cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,580
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Oct 26, 2020 20:35:18 GMT
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Any advice for early morning starting on an old Ford 1.1 with points? I've had the Car years but now its got some early morning winter weather to contend with (it never had to start before 9-10am before now).
I'm looking into electronic ignition modules for it as its a bit of a pain when its wet sometimes. Although being an 1.1 ohv it doesn't seem like theres a kit available straight off the shelf like pintos etc. talking to Powerspark about it at the moment.
I guess I can put an old towel/blanket over the engine at night but thats all i've got.
Chris
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Oct 26, 2020 20:42:57 GMT
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I used to help my 205 start with a can of easy start.
Stick the straw nozzle into the inlet, squirt in some goodness and then start it up.
That got me through two winters
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,580
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Oct 26, 2020 20:51:09 GMT
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I used to help my 205 start with a can of easy start. Stick the straw nozzle into the inlet, squirt in some goodness and then start it up. That got me through two winters I was thinking about that the other day as I have to start my Capri with that (doesnt get used for weeks on end). The Escort has a big plastic air filter on it so i'm not sure if it would work easily? I can just unscrew the K&N on the Capri.
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Oct 26, 2020 21:09:27 GMT
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How cold are we talking? Sub-zero or just uncomfortably cool? If everything ignition related is in good order it shouldn't need anything more than plenty of choke for a cold start. I dailied a Wolseley 1300 for several years (this century, it was 35 years old when I bought it) and never had trouble starting it from cold on snowy days.
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,580
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Oct 26, 2020 21:35:21 GMT
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How cold are we talking? Sub-zero or just uncomfortably cool? If everything ignition related is in good order it shouldn't need anything more than plenty of choke for a cold start. I dailied a Wolseley 1300 for several years (this century, it was 35 years old when I bought it) and never had trouble starting it from cold on snowy days. Just 5am Uk winter rain/ frost. Maybe I should get a new set of points in it. Sometimes it stumbles on the first fire then your cranking it a bit before it fires. Once it’s running your fine
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 1,981
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Oct 26, 2020 21:41:56 GMT
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I have an electronic dizzy for a MK3 Escort for sale, not sure if that fits your engine? If there's no off-the-shelf electronic dizzy for your engine, assuming it has a Bosch JFU-type dizzy your current distributor is probably pretty easy to convert with parts from other cars with dizzies from the same family. Which exact parts you need mainly depends on the direction of rotation. I'm sure there must be a Powerspark/ Accuspark/ Pertronix/ Aldon kit that fits too. If you post some pics and/ or the part number of your current distributor I may be able to advise.
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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Oct 26, 2020 21:55:04 GMT
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I used to help my 205 start with a can of easy start. Stick the straw nozzle into the inlet, squirt in some goodness and then start it up. That got me through two winters I was thinking about that the other day as I have to start my Capri with that (doesnt get used for weeks on end). The Escort has a big plastic air filter on it so i'm not sure if it would work easily? I can just unscrew the K&N on the Capri. Have you got a jubilee clip you can loosen somewhere on the intake you can slip the easy start straw into?
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,227
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Oct 26, 2020 23:29:25 GMT
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You shouldn’t need to use an easy start product if the ignition and fuel system is in good health. If you do, you have an issue you should remedy. Easy start is not the answer. Fixing the problem is. I ran a 1973 MGB few a few winters, was on one of the generic red cubes for ignition and stock SU carbs but with trumpets and socks and it’d always start without fuss.
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Rich
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 6,227
Club RR Member Number: 160
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Oct 26, 2020 23:32:05 GMT
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Also in regards to your want for leccy ignition, find what dizzy your car has fitted and go to eBay and look for ‘electronic ignition XYZ’ where XYZ is your dizzy, you’ll find a kit I should think with little trouble. The one I had on the MG was listed as for reliant robin. It just needs to fit the distributor.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,188
Club RR Member Number: 170
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For something like that it should need the following:
-Turning over for quite a bit initially ; let's say 4 or 5 turns if it's not been started for a while ; the carb can be topped up that way -A pump or two on the accellerator; I'm assuming the VV carb is not on the car and fixed Jet Webber is -Some choke -Firing it up with a bit of throttle.
This is accounting for things being old. A good fuel pump may not have this issue if it has a drainback valve fitted within and is working
My dad had a late 1986 Fiesta Finnese 1.1 back in the early 90s. All that needed from memory was the choke, a bit of throttle and it always caught first time.
Electronic replacement of the points will assist damper starting during those colder months.
For starting up a '60s VW Splitty in our unit, the below has never failed me, although the Owner can't quite get the knack still.
