Rob S Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 I have a stock 1980 TR8. It still has the original zs carbs on the 3.5L rover v8 (my budget will not allow me to buy a 4bbl for a few more months). It often takes 5-10 minutes to get started (even with starting fluid). Once I have it started, I can shut it off and come back in a few hours and it will start right back up, but the next day it is hard to start again. The fuel pump is good and the fuel filter is good. I disconected the fuel line at the carbs, and there was good fuel flow at that point. When I try to start it, I can not smell fuel even after I have tried for a long time, so would think this means that it is NOT flooded. Once the car starts, it runs great. This sounds like a carb (or carb choke) problem to me. Is that what everyone else thinks? What can I do in the short term until I get a holley or edelbrock 4 bbl on it? I don't claim to be much of a mechanic, and I have no experience with these zs twin carbs. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
marvmul Posted January 24, 2007 Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 zs carbs : do you mean Zenith-Stromberg? Don't know for Zenith-Stromberg, but on SU's, it is often difficult to engage the choke (start)mechanism fully with the choke cable alone, even if the cable is well adjusted. You could try to start the engine while someone else is pulling or pushing the levers of the choke mechanisms on the carbs as far as they will go. It sounds that not enough enrichment of the mixture is achieved for a cold engine. The last bit of the choke travel have most effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob S Posted January 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yes zs = Zenith-Stromberg The choke is strange. Water line goes to the choke and that is it. No cable to play with - no manual way to get around the choke. It does not appear to have any power to the choke at all (unless a wire is disconnected that I do not see), just the water line. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jerrytr5 Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 It could be ignition. I am not familiar with the 7 or 8 but your description implies that when the starters churning it's taking all the power away from the ignition circuit. Some cars have an extra wire from the starter solenoid to the ignition to ensure there is always power supplied when starting - check to see if this is the case with your V8 and that it is not missing or broken. It could just need a new battery although if turning over nicely this is unlikely. Jerry Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hasbeen Posted January 25, 2007 Report Share Posted January 25, 2007 It sounds like lack of choke to me. Remove your air filters, & check the operation of your choke butterfly, first for any movement, & then, as marvmul says, for full movement. Most automatics don't as they get old. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rob S Posted January 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2007 Thanks for the ideas everyone, but it looks like I don't need them. My wife said for my birthday I can go buy a new 4bbl (what a great wife). I found a manifold a while back on eBay, so hopefully in a few weeks I will be driving my toy again. Rob Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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