Yeah - "holding it to the floor", as Glen says, is the trick. DO NOT PUMP IT. Our old-school carbs have power valves (or some other name of the sort) that pump gas into the engine when you pump the gas. This is why it's so easy to flood the darn thing when you are frustrated and continue to pump the gas. By "holding" it to the floor, you are not pumping in gas.

Now, if you have EFI, things are a bit different, but you shouldn't have this problem anyway...

 

ahhh..... I bet I likely pumped it to the floor a few times and didn't hold it long enough each time, thus pumping in more gas instead of just one pump and hold to the floor until she started. Next time. Thanks for the tips.

 

I call em Mommy Missles

 

The old "the cars computer broke and I guess we are stranded" trick. Times have changed. Used to be gas,now its computers.

 

That would be the accelerator pump. The power valve is internal and opens up under low vacuum conditions.

 

Yeah, when you push the throttle, it opens up the butterflys for more air.

 

yep, the accelerator pump squirts fuel in any time the throttle is opened on a carb. The shot is less duration if the throttle is already open a bit. A cam decides how much and how long for degrees of throttle arm position.

The reference to two pumps then hold half way is for starting an old engine. If it has sat a while, say a few hours or overnight, chances are there is no fuel under teh carb, puddled or not. So a couple shots from the accel pump and it will have fuel. Holding the throttle half way give the engine some air but not so much that it revs to 6k like it would if a novice started it at WOT (wide open throttle) and didnt lift. High rpm causes problems like bent pushrods, broken valve springs, floated valves that smack pistons, and undue engine wear.

Half throttle gives it just enough but not too much. The choke will shut off almost all the air creating a rich condition that will help in cold weather. In hot weather you often dont need a choke.

Driving a carbuerted car is becoming a lost art with modern fuel injection. Any moron can hop in an injected car and start it. If someone can get in one of my cars an make off with it before I get there with my SPAS12 then most likely I will let them have it. They are a better mechanic than I in that case.