How To Start A Carbureted Vehicle Cold Or Hot

If you want to know how to start a vehicle with a carburetor here it is. This one's for real no messing around just information and examples.

[@freddypedraza2066]

"It's been parked for like 2 weeks, gonna start it to let it run a bit" - dads everywhere

[@gunblazingmutant]

I'm not even a dad and I'm like that.

[@sshah2545]

@@gunblazingmutanthaha, same here. 2023 car, dual fuel injection, if I don’t drive it for a week I get anxious and head downstairs and idle it for 4-5 mins lol

[@61caddyfins]

I literally just said that yesterday

[@lokeelee4505]

Im 18 just bought 1984 nissan 720 and i was wondering why i was hving trouble starting it and after this it made my life so much easier cuz I understand it a lil better and get that theres more to it then clutch in and turn key

[@richd5749]

I have a 37 Dodge 218.7 cu in , it has a manual knob inside on the dash near the key ignition! Thank you so much for your enthusiasm in your tutorials.

[@gearhead9943]

That was awesome!!! Thank you for posting this, exactly what I was looking for.

[@jg-mtb8057]

I'm 18 and just bought a 77 corvette so this really helps

[@stephaniedannenberg901]

I feel like I was taught wrong on how to start a carb engine for my old 1985 jeep!! Thanks for providing all the technical info on how to get one going properly!!

[@RydinTheBlaze]

dont need any of this info as i already know but its nice to see a video detailing it. my fiancé doesnt like driving my old square bodies and my Oldsmobile because of the carb. good to see videos helping people who are unaware of how they work.

[@Aubnormal]

Money! 86 Ford F350, 3 pumps seems to be the sweet spot. Thanks for the great info!!!

[@samsalim5059]

Thanks, bud. Great video! Excellent refresher.

[@TheOldcarlover]

I love this old truck!!♥️😍♥️😍♥️

[@theunderclassman6298]

So helpful -- working with a 1968 International Harvester Loadstar and trying to learn the personality. Manual choke & throttle. Trial and error seems to be the way :)

[@joebiscit]

International Harvesteeeeerrrrrrr!

[@_454_]

brother, you are so underated

[@ls.main1]

Very informative, you're a legend! Going to be restoring an old Volvo 244 GL soon, so this has helped in that first start for the engine!

[@jjeremy350]

damn this is perfect in detail!!!!!!!!!!! i was wondering when the trucks been sitting a week or month with out being starting can you record under the hood wondering how long it takes the gas being pumped up to the carburated cause i know it takes a lil while for the gas to get up to the carburetor

[@noot7109]

Thanks for this. It reassures me that I really DO have to wait like 10 minutes at least before taking off in my 87 carbureted truck in the winter :p...... I thought that seemed a bit excessive, but it's not. loooool.

[@Eddy_-eh9xx]

I have a 1980 Pontiac firebird and it takes me 15 minutes to be able to take off or else if I even try to move the car it just shuts off

[@Ladysman-iz2sg]

@@Eddy_-eh9xx I have a 78 trans am, I have to do the same thing

[@rockfordhx2768]

Just picked up a 84 olds hurst cutlass and I’m 28 it’s my first old school carburetor motor winter hasn’t came yet in Michigan but I will have to learn all of this stuff learned last night that u could choke the carb with pumping the gas without the car started learned the hard way and freaked out being stranded Ontop of that

[@jacobhamilton1904]

Great video, straight to the point!

[@Rabbits_Midnight_Chronicles]

I think this will help with my stalling issues with my 75 Dodge D200. Gonna give her a good 5-10 minutes to warm up prior to dropping it in gear and hopefully this will help her run more reliably.

[@GarethKing1]

Fantastic video, thank you

[@shivamsharma7665]

Love the video. Very informative

[@MD-qb9ko]

Thanks for the infos man! Very useful

[@streetbike_jpod]

excellent information

[@jorged8958]

Love the video thank you!

[@brocyclee9500]

Great video

[@alexo1226]

Thank you , great video

[@laxencrazy]

Oh my gosh this was so helpful, thank you so much!

[@EYE_SPIDER]

Cool video!

[@richd5749]

Ok, my 350 GMC, after sitting, no start since 2018, we're now in 2023. Battery charged, valvoline starting fluid, fresh gas then a beautiful start and ran about 25 minutes. QUESTION is : where do we spray starter fluid which will meet our need to start'er up? Thanks , Richard from California.

[@juanratliff5270]

I had a 1982 Chevy Scottsdale and it had a carburetor and I only pumped it twice

[@OlMrEllis]

Is it normal for the fuel pump to run constantly on startup? Most cars I hear the fuel pump in the tank only prime for one or two seconds but mine it stays whining until you crank the engine up. It hasn't given me issues so far so I figured it varied with carb'd engines.

