Posted By : Chris Taylor,
22-Nov-2006, 00:14am
In my experience that IS a Herald feature, at least with the Solex carb! My Herald ALWAYS needed a lot more turning when hot than when cold,
although, as you describe, not if you restarted immediately after stopping. My fathers Mk1 2000 saloon was the same, but my friend's 13/60 and my
mother's Vitesse on Strombergs was much better in that respect, as was my Vitesse 1600 on the horrid Solexes which WERE famous for hot starting
difficulties!
I never did try and work out if it was fuel evaporation by using the pump priming lever to see if fuel had evaporated from the float chamber, just
lived with it. If your engine is tending to run hot, it will exacerbate this problem, and it's worth checking the run of the fuel pipe to the carb
to see that is is not in contact with hot engine metal along its length. I've never been sure exactly whether there should be a ball valve or tiny
hole in the base of the manifold where the drain pipe fits, but that might be worth checking as this hot starting issue is like "flooding" which
men used to blame their wives for doing when the car wouldn't start, but which modern fuel injection has made a thing of the past! It is important
to avoid pumping the accelerator pedal when trying to start as that will pump more fuel into the inlet manifold.
Having the WHOLE ignition system in 100% will undoubtedly help, and it might be worth overhauling the Solex IF you can get new jets. (SLIGHTLY
lowering the floatchamber fuel level would make a small difference as well). Also, try to ensure the air filter pipe is sucking in cold air and not
through the radiator (Not so easy with a full width radiator).