The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks flooded carb on my 61 to choke or not?

Got stuck again yesterday! It seems after I start the truck cold first thing all is fine. Then when I restart it I'm not sure if the engine is cold or not so I choke it. Could be sitting 3 or 4 hours or an hour on a colder day. Then it won't start,had to let it sit 4 hours yesterday then I choked it and it fired up? How do you gauge where the engine is at when you're starting it after an earlier run,and if I should give it a little pedal and or a little choke? Thanks

Sitting for an hour or more can cool the engine enough to need to allow for a cold start. They vary a lot with carburetion so you have to get used to your particular engine. If an engine starts best with choking or pumping the gas pedal then it is lean &/or cold. If it starts best by holding the gas clear to the floor then it is flooding. You just have to get familiar with it. If you have to use thwe choke a lot its possible the accel. pump in the carb is weak.

Thanks for that info. If it does happen again what's the best way to get it restarted ASAP ?

On the assumption that in southern Ca. the temperatures are very moderate, you should not need the choke very often if ever. I would suggest a proper tune-up and carb rebuild.

When an engine is flooded the best way to flush it out is hold the throttle wide open and no choke. Back off the throttle when it fires up.

The truck is in Bend Oregon, it does get cold!Did have the carb. rebuilt last year. Thanks

I have a truck that I don't even choke on a cold day. These trucks are basically setup to be running on the rich side. I would err on the side of less choke in your situation.
If your throttle cable is still hooked up, pull it out about a 1/3rd and then crank the starter. A properly tuned up truck should fire up on the 2nd start of the day with less than a full revolution of the flywheel. These guys are right on- a full tune-up , carb check, wiring check -and that thing should start quicker than a brand new car.

Throttle cable not hooked up but point well taken.Will try this method next trip up.Thanks

Just got back from Oregon, during the week no issues starting! Used the choke in the mornings and never again during the day. Started like well, an old Chevy! Thanks for the help.

Glad to hear it RAK. Maybe when you're looking around at your next swap meet, you could track down an original owner's manual. They aren't like the modern one's with all the lawyer-speak to protect everyone's [censored]. They actually have some great info in them.