and I was filling the garage with
>> unburned fuel. I pulled out of the garage and the car was probably running
>> on 7 cylinders. It was possibly a good 4-5 minutes before it was running on
>> all 8.
>>
>>
>>
>> And then all was fine. With the engine warm and all the cobwebs out the
>> engine ran and felt perfect.
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm just curious as to what is happening mechanically in a cold engine that
>> hasn't been started for many months that prevents certain cylinders from
>> firing until good and warm. It's an intellectual exercise more than anything
>> else, although I do wonder if there is something that my engine is telling
>> me.
>>
>>
>>
>> Is this caused by a weak spark? Plugs that don't fire when cold? There are
>> only three possiblities, right? Lack of air, lack of fuel, or lack of spark.
>> Obviously if oxygen reaches one cylinder with a common carb and manifold, it
>> ought to reach all of them. Same with fuel I think. That only leaves sparks.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Does some kind of crud form over the spark plugs if they sit for months?
>> Does it all burn off if so? Is my engine telling me that I need to change my
>> plugs? Is this temperature related or time-related - by that I mean does the
>> engine smooth out because the plugs have warmed up to operating temp or
>> because they need x minutes of firing to burn off the crud?
>>
>>
>>
>> I've got an MSD 6AL in case anyone is curious.
>>
>>
>>
>> Again, this isn't a problem, I'm just wondering what's happening inside my
>> engine (or any engine for that matter) when it sits for months at a time.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>>
>>
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
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>
>-- 
>Asa Jay Laughton - sent from somewhere other than home
>http://www.racingagainstautism.com
>http://www.teampanteraracing.com
>
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