Your Starter |For 10 ( Starting Question)

Hi all,

I have a B20 carburettored engined 145.

I was advised on cold starts to pull the choke out no more than the width of my thumb - it works every time!

However hot starts are a different matter...

Owners manual says ' on hot starts, push accelorater pedal flat to floor and don't use choke'. This never seems to work and I end up either flooring it, flooring it halfway or not touching the accelorator pedal or a mad combination of all three and eventuatually it catches.

Now I know I have a petrol octane problem at the moment but can any fellow B20 Carb owners advise me on their hot starting method?

Any comments appreciated, thanks!

[Martin Burch]

>Hi all,
>
>I have a B20 carburettored engined 145.
>
>I was advised on cold starts to pull the choke out no more
>than the width of my thumb - it works every time!
>
>However hot starts are a different matter...
>
>Owners manual says ' on hot starts, push accelorater pedal
>flat to floor and don't use choke'. This never seems to work
>and I end up either flooring it, flooring it halfway or not
>touching the accelorator pedal or a mad combination of all
>three and eventuatually it catches.
>
>Now I know I have a petrol octane problem at the moment but
>can any fellow B20 Carb owners advise me on their hot starting
>method?
>
>Any comments appreciated, thanks!

Hi, I have a 1971 B20a stromberg carb 144.
For a cold morning I pull the choke out all the way. The engine nearly always fires up happily. Then I push it about half way in and drive off. For hot starts I have found the mad combination method you mentioned to be as good as anything. Sorry if this not of much use.
Martin

Martin - thanks for that.

At least you have enlightened me that I am not alone on hot starts.

I always impress the neighbors when I start in the morning "first time you see - every time! Not bad for a 33 year old car eh?"

I'm glad they don't see me in the supermarket car park 30 minutes later - the look of pity and amusement on peoples faces as I RRRRR *pause* RRRRRRRRR *pause* RRRRRRRRRRRRRR my way to get it started seems to say "It's b*ggered mate! Classic cars eh? - no good for everyday use are they?"

[2.4TSE]

For ten years from new, Dad ran a 1972 B19 144 S (twin SUs rather than Strombergs, I think, but don't flame me if wrong as I was a kid at the time).

I remember that it always started with ease from cold, even from bitter cold, but hot restarting after a pause was another matter; done straight away was no problem, but after, say, stopping long enough to refuel, the engine could take a lot of cranking to get going again.

Dad suspected fuel vapourisation but lived with the problem.

In 1979, so overlapping with 144 S ownership, Dad brought the new 244DL that two years later I learned to drive in. Guess what? This single Stromberg B21 engine suffered from exactly the same problem!

Thanks for that - seems like a wierd carb B18/19/20 etc starting problem that's quiet common.

I should have been warned by the advice to floor the throtle on hot starts. It's odd and a bit embarassing that a Volvo ( with a well deserved reputation for reliability ) should be left cranking away on a petrol station forecourt whilst Vauxhalls, Fords etc stat first time...

Maybe it is a vapourisation problem? I will see if I can get the carb/pipes a bit cooler to see if that helps.

Anyone who has a BXX carb Volvo that starts first time hot?

my 1983 360 with B19A and Stromberg fitted starts first time always, cold or warm. no need to touch accelerator pedal during start. seems to me some kind of vapour valve problem - mine has such item attached...

Thanks for that - I guess by the rime the 360 came along they may well have sorted this problem.

a vapour lock sounds like a good idea - I was considering fitting a bigger heat sheild under the carb to see if that makes a difference - but a vapour lock might be the best route.