[@chuysontest4425]

I’m here because I just bought a 76 Cadillac eldorado with the 8.2 500 cubic inch engine lol and I made it to my house but parked it on the street, I flooded it and had to wait and was driving me crazy, I’m 31 never had a carbureted car, my 81 eldorado is fuel injected , this is all new to me, and to think I have a 86 cutlass with the engine about to go in it (350 5.7) making it cammed and carb lol

[@puddindood44]

How has your el dorado been? I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a 66 el dorado. Same position as you were back then

[@chuysontest4425]

@@puddindood44it’s good, I replaced a lot of things on the 76 , I had to get a power steering pump ($134) new carburetor less the $65, thermostat, new hoses and turned the ac from r12 to 134, new gaskets and spark plugs and fluid flushes, it runs good and all in total I got the car for $2300 and in labor and car parts I got $6,000 in it, so I’m vested at $8300, but that’s because my car has the 8.2 so only 14,000 in the world were ever made, but I’m still in the profit , my insurance values my car at $22,000

[@mimief7969]

I inherited an 88 Dodge, appreciate this.

[@charlesb.4125]

318?

[@mimief7969]

@@charlesb.4125 Yeah

[@davidreda4024]

My old ford takes 10-15 attemptd before I'm able to high idle it with my foot.. cant be good on the old girl, anything I can do? New battery, plugs, wires and distributor. I don't think the carb is tuned right but its been cleaned.

[@K7classicrockfan]

Very cool

[@twobeards6714]

Growing up with a 68 Chevelle, 69 GTO and an abundance of GM carborated trucks it's kind of a natural thing to pump twice when cold and crank it. My 74 Catalina, a 400 duce, fires up in a second or two and amazes me with its reliability. The Rochester 2 v is factory and the rig has 85 k original miles. I'm doing a build on a 389 to replace the 400 and will be installing a Q jet and factory manifold. Call it a quadrajunk? No way . With the correct tuning it provides good fuel economy if you keep your foot out of the secondaries. The performance rivals any other carb and they are everywhere. Spend a few learning to adjust it and you just might fall back in love . The Cat is not my daily and frequently sits for a week or more and is stored for the 5 months of Michigan winter. I always let the 400 warm up.

[@Skeksi_Man]

This is a brilliant video .... I have a 1977 Camaro (inline 6) and I’m trying to figure out how many times to pump the accelerator before a cold start.... apparently it’s supposed to only take 1 but I usually have to repeat the process 2 or 3 times then it’ll fire up on high idle perfectly.... so I may try 2 pumps tomorrow and see if it works first time.... also I notice your truck makes the same buzzing noise when you turn the ignition on..... I usually wait for that noise to stop before cranking - does it matter either way ?

[@macsgarage]

That buzzing noise is just the seat belt reminder. You can start the car while it's still going.

[@user-vt3ys7wp4t]

Thanks

[@ElCamino7898]

I’ve always pumped the gas as I cranked the key over that’s the way I was taught to do it

[@miguelsalgado4673]

Had a 95 corolla fuel injected that started up to fast like that when in cold climate, I never could figure out why. But my first car was a corolla carburetor and it started quick on cold and took more cranks on warm

[@justinzavala6497]

thanks!

[@sean7554]

Bought an 87 E350 motorhome. Never drove a carbureted vehicle before. Before I start, yes I have to pump the fuel pedal. After a few minutes, it goes into a high idle. Then after a few minutes or so. It goes into a really high idle. Then I blip the throttle. And the rpms lower, and then it idles normally. Guess that's normal, thanks.

[@ThaMotivation12]

Just had my car stall cause I didn’t let it sit for a while after starting it up after it’s been in 30s the past few days

[@jimvsmij1973]

At what point is an engine not warm anymore. I know it depends on engine size and outside temp and how insulated it is under the hood but for a ford 289 is it still was.sftet 2 hours when it's in the 70's? What about after 4 hours? Do you just a assume that it is cold and risk flooding it?

[@macsgarage]

There are lots of variables. Cast Iron holds heat better than aluminum. so that can also be a factor. My guess would be it's cooled off pretty good after the 4 hour mark but I'd still try starting it without pumping the gas first on a 70 degree day.

