Hard to start ... but 4 is the magic number

[MacMan]

When cold, I have no problem turning the car over but it stalls on the first three attempts. Once I start the fourth time, it keeps running - but it's a little rough. The manual choke is fully open and it takes about 5 minutes until I can close it fully. If I try to give it gas during this time it tends to bog down and want to stall.

But once its warm - it purrs and runs well.

I just bought the car and have just replaced the spark plugs and, once I get my parts, I'l be be tackling the distributor with new points, rotor, condenser, and ignition wires. After that I'll be adjusting the carb.

Is the likely cause of this the distributor, the carb, or timing? Any thoughts on a fix?

[So Cal Mark]

the choke plate should be closed with a cold engine, and opened fully with a warm engine. Have you checked to see if the fuel bowl is draining overnight? If the accelerator pump diaphragm is leaking, you'll have an empty carb in the morning and the symptoms you describe.

[Zippy]

I had the exact same symptoms, and more. In addition to the hard starting, my carb would flood when warm and I had a hard time restarting. I also had cutting in and out on acceleration. All of these problems went away when I had my carb rebuilt.

Al

[MacMan]

the choke plate should be closed with a cold engine, and opened fully with a warm engine. Have you checked to see if the fuel bowl is draining overnight? If the accelerator pump diaphragm is leaking, you'll have an empty carb in the morning and the symptoms you describe.

Oops. I meant to say the choke is closed when starting and takes about 5 minutes until I can fully open it up.

I'll check to see if the diaphragm is leaking. What's the easiest way to check the bowl?

Thanks!

Zippy - a carb rebuild is definitely on my list, but cold starting is my only issue. Once it's warm, there are no issues. Runs and restarts well.

[sptcoupe]

I put a one way valve in the fuel line just before the carb inlet to solve the same problem on my 124 sedan. The bowl was emptying over a few days time, but always started immediately if I had used the car within a 2-3 day period. Anything longer than that, and the bowl was empty.