C - 1 1959 245 HP What is wrong when you

[Jimmy J.]

set the choke and start the engine and it cuts off after it starts but will start back up and run at fast idle? Thanks, Jimmy

[Clem Z.]

my guess the float bowls are not full,the gasoline

has evaporated and the first start fills them back up so the second start will keep running. my advice is to block the heat riser crossover in the intake to remove the excess heat from the carbs.also wire the heat riser valve open. this will also make more power that is why the L-88s and ZL-1 used a GM intake gasket with the cross over blocked from the factory

[Mike B.]

Re: C - 1 1959 245 HP What is wrong when you

Jimmy,

It sounds like there is something wrong with your choke setting or the linkage associated with it. Typically on a cold start if you pump the gas pedal at least once the choke butterfly will close from spring tension (it's in that round black plastic device mounted on the carb). When that butterfly closes a piece of linkage also moves the snail-shaped high idle cam into place which serves to hold the throttle open more than normal to help with warmup.

The first thing that you should check is that all of those pieces work as described. Take the air cleaner off and ask a helper to step on the gas pedal. If all looks to be working maybe it is just your starting technique. You need to tap the pedal at least once like I said so as to set the choke closed which will help to richen the mixture and keep it running until warm up is finished. Once warm the next time you hit the gas pedal the choke and high idle cam should release and the car should settle to the normal idle speed and keep running.

On warm starts you may or may not want to touch the gas pedal at all because you might not need a squirt of fuel or a richened mixture to help start it. In fact it might tend to flood the engine and make it a lot more difficult to start. You might also have the evaporation problem that Clem describes. You need to experiment to see what works best with your car. Those old carbs are a lot more finicky than modern fuel injected systems on which we are all now spoiled.