318 will not start

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Quick update didn’t get a lot of time to mess with the car but I did but new plugs in it the old plugs were awful as far as being fouled.

Also replaced pcv hose there was a crack in it. The rest of the hoses look ok. Battery was charged. Same thing as yesterday. Just trying to start it without touching the gas pedal hit runs maybe 1 or 2 seconds. Hold the pedal to the floor maybe 2-4 seconds.

A lot of smoke coming out the exhaust and the smell of gas is everywhere under the hood and exhaust. Not leaking though. I would say it’s definitely flooded and the cylinders have probably been washed down.

The previous owner said he had cranked on the car and it would do nothing. No running at all. And he cranked on it till battery was dead. Was running fine prior to that. When the car got delivered to me it had been 2 or 3 days since he had tried starting it and it is now doing this at least it’s wanting to run. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow to follow these suggestions and start from square one. It’s getting spark and fuel. I may do a compression test.
 
Sorry about the hit part.... means it runs for 2-5 seconds or whatever just a term I have heard other people use over the years

No problem. Thanks for clearin that up. Ok. Try this. Start it, but keep the key in the start position. If the engine now continues to run, put a ballast resistor on it. And don't worry. It won't hurt a thing to engage the starter with the engine running for the few seconds it will take to diagnose this.

Ok. My bad. I see now where you've replaced the ballast already, so disregard this.
 
Quick update didn’t get a lot of time to mess with the car but I did but new plugs in it the old plugs were awful as far as being fouled.

Also replaced pcv hose there was a crack in it. The rest of the hoses look ok. Battery was charged. Same thing as yesterday. Just trying to start it without touching the gas pedal hit runs maybe 1 or 2 seconds. Hold the pedal to the floor maybe 2-4 seconds.

A lot of smoke coming out the exhaust and the smell of gas is everywhere under the hood and exhaust. Not leaking though. I would say it’s definitely flooded and the cylinders have probably been washed down.

The previous owner said he had cranked on the car and it would do nothing. No running at all. And he cranked on it till battery was dead. Was running fine prior to that. When the car got delivered to me it had been 2 or 3 days since he had tried starting it and it is now doing this at least it’s wanting to run. Hopefully I will have more time tomorrow to follow these suggestions and start from square one. It’s getting spark and fuel. I may do a compression test.
Perhaps the float is stuck open and the gas is just pouring in.... that would explain why it runs a couple seconds longer with the pedal to the metal. But soon as it starts the gas pours in as fast as the fuel pump can pump it
 
Perhaps the float is stuck open and the gas is just pouring in.... that would explain why it runs a couple seconds longer with the pedal to the metal. But soon as it starts the gas pours in as fast as the fuel pump can pump it
Kinda what I was thinking too. Not much feedback from OP. I realize he is busy. I'd be hitting that carb with a small block of hardwood and a hammer. Ya Ill probably get lectured for that. lol
 
Yeah been busy just got the car Monday. I did confirm good spark and replaced the ecu and ballast resistor just to be safe. Also found the crack in the pcv hose replaced that. Maybe it is a stuck float then. Carb is a Carter 2 barrel. How would I go about checking for a stuck float? Tap the carb with a block of wood and hammer?
 
crank the engine and look down the carb...you will see gas drowning the engine...

smell the oil...does it smell like gasoline?
 
Yeah been busy just got the car Monday. I did confirm good spark and replaced the ecu and ballast resistor just to be safe. Also found the crack in the pcv hose replaced that. Maybe it is a stuck float then. Carb is a Carter 2 barrel. How would I go about checking for a stuck float? Tap the carb with a block of wood and hammer?
The needle and seat unscrew right from the front of the carb, where your fuel line goes in. Couple of wrench's, it's out in 30 seconds
 
At this point I must agree that you have carburetor issues. What kind of carbuertor is it again?
 
Yeah been busy just got the car Monday. I did confirm good spark and replaced the ecu and ballast resistor just to be safe. Also found the crack in the pcv hose replaced that. Maybe it is a stuck float then. Carb is a Carter 2 barrel. How would I go about checking for a stuck float? Tap the carb with a block of wood and hammer?
When it comes to thise carters, if one thing dries up.. the rest is probably needing replaced, carb gaskets, seals, and most importantly for goosing a cold start...the accelerator pump plunger. When that goes, it kills the rpm upon opening the throttle..dead spot and it dies. I bet it just needing an easy carb overhaul.
You can also just raise the idle speed up to help it run for now to prove its faulter, but it seems almost certainly the carburetor is the problem.
 
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When it comes to thise carters, if one thing dries up.. the rest is probably needing replaced, carb gaskets, seals, and most importantly for goosing a cold start...the accelerator pump plunger. When that goes, it kills the rpm upon opening the throttle..dead spot and it dies. I bet it just needing an easy carb overhaul.
You can also just raise the idle speed up to help it run for now to prove its faulter, but it seems almost certainly the carburetor is the problem.
Always cracks me up when I see people priming their carbs for cold starts by rapidly pumping the feed pedal. You are probably correct with the diagnosis. A couple quick raps on the carb may fix it all though. Been there more than once but usually on small engines.
 
Now that I think about it, those times striking the carb with some hammer blows were when the float was stuck in the UP position. They were starving for gas and you could hear the float drop.
 
Ok needle and seat looked ok to me. Car had a new gas tank installed last year according to the paper work that came with it.
There wasn’t a lot of fuel that ran out when I removed needle and seat. When u shake the car u can see the fuel in the carb though and some ran out. Looks level with the threads
 
Ok needle and seat looked ok to me. Car had a new gas tank installed last year according to the paper work that came with it.
There wasn’t a lot of fuel that ran out when I removed needle and seat. When u shake the car u can see the fuel in the carb though and some ran out. Looks level with the threads

Of course it looks good "NOW". Consider the DUMP of gas that's gone down the intake before you looked at the float level. I'd get those floats out and check them closely. I bet you'll find them compromised.
 
Does anyone know where I could get a new carb or rebuilt one that would be a direct replacement for this carb?
 
Does anyone know where I could get a new carb or rebuilt one that would be a direct replacement for this carb?
People have had really good luck getting them through Summit the Rebuilder that does them at Ko or something like that does a good job

I bought a car for my buddy and taxes being that he didn't have any kind of carb to send me to build and he put it on and it was damn near perfect right out of box
 
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