As a reference, my 308 crank must turn 2 or maybe 3 turns, and it's off and going, warm or cold. My Dino (when cold and sitting ~ a week or two), seems to need some choking, pumping and repeat, maybe 5 times). When warm, it's better, but still not like the 308. I wonder if the 272 duration Dino cams make starting tougher?? Also, I was thinking of backing down the ignition advance ~2degrees. It's at stock 10 deg advance now. Thanks!
Points ignition? If so, i would first check points for condition and correct gap. Again, based on my experience, I would not bother with choke, pump three times when cold.
Cold: -wait for pump to build up some pressure -pump pedal to floor 2-3 times - turn key and maintain a steady light foot on the gas Warm/Hot: - holding gas pedal down a little, turn key These have been my recipes for consistent starting.
Using thes tricks, does she just fire right up? How many miles do you get on plugs?? I haven't changed mine in ~10 years (1,000 miles?). Many thanks!
Hot start difficulty is the single most frustrating thing about my car. Cold start is perfect - fuel pump on for 10 seconds, two pumps on the accelerator and it lights up immediately. Hot start is another matter entirely. Run the fuel pump for 10 seconds, don't depress the accelerator, and it'll crank for 2 seconds and then catch. Sometimes. Particularly if it's warmed up but hasn't been running for a long time. But more than half the time you need to crank it for 5 seconds or more before it catches. Depressing the accelerator to open the butterflies seems to make it harder to start, not easier. Sometimes it's hot outside and the car starts right up, and sometimes you're cranking it for a while. It always starts eventually, but I do worry that the battery will drain during one of these exercises and I'll be stuck. The car has an MSD, a stock starter motor, and is in perfect tune - runs beautifully. I just need a reliable recipe for hot start. It seems like a delicate combination of how hot the engine bay is and how long the car's been sitting when I try to start it. And I haven't figured out the combination yet.
With hot starts also have a problems..but we are not only that have this problem.. Lack of air to the webers should be the problem..fuel delivery.. My mechanic fixed the webers cleaned did it almost one day it took..after that it is much better but still not perfect..
the manual states somewhere that when starting it when hot you floor the pedal and crank. This always works for me......but it is the only car I have ever had to treat this way. Cold requires three pedals and it starts every time.
I was taught to start mine exactly per the manual and it always fires 2 nd time if used regularly from cold or 3rd time after sitting a month. From hot I get an instant response nine times out of ten by running pump for 10-12 secs and opening throttle fully. As soon as it fires feather pedal to keep it running. My choke is not connected and apparently has always been that way according to the previous owner who had it from new. An oversight from the factory ; a dealer fix due a problem? No idea but Ive never needed a choke on this car to get her running.
Here Is the magic; Put a gear reduction starter in the engine...see many previous posts about how much better they work. Then when cold - turn the key on ...let the fuel pumps run until you can hear the carbs fill up (or the pump is pumping less hard)...then pump the accelerator all the way to the floor 3 times...then put the accelerator down 2/3rds of the way and turn the key...magic If its hot ...put accelerator all the way down to the floor and then turn the key on...magic Never touch the choke.....I have two of these cars and it works the same way for both....good luck!
How long does it take for the pump to fill the carb when sitting for a week or two.. I cannot hear the pump slow down .... LarryH
+1 but under half throttle not 2/3rds. Also ONLY Martin's Gear Reduction starters an off brand has known to have failed
I don't know anyone that uses the choke. Even the major Road and Track review back in the day stated that there was no need to use the choke.
In my 308, my choke has cobwebs - Don't even know if it will move But follow the Ferrari recipe cold & hot, and always just spins and starts! On the Dino----I know the choke well. Cold starting absolutely needs it, and a couple or half dozen pedal depressions and (as mentioned here), "Magic". When hot----rub my lucky rabbits foot / knock on wood / say the secret incantation etc, then do as the book describes, and 29 tries ) well maybe 5 or 6) and magic Compression is perfect, carbs immaculate, ignition is great. The tuning is spot on; however, I'm looking into carb settings. I think somewhere in its past, it' had some tinkering with jets. I did discover float height was off, and when I fixed this, throttle response was vastly improved ----Now to make it start preoperly. thanks for all your help!
just cuz i have not much to do _ I thought I'd toss a specific question out there about warm/hot starts and my 74 GTS cold start is perfect by the way - turn the ignition - hear the pumps go - 3.5 pumps of the gas and it fires right up warm/hot start .... I will try the "put the gas to the floor and crank" method - seems like that might work but the question I have is .. do i turn the key and let the pumps run for the same time I do when it's cold ? or just put the gas to the floor and crank it immediately ? I can always get it to started when it's warm but I go through a little panic at times as it's cranking and i start pumping - letting gas build up etc. i did take it on a long drive 2 days ago - it was lovely
Warm start, I always let the pump crank a few seconds until the pump speed reduces significantly, then pedal to the metal and engine starts immediately. Very cold: choker on, crank the fuel pump until chambers are filled and start the car with no speeder depression, engine fires immediately. All electronic ignition, no points or mechanical retarding system. Best regards Peter
Mine fires right up from cold w/o choke and goes immediately to idle. The new high torque starter makes it start even faster. If it’s been sitting for a few weeks, it takes a few tries until the carbs are filled. Once started, it immediately will idle w/o choke. My Dino has stock points and Winterburn CD ignition. I think it has much to do with carb tuning and ignition tuning. Make sure your idle jets are clean otherwise starting will be tough.
