OK, this is a 318 2bbl 1974 Duster that I just bought. It is hard to start and wants to stumble and stall right off idle. I can't even touch the accelerator until it is well warmed up. I have to use a spray of starter fluid to start it. I temporarily wiredd the choke open to be able to run it. The previous owner put a brand new carb (2bbl) on it. Once it warms up, if I ease it through the flat spot when running in neutral, the engine will finaly rev up fine, but it is real difficult to get it to 2,000 where it will take any throttle to speak of. It's almsot like there is no accelerator pump in this carburetor. I'm starting to think there is dirt in the carb, what do you guys think? Fuel pump? Blocked fuel line?
DickJ
I had a pretty much the same issue.
And on that problem I got a lot of good feed back from a lot of guys here.
If anything the best advise I got for a good running carb was the original with a rebuild kit and a good cleaning. However it is always good to check your plugs because they can give you a lot of info, also I was told when doing a spark test, use a good 3/4'' gap and be sure it's blue. As for the Ignition system, like distributer, coil, resister, and ECM it's not likely but coil and resister would be my aim if so. And because you say it can be heated up then it start's and idles on it's own I assume the engine isn't rough at this point. So I would have to say is a carb issue. I went through a lot of frustration over this with a remand carb that just didn't seem to want to work, even after a rebuild to it. Initially when the carb was purchased it was the wrong one (tagged incorrectly), it was a smog carb which was hard to tell because after a tune it started and idled great. But RPM'S dropped just a bit more than usual when put in gear and when you tried to accelerate it would die out unless you worked the throttle. When exchanged for the correct carb it was the same issue, on top of them having the same issue for some reason I had to adjust the arm that controls the pump. It wasn't allowing enough fuel because it wasn't high enough for proper travel and pressure. Which may be you issue and would be easy to see and gauge just by taking you breather off. And after that finally I got the original out as suggested then rebuild that and it has been great ever since. As for the choke, the rod should have a fair amount of pressure holding the choke closed to the correct setting. Also take it off and check the coil inside the choke for rust and an excessively soft spring action, they are cheap and are basically needed for a cold start unless you want to pump more fuel in with your foot.
After all that blah blah blah
I would say first check your external carb settings before even starting the engine.
Then check plugs to narrow out any specific cylinders and check for excessive oil, carbon bad burning, etc.
Then check the spark strength at each cylinder.
If all are ok the check the timing when warmed up (anything between 5-10 degrees is good for checking things out).
And if everything is okay up to this point... It's is your carb. Probably the leather on the accelerator pump not being flared and soaked properly, maybe a missing check ball, or even bad movement in the needles
Find a good condition original you and can rebuild it or if needed by a rebuild kit for yours being sure it's the correct carb.
Oh, FYI. After all that, here I am switching to 4bbl
