Hard to start on hot days 1963

Lizzy

Lizzy

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Jan 12, 2018
Thunderbird Year
1963
My 1963 is hard to start on a very hot day after a long run sometimes wearing down the battery..Any suggestions for the problem would be helpful.
 

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There is a really common problem with these cars, where the modern gasohol with a lower boiling point begins to do just that when the car is hot. Do you have a gas smell? That's a part of it. The carb should have a spacer plate under it, and I believe coolant runs through it. If an aftermarket carb, make sure there is a space plate under it as opposed to mounting directly on the manifold. My 64 has an Edelbroak manifold and carb, and starting was a mess when hot. Then it had a tendency to stall when backing out of a parking space, and there is always some nut who flies past, making me stop -- and stall -- and crank and crank again to start it. After driving half a block it smooths out. Adding a spacer plate helped immensely, but I still get it a little at times. The solution may be fuel injection.
 
Lizzy said:
My 1963 is hard to start on a very hot day after a long run sometimes wearing down the battery..Any suggestions for the problem would be helpful.
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Had a similar problem on my 62. Ultimately we partially rebuilt carb. Still problems. Then replaced Both floats And adjusted carb and problems gone. Since it has been sooo hot these days I also placed insulation between carb and manifold as well as added auxiliary electric fan. Now runs much cooler and starts better. Hope that helps.
 
Yes, other suggestions made above are good ones. When you say "wearing down the battery" it sounds like the starter isn't turning over strongly enough to start the car. You may have a defective ground or battery cable or possibly heat soak of the starter. Consider replacing your battery cables, make sure the contact points are clean. And replace that solenoid switch that conveys power to the starter while you're at it, they're cheap.
 
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Gary Tayman said:
There is a really common problem with these cars, where the modern gasohol with a lower boiling point begins to do just that when the car is hot. Do you have a gas smell? That's a part of it. The carb should have a spacer plate under it, and I believe coolant runs through it. If an aftermarket carb, make sure there is a space plate under it as opposed to mounting directly on the manifold. My 64 has an Edelbroak manifold and carb, and starting was a mess when hot. Then it had a tendency to stall when backing out of a parking space, and there is always some nut who flies past, making me stop -- and stall -- and crank and crank again to start it. After driving half a block it smooths out. Adding a spacer plate helped immensely, but I still get it a little at times. The solution may be fuel injection.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the tips.I have a rebuilt starter, new battery and new solenoid ,It is the 390 with a rebuilt 1400 autolite carb. Electric choke.It's a pretty old girl but she is very temperamental. But I checked the manual.(Had the car for 15 yrs and hadn't read the manual duh)Apparently the gas evaporates in the carb when it is very hot.Manual gives some suggestions on starting a very hot engine.I will try.
 
If i were you i'd upgrade the ignition system. Pertronix III module in the disty, hotter coil, MSD or equivalent wires. At that point you'll know the ignition system is up to snuff, is not the culprit, and will light off whatever mix your carb is delivering to the cylinders. then get a new carb and I'm guessing your starting issues will fade into the past.
 
Oh the joys of carburetors... Hot soaks can make for fun restarts.. Try this... crank the engine for 4-5 seconds, this will allow the fuel pump to refill the carb bowl. Pump the accelerator a couple of time, and then hold the throttle wide open. crank the engine and see if it fires. After all the fuel has evaporated you kind of need to get everything all primed back up.
 
I HAVE A 66 WITH THE 428 AND AFTER IT GOT WARMED UP IT WAS VERY HARD AND EMBARRESING TO START. ORDERED A 1 INCH PHELONIC CARB SPACER AND HAVE NOT HAD THAT PROBLEM ANYMORE. HOPE THIS HELPS.
 
Lizzy said:
My 1963 is hard to start on a very hot day after a long run sometimes wearing down the battery..Any suggestions for the problem would be helpful.
Click to expand...
I used to have the same problems that you are having until I started using 100% gasoline in my Thunderbird. Here is a link to see where you can buy 100% gasoline in your state:

https://www.pure-gas.org

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue
 
I'm suspicious of having to run non-ethanol gas to cure runability issues. I'm willing to be convinced but this sounds like a panacea to me.
 
64ZCODE said:
I'm suspicious of having to run non-ethanol gas to cure runability issues. I'm willing to be convinced but this sounds like a panacea to me.
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Ethanol is known to create glaze/crap in older fuel systems. I've seen it in carb rebuilds I've done recently. That one reason Carb Defender was invented.
 
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Lizzy said:
My 1963 is hard to start on a very hot day after a long run sometimes wearing down the battery..Any suggestions for the problem would be helpful.
Click to expand...
Consider doing ALL of the above but add: 1) Add an electric fuel pump inline, that you can switch on during hot start. 2) Wrap your starter in some heat shield.
 
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