Vintage Speedster Hawaiian Gardens
Engine won’t start after sitting overnight without using starting fluid. After starting it runs great and starts easily all day. Anyone have any thoughts on a remedy?
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Does it have dual carbs and are you pumping the gas pedal 3 or 4 times before trying to start it?
Yes dual carbs and yes pumping. It tries to start on the first crank but just cranks after that and nothing until I spray a small amount of starting fluid into bout carbs. It then starts right up.
Just got the car yesterday, it hasn’t been driven much. It only has 1200 miles since built in 2014.
Changing the oil today, old owner still had the break-in-oil in it. Looks like new oil on the dipstick.
.
If it's old enough to be an original (Hawaiian Gardens) VS and has only 1200 miles on the clock, it's very likely the carbs were never set up properly to begin with (and this may be partly why the original owner sold it).
Setting up the carbs is not difficult, but it's something that must be done with every car before it will run decently. They are never right fresh out of the box, guaranteed.
There's lots of good information on doing this in our archives. If you are a wrenching type, you can probably work this out yourself. If not, pay someone who can, to do this and you will be good.
Return with us now to the days of yesteryear, when folks resigned themselves to dealing with the idiosyncrasies of carburetors. They run very differently when cold than when hot — especially if they have no chokes (and ours don't).
Generally, without chokes, the warmed-up idle must be set a little higher than normal to allow the car to run at all when stone cold. But first, the linkage and the jets and the mixture adjustments must be right, not to mention a check of the distributor performance and the ignition timing.
It all sounds daunting at first, but it's not.
Let us know how you're getting on and there will be more advice here than you can ever imagine — some of it helpful.
.
Oh no.........not the oil!! That's going to be another kettle of fish.
Thanks Mitch.😀
Can you recommend a good VW guy in Orange County California?
.
@Popee posted:...Can you recommend a good VW guy in Orange County California?
Well, no.
Most self-respecting north state residents deny knowledge of anything that happens south of about Lodi, but we do have a healthy membership down in La-La land who should be piping up here.
You may want to contact Greg Leach at Vintage Motorcars (who moved into the old VS shop when VS changed ownership). Greg is very busy building new cars, but may be able to work on your car or recommend someone who can.
BTW, do you know what kind of carbs you have?
Change the fuel filter(s) and drain any old gas from the tank for starters. Once you get it started with starter fluid, let it run for awhile. Run the rpms up and let it get to operating temperature. Drive it around awhile and see how it behaves. It may just need to flush itself out.
@Panhandle Bob posted:Change the fuel filter(s) and drain any old gas from the tank for starters. Once you get it started with starter fluid, let it run for awhile. Run the rpms up and let it get to operating temperature. Drive it around awhile and see how it behaves. It may just need to flush itself out.
This is the exact first step instructions. Fresh gas and fuel filter will do wonders.
-=theron
A bottle of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner in gas tank will also clean off any varnish crap in the carbs. They probably do need synchronization and some tweeking to run properly.
gas...out with the old, in with the new.
@Popee You say the car runs well. Does it idle smooth once warm? Is the engine responsive and smooth under load?
Is it just the cold start that is a problem?
If so, it may be that you just need to figure out what the car wants when it's cold.
I have an example for you(and this is NOT a reflection on you!).
I have a customer with a sand rail, 1835cc with dual 35mm Solexes(that I installed and tuned). The carbs have electric chokes and it runs and starts well from cold.
However, he came out to visit me one day, and had trouble starting the car when it was warm. The car had sat for about 15 minutes. He simply turned the key for a LONG time until it caught.
Now, me, I've had carbs all my life, but he had ALL injected cars. All he needed to do was VERY slightly crack the throttle as he turned the key. Instant start, let off the gas, perfect idle.
There was nothing wrong, just needed to give the car what it needed. Now he has no trouble at all, anytime.
As I said above, maybe you just have to experiment and figure out what the car wants when it's cold. They can be cantankerous and difficult when cold.
Can anyone tell me where to find the fuel filter/filters? I would assume they’re in the engine bay somewhere.
Filter: At least one if not two. One under the fuel tank and the second at the left rear frame horn where the hard line exits.
I'm a little surprised that none of the SoCal owners have popped up on this thread to identify a VW mechanic they trust near Santa Ana.
So knowing full well that it's a 3-hour drive to get practically anywhere down there, I would suggest that you call the folks at Vintage Motorcars Inc. in Hawaiian Gardens and ask who they might recommend for a VW shop within a reasonable drive that could check out your car and set up the carbs for you. Anna will probably answer the phone (business hours) or you can ask for Greg, the owner, but Anna is really a good source for info like this.
Their contact page and phone number:
https://www.vintagemotorcarsinc.com/contact-us/
Another good info source would be one of the many Aircooled VW clubs in SoCal, so google "aircooled volkswagen club of southern california" (Click on it - It's a link) and start looking into some of them. Old VW people are the most helpful on Earth.
Seems 1/2 the pictures one sees of a VW engine there is a 59 cent clear plastic fuel filter hanging near distributor --- just waiting to crack/melt/leak and destroy the car. We all collectively cringe. I have a clear glass one up under fuel tank -- almost as bad but it's nice to be able to see if there's rust collecting in it. The steel ones are preferred for safety. (Do carry a good size fire extinguisher with you!)
NO, NO ----
Another issue could be the fuel pump - you didn't say if still mechanical or an electric add-on. With electric one should turn on key and wait until pump stops running. Mechanical takes engine turning over. Many use the $16 Empi/Facet vibrating electric pumps which aren't very good (and frequently fail). A good rotary pump is worth the $75 (but check volume - you may need a fuel pressure regulator to reduce pressure and keep it consistent).
Attachments
.
If your car is a Hawaiian Gardens VS, it probably has only one fuel filter, and it's likely not in the engine compartment.
You probably have a mechanical fuel pump, mounted near the distributor. Follow the fuel lines from that. One will lead to the carbs, the other passes through the firewall at the front of the compartment. The fuel filter is usually just on the other side of that partition.
It's probably a metal canister, about three inches long. The problem is that it's usually mounted very high in the narrow compartment just ahead of the engine compartment, accessible from underneath the car, but hard to reach unless the car is up on a lift.
My car had no filter just under the gas tank (although installing one isn't a bad idea). If your filter is in that narrow compartment in the back of the car and mounted high up, there's a good risk of dowsing yourself with gas when trying to remove it unless you're prepared.
As the Boy Scouts say, be prepared.
.
Thank you all for the great information you’ve all shared. This is a new venture go me, I’ve owned 2 Porsche Carrera cabs and have been toyless for a year. I’m retired so I needed something to fiddle with and drive. Plus i didn’t want to spend over 100K for a toy. Who knows what the future holds…