Hello everybody!

I have spent last 6 months repairing my Olds (1971 cutlass supreme 350 rochester quadrajet 4bbl) here and there but one "problem" seems to persist. Even after one night of staying put my Olds takes around 10 seconds of cranking to start. When the engine is hot there are no problems and overall the vehicle runs very smoothly.
I do not mind cranking the engine but I was wondering if this is normal. On a sunny hot day it might take even more than 10 seconds.

To me it seems that fuel is flowing back to the tank and the pump needs to run quite a bit before getting it back up there. I have not checked yet if there is a fuel filter with a check valve installed currently.
But shouldn't there be other mechanisms to prevent fuel from flowing back?

I had a mechanic install carb repair kit and adjust the carb. The mechanic said there are no leaks and the carb holes had been sealed with epoxy glue. I have read that those holes are a common problem.
The mechanic also replaced some worn out fuel lines with new ones. I have tried applying fuel directly to the carb with a syringe but it did not help much. (Maybe I didn't apply enough to see a difference.)

When cold starting the car I usually depress the pedal fully once and then start cranking. Is my method wrong or am I missing something? Or is this all just normal?

 

Your starting procedure is about right, although you might try an extra pump of the pedal to fill the bowl a little more. Ten seconds isn't bad for a start from dead cold. This isn't a modern FI car, you know. You have to be in a bit less of a hurry.

 

x2

BTW I might add that the fuel used to start the engine is what is in the fuel bowl.
The engine will run up to 30 seconds or so on it until the fuel pump has a chance to refill the bowl.

 

Alright, thank you :-) Not in a hurry, just wanted to make sure

 

IMO: the gas is evaporating, especially when it's hotter outside. The gas in the carb will boil, that doesn't help either. Modern gas... If the only issue you have is cranking when the car sits over night, but runs fine without any hesitation, just learn to live with pumping it. Not sure if an electric fuel pump would help, but I personally prefer mechanical parts vs electric.

 

You need to remove the air cleaner when the engine is cold. Push back the choke plate and actuate the throttle ONCE. You should see the accelerator pump squirt fuel into the venturi.

If you don't see the accelerator pump squirt fuel the next day you could try again but first crank the engine for 3 to 5 seconds. Then actuate the throttle once and see if you see the accelerator pump squirt.

 

An electric fuel pump would probably help but if you are cranking in 10 seconds, I don't think I would bother with it.

 

This will tell you if you have fuel in the bowl or not.