Went to start the truck up today to take her out and I think I flooded the engine (I've got the 300ci I6 with some single barrel carb, I'll see if I can find what it is in the morning). It ran for a couple of minutes the first go and then accidentally killed it. Went to start it again after that and after turning over a bunch eventually the starter began clicking. Let it sit for a while and came back and it started up after a second and ran it for roughly 10 minutes. Turned it back off and then came back out 20 minutes later and it just gave me the starter clicking again. Had to leave for a few hours and came back and once more all I got was a slow turn over and then the starter. Super confused here. I'm assuming it has to do with the carb? First time it wouldn't go I got out and the area under the carb was wet with fuel. Not really sure where to start with fixing this.

 

Start by charging the battery. And while you're at it clean all your major electrical connections. Then figure out why it's wet with fuel.

When you start these carbed engines you can't just walk away, they need fuel mixture adjustment while they are warming up.

Eric

 

This is exactly the reason why electronic ignition and fuel injection replaced contact points and carburetors went bye-bye. Not a dig on you, mind you - these old beasts were a pita for regular folk back in the day. Jumper cables were in everybody's trunk. Most people who could afford it got a Tune-Up twice a year, just to try and avoid this.

It isn't that they can't be made just as reliable, but they definitely don't stay that way without periodic attention. It's usually a cumulative thing - especially now, after 50 years of electrical corrosion buildup. Everything from stretched timing chain to a weak battery and everything in between will make for hard cold starts.

 

I was having similar issues when I first got mine. There were hard starts and rough idle. I second what is stated about the electrical. I replaced all of the battery and grounds as well as rebuilding the carb. Those two things did wonders for it. Not sure what condition yours is in, but mine were very corroded. The ignition system would be my next place to start looking.

 

They were only a PITA when not maintained as they should have been. With points and carbs. they generally gave you weeks if not months of notice before they failed, todays,"RELIABLE" electronic/computerized engine will run PERFECT until they leave you dead on the side of the road. I'm 66, only time I've ever been towed in my life is with my 2007 computerized diesel F-450, I owned it for a total of 3 weeks and bought an 83 E350 to replace it.

If you maintain your oldy, and learn how to drive it, you can use it as a reliable daily driver for ever, like I do. And it will be a fun experience.

Eric

 

That might have been the rule, not the exception, at least in some areas. Back then (as now) a lot of people will just use and abuse equipment right up until the point it simply fails altogether. Neglect probably revealed itself faster in Michigan than Mississippi I suppose...

 

We do get more than our share of abuse in the North. But in all my old rides I upgraded to electronic ignition because the early eec systems were good for 60K miles before they would fail, however all my boats remained points. No gas station in the North Atlantic.

Eric

 

All of my electrical connections are pretty clean, but I'll go back in and check those out and make sure they're clean. I wasn't planning on leaving it to sit this long, but I had plans and couldn't keep working on it at that point. I'll get my other truck hooked up to the battery and see what I can do about that.

 

Use a full size battery charger, an alternator can't get a discharged battery even close to fully charged. I mean, if you drive to Montana or something straight through maybe. But depleted discharged battery is very hard on the alternator components and may even ruin it. And as long as we're singling you out for verbal abuse, cranking excessively on the starter in the first place will tend to roast the starter & starter relay solenoid too.

No in seriousness though, if any of the battery start or ground cables are original (or even just kinda old) do yourself a huge favor and replace them. Trust Me. Also grind down to bright bare shiny metal at engine block, frame, and firewall where they connect and tighten securely. What usually happens is corroded connections, wires, and the crimps etc suck up a lot current during start, with the starter itself already soaking up 150 amps. This leaves a weak spark when it is needed the most.

 

Thanks y'all, I appreciate it. You're definitely right Tedster, thanks for the reminders. Also realized that the battery the PO installed is a deep cycle Marine/RV battery, which definitely doesn't help things.

 

Those are very good batteries. Make sure it's full of water, Charge it and then check the cells.

Eric

 

Automotive batteries = worst

Deep cycle marine batteries = very good

Golf cart batteries = some say you can't kill them. The best you can get!

 

Interesting, I mentioned to my dad that it had a marine battery in it and his comment was that they were great for long duration loads but not great for high current short duration loads like starting.

 

With the basics, he's correct. Especially with smaller, lower performance, or less expensive versions. But spend more money on a big-*** battery and many of those advantages and disadvantages start to cross over in a very gray area.

Not only have batteries come a long way over the last few years, but really the variations in performance can be minimized with higher quality, higher performance (meaning way more expensive!) batteries.
Even a deep-cycle marine batter makes a killer starting battery if it has rugged construction and 1100 cold-cranking amps!
Lots of lesser expensive (not just "cheap" but more "budget" friendly) deep-cycle batteries had good reserve capacities but fewer cold cranking amps. Yet they could still start an engine. Just not as well as a dedicated starting battery. And many have really short warranties!

So your dad's right as far as that goes, but spend big bucks on a modern marine deep cycle battery and it probably has just as good, if not better starting characteristics as an older starting battery.
I only buy physically large AGM batteries these days, many of which are starting batteries at heart, but with some really good deep-cycle properties. Have had great luck doing that for the last 30 years, and as a bonus I no longer have to clean up battery acid damage or big clumps of corrosion.
But I pay through the nose!

Paul

 

A deep cycle battery is designed to be drained very low and still be recharged without any damage to the cells. Think about it, "DEEP CYCLE".
Also if you've ever been out in the OCEAN, there are no gas stations, and no road maps. It's very easy to get lost at see and drift until you starve to death because nobody can find you. Do you think they design marine batteries to be sub-standard?

Eric