Spec of that is a 1641cc TwinPort, with an Engle cam, Twin Webber IDAs, and a points based 009 dizzy.
-Turning over for quite a bit initially ; It takes quite some time to fill up those float bowls if it's been sat a while. Otherwise this step doesn't have to be taken if it's used daily. -A pump or 5 on the accellerator -Firing it up with a bit of throttle. It won't always fire up the first time. It does however on the second time around.
I'd like to think the above Splitty could be improved with a -Bluetooth 123 dizzy (ignition advance can be tailored more at the low end) -Decent electronic fuel pump ; it would say having to let the carbs fill up after it's been sat.
My Stag for instance on a Holley would fire up first time near enough, as would my MGBs which were near that kind of a spec.
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 1,981
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Even after a month there should be enough fuel left in a float bowl to get a car started.
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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goldnrust
West Midlands
Minimalist
Posts: 1,872
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I agree with the comments above, if everything is in good condition then it should start relatively promptly in any weather. Again as mentioned above, there is sometimes a bit of a knack to getting easy cold starting, working out how many pumps of the accelerator before you try cranking gives the best start etc. With my old Rx7 I worked out that 3 pumps then full choke would give me the best starting when it was properly cold. Daily driving does have some advantages, compared to trying to start a car on a frosty morning that hasn’t been used for weeks/months. Firstly, if the charging system is working well then the battery to should freshly topped up from yesterday’s drive. Likewise the float bowls in the Carb should still be full from the previous day’s drive so no cranking while you wait for the fuel pump to fill the bowls. With plenty of seat time you get to know the car really well and find it’s quirks. It’s also fair to say the weather doesn’t change overnight, it gets colder over a number of weeks and months. If you identify a problem, like the car turning over slowly on a cold October morning, which is maybe 5 degrees, then change the battery now, don’t wait till it fails to start on a sub zero December morning. As you’ve already identified that wet mornings can be an issue, that seems a good place to start.
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Oct 27, 2020 10:30:45 GMT
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A decent full service and good battery and it should start no problem in UK winter temperatures. If it doesn't then there is an issue with something. Did it have an automatic choke or is it manual? Automatic ones there's sometimes a routine of a throttle press required to set it initially. If it is automatic is it working correctly?
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Oct 27, 2020 18:01:37 GMT
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Good point re automatic choke. My dad had a Mk5 Cortina 1.6 with auto choke. It was horrible. His mechanic replaced the carb with a manual choke one off an older Cortina and no more starting problems.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,188
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Oct 27, 2020 18:40:38 GMT
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Even after a month there should be enough fuel left in a float bowl to get a car started. I'd like to have thought so. But I've yet to see a retro which does. Maybe the 2CV at a push. The Splitty on rebuilt cars in the above gets awkward after 2 weeks TBH.
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,580
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Oct 27, 2020 20:19:18 GMT
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Cheers for all the advice! I went out this morning at 5:30 and it fired up fine . It always dies once but might be the choke in the wrong position (it’s manual). I think I’ll maybe get a new Battery and change the points and condenser. I recently changed the cap/arm/plugs. The battery is old and I’ve never replaced it as it’s always been ok over the last 7 years.
Re that Cortina choke... my Capri has that one. It’s a nightmare and if all works out with the new job I’ll be either replacing the choke or Carb. It’s curse word lol
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Oct 27, 2020 20:43:06 GMT
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Is the choke working correctly, fully open should both enrich the mixture and increase the idle speed to approx 2000 rpm.
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cjhillman
Posted a lot
1979 Capri (Rolling Project) 1985 Escort mk3 (Daily)
Posts: 1,580
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Is the choke working correctly, fully open should both enrich the mixture and increase the idle speed to approx 2000 rpm. I guess so? Most days I’d pull it fully out but sometimes it’s just needs about 3/4 of choke.
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jamesd1972
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,818
Club RR Member Number: 40
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Oct 28, 2020 12:09:00 GMT
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If you can get NOS points, cap, condenser and rotor arm do - a lot of issues these days are with the quality of the available parts. Some of the dizzy caps I've seen are truly appalling. I'd be tempted spend my money on replacing all the existing set up with quality replacements rather than extra cash on upgrading to electronic. BITD I used to stick plugs, leads, cap, condenser, points and rotor arm on anything that was a bit hissy at starting and it would be more than enough to cure most issues. James
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Oct 29, 2020 20:46:51 GMT
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Agreed - much of the repro ignition stuff is rubbish. This chap is a good source of proper quality stuff though: www.distributordoctor.com/
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