[@jeffstone7912]

You want to un-choke a engine as soon as it will idle smoothly without sputtering until operating temperature allows it to be driven safely. Choking a engine causes the spark plugs to foul. On aircraft you can Burn The carbon off the plugs by running up the engine and leaning the mixture. Carburetors can work great For years if properly set. Not all carburetors are equal. 1980s Japanese carburetors worked great from the factory and for years after you purchase the car. They were easy to adjust. However rebuilding a Japanese carburetor and make it work right after it was completely disassembled and cleaned is performing voodoo magic. You almost always were better off buying a brand new carburetor or converting it to an aftermarket carburetor that was simpler such as a weber. There were many cars that came with factory carburetors they were so temperamental people would convert them to a weber or Mikuni. Holly carburetors were a popular after market/performance carburetor used on American brands. Some carburetors were easy to rebuild and make the car run good except they limited the horsepower. It seems there’s always a trade-off between performance and reliability on the came to carburetion. I’ve always preferred reliability two performance. I hated cars that were a pain in the ass to start in cold weather. My first vehicle I owned was a 1969 dodge D 100 pick up with a single barrel carburetor (slant six engine) . The rebuilding kit cost about five bucks and took me 45 minutes to rebuild it. It ran beautifully except at first I didn’t have the automatic choke properly set. I put a drop light under the hood with 100 W lightbulb near the carburetor to keep it warm overnight. In the morning it would turn over without pumping the gas if I did that. Otherwise it took 45 minutes to get it to start at least until I adjusted the choke.

[@chuckwalla2967]

Yeah, if you put that sucker into gear in high idle mode, it'll destroy the transmission really fast.

[@M3GAN3116]

Thanks bought a 87 Toyota Corolla 😂 forgot how to start car with carburetor

[@28DjKid]

Really good video! However I have 2 questions: 1. What would happen if you "pump" the engine with more gas than 2-3x or 10x? Can you "overpump" it, would that result in the engine not starting? 2. Why didn't you put on full choke on the tractor. Wouldn't it start and heat up faster with full choke than 3/4 or half? Thanks!

[@macsgarage]

1. If you over pump it the engine will "flood" meaning there is to much liquid fuel for the amount of air. There must be a proper amount of air and fuel for the engine to start. It takes a little extra fuel with a cold engine but to much will cause it not to start as well. It's more difficult to clear a flooded engine and get it to start that it is to add a little more fuel later. Some times it's hard to tell which situation you have going on and that's where the knowing your machine comes in. 2. It's really the same answer as 1. To much choke can cause it to flood. Being that it was in a heated building the air and engine were warmer and I didn't think it would need full choke.

[@28DjKid]

@@macsgarage ok! Thank you very much!! 🙏

[@AbdulRafay-mq3rg]

I just restored my 1989 honda accord it never starts on first crank 2.0 carburetor engine and the engine is doesn’t have any acceleration plz help

[@robs_garage0278]

Sounds like a accelerator pump problem which is a rubber diaphragm mounted somewhere on carburetor

[@bretthair4249]

Will high idle turn off by itself or do you have to tap the gas to turn it off. And when should you turn it off

[@macsgarage]

You have to blip the throttle to turn it off. When kind of depends on temperature. Warm summer days you can do it almost immediately. Winter you should probably wait until the rpms pick up and stabilize.

[@bretthair4249]

@@macsgarage thank you

[@ryanlloyd6542]

How long should you let it idle at high rpms while the engine is warming up?

[@macsgarage]

That's a complicated answer. The short answer is until it runs well. On a hot summer day it may not need any high idle time while in the winter it may take several minutes.

[@keyworksales6241]

You have the same name as my brother in law, Ryan. Lol

[@michaelramirez946]

I have a 1985 s10 and I’ll let it warm up and all but once I turn it off it spits and sputters and it smells like rotten eggs could you know why?

[@supercattelephone]

you mean when you turn off the engine or the choke?

[@RydinTheBlaze]

could be idle not set right, air fuel mixture screws not set right.

[@Selectrolux]

Any carbureted vehicle that has been maintained properly should be just as easy to start up and drive as a fuel injected vehicle. It's never a good idea to start ANY vehicle and just take off immediately...you've got to give it a minute to run so all the lubricants and fluids can start circulating.

[@jacobfleming565]

We've all had our man cards revoked

[@spymaine89]

cant hear

[@aaronlane8276]

turn your volume up

[@josephscott6642]

ALL CARS NEED TO BE WARMED UP

[@anthonyangeli256]

20 hours ain't considered a cold start. Carb or Fi

[@macsgarage]

Engine is down to outside Temps in 20 hours. So maybe it doesn't meet your idea of a cold start but sitting longer won't change the temperature.

[@anthonyangeli256]

@@macsgarage it don't meet anybody's idea of a cold start cept yours

[@macsgarage]

@anthonyangeli256 pretty sure you got that backwards.