I was at my grandparents house a couple of weeks ago (free storage in my grandpa's barn), when it was about 10 degrees F, and my 7 wouldn't start. I was there yesterday, the temperature was about 35F, and she fired up, but couldn't idle for longer than 5 or 10 minutes when i was warming her up. She belched smoke the entire time i had her started, but it wasn't coolant, it was a mix of 2 stroke (i mixed it a little ritch, about 1.25 oz/gallon), stabil, and gas. She would idle about 1500 rpm, with a "brap brap brap" sound, confirming the story from the previous owner that the engine is a BP, then the idle would slowly go down to 1k, and then she'd slowly and painfully die. I have three good, healthy "woosh's" when i turn her over with the fuel pump fuse pulled and the trailing plugs pulled. I'm wondering if it's running WAY too ritch at idle (the smoke was greyish in the barn, but when it did this before I put her away for the winter the smoke was EXTREMELY black, to the point that the snow that was behind the exhaust tips was black. Or i'm wonderin if trouble idling and starting while cold is a symptom of low compression. Mods are below.

?BP? 12a, holly 465 w/RB intake, RB SP header, RB duals, grounding kit, magnacore 10mm race wires, MSD Blaster 2 coils, fresh NGK's all around before I put her away for the winter, e-fan, no ps/ac, no rats nest, no emissions equipment, Holly Blue fuel pump, -6 (3/8") SS lines with A/N fittings, Holly FPR set at one needle width above 6psi, Earl's fuel filter.

I installed the fuel pump, lines, filter, and FPR. Previous owner put all of the mods on the motor, but the motor was in it when he bought it.

 

its a 12A so its carberator, ok I got it so far. well all I can say is we have a 12a and the only thing you can do when its cold is choke.

turn ignition on. dont ever touch gas pedal. no matter what anybody said. It'll foul out the spark plugs . let fuel pump run for a second and then turn it over, pull your choke out before turning over. make sure choke is out untill it goes up to 6000rpm. let it run there and very- Very slowly let it down to 2500 rpm with choke still out. When you pull the choke it is dumping oil in there so thats why the smoke is like that. Im hoping. If you put the rpm low it will die on ours also unless its warm.

Also when you hit the brakes thats just the brake booster,

make sure and post what it does.

 

humm......i never can get mine to start with the choke. it gets a little chilly here sometimes and i have a little trouble myself. i turn the ignition on, let the fuel pump run for 5 seconds. then crank it. most times it won't start for me on the first try but i do hear the sounds of life. i turn it off, let it sit for about 20 seconds, then do the same. it'll sputter then i give it a little tap of gas and it comes to life. the second it comes to life is when i pull the choke, then it sits happily at 2000-2500 until warm when it drops to a mean sounding 900.

just how i do it. maybe it'll work for you, maybe not...good luck.

 

get it running, check your timing. advanced timing can cause hard startups, and when these engines lose compression its more likely they will have troubles starting on hot starts.

my choke is totally messed on my holley and even in freezing weather i can get it to start, but it likes to fight me sometimes, think maybe i have a sticky float since some days it starts fine and others its shooting flames out the back during startup.

for the most part i just stab the gas once with choke on (however i have auto choke) then turn the key.

g'luck with your car man!

 

i'm pretty sure i have an auto choke, becuase i don't have a choke pull by my steering wheel. Hot starts are a dream, first spin of the engine she comes to life, but cold starts anytime of the year are a little bit of a PITA. I tried to check my timing last summer to make sure that my vacuum advance was working, but i couldn't find any timing marks on the front pully/front cover. If anyone is in the Ann Arbor area and would like to lend a hand, pm me. She'll be in storage until after the first hard rain, so all the salt is off the road, but after that i'll probably be driving her Daily.

 

i didn't say that i was hitting the brakes. I have a holly, so i have an auto choke, and the choke dumps fuel into your engine, not oil, that's why the engine goes to 6k, because it's getting more fuel. My starting procedure is as follows: turn the key, wait ~10 seconds, start turning it over, when she sounds like she's trying to fire I pump the gas pedal.

 

congrats on getting it running, I know it dumps gas, thats how a carb works it also dumps oil the engine. just be forworned!!dont hit the gas pedal if its going to die.. lol
foul out. air spray spark plugs and do t all over again : )

ill demonstrate what i was talking about with the brakes.
pump the brakes as fast as you can while at idle k

congrats