My Midget used to start up relatively easily in the cold, and only took
about five minutes to get up to temperature. It would idle normally while
waiting for it to warm up; if I drove it it would sputter in the midrange of
RPMs. The originaly owners manual stressed that a warm up period was
necessary, and not to rev the engine until it was warm. The manual even
went so far as to say that it would be better to just drive off immediately
than to rev in neutral while it was cold.
I at one point had starting difficulty due to a minor exhaust leak at the
manifold/pipe flange. When I tightened it up, problem solved.
Of course now, I'm still having trouble with my ignition system. (Help,
Frank!) I've replaced the distributor (old one had broken springs),
assembled a new vaccum advance line, ripped out the old Mobiletec electronic
ignition (which failed mysteriously) and put in points and condensor. And
its still not starting!!!
>Howcum my '72 with Lucas Sport Coil and SU carbs starts
>so darned hard when it's cold? When the weather is balmy,
>I merely touch the key and I'm off. Get below 45-50F and
>I need to crank several times. Seems like I need to try it
>once or twice, shut off the key, then hit it just once more and
>it starts. Then it takes forever to warm up to running ok.
>I mean, I give it full choke (and yes! the cable does seem to
>move the choke thru it's full range). Still, if I try to drive
>off it falters and sputters for a moment while I rev it. Takes
>a good 10 minutes to run normally.
>
>Is this normal given the car? The plugs are a nice brown/gray.
>The SUs respond properly when the pin is lifted. The exhaust
>pipe shows a gray/black color. Sure ain't running lean.
Though 45-50 degrees isn't terribly cold, but my 1980 200SX used to require
5w oil in the wintertime. The thicker stuff was too heavy and kept the
starter from turing quickly enough first thing in the morning.
Needles worn? Timing OK? Filters dirty or clogged?
Regards,
Charles
'74 Midget
'68 Sprite
cdsorkin@ix.netcom.com
Bloomfield, NJ
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