1954 Corvette starting issues

[Gerald A.]

Have a 54 Vette, all stock, it will only start if I put a little gas in all 3 Carburetors. After that it starts and runs fine and will start again and again without adding gas to carbs. If it sits overnight I have to add gas again. Any advice is appreciated

should have read starting issues in the title block, hate auto correct

[Leif A.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Are you pulling out the manual choke before attempting to start?

[Gerald A.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Are you pulling out the manual choke before attempting to start?

Yes I have and the chokes all work well.

[Bruce B.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Do the old YH (?) carbs have accelerator pumps?

[Chris S.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

is the fuel pump in good order ?
carbs rebuilt ?

[Terry M.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Do the old YH (?) carbs have accelerator pumps?

Per the Advanced Judging Seminar given by Tim Ehlers at the recent Texas Regional the answer, Bruce, is no they do not. Tim stated it is essential to properly adjust the chokes because they must seal well enough to create vacuum which draws the fuel into the carburetor throat. I was hoping Tim would chime in on this thread because I am providing third hand information and I don't trust myself to be entirely up to speed on these details.

[Chris S.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Terry is very right - each one can be adjusted individually to closed all the way

[Gerald A.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

Thanks for all of your help, I found the problem. The accelerator pump springs are to week to return the pump to its proper position ar the top. It was going down but not returning when you let off the accelerator.

[Tim E.]

Re: 1954 Corvette starting issues

As Terry described and Chris confirmed, all 3 choke plates need to be synchronized and need to fully close for easy starting. There is a "pump diaghragm" inside the carburetor which it is designed (based on vacuum) to enrich the mixture for acceleration. It does not squirt fuel into the venture like we're used to with later carbs. Tim