i recently lucked out and got a nice 83 that the previous owner had rebuilt but never got it running it sat for 2-3 years before he decided to give it up ive been fiddling with it for a couple of days and other than the first time it hasnt wanted to start up
the first day it started and ran for about 5 seconds then wouldnt even hiccup or cough for a while
then a few days later i tried again, it hiccuped and coughed and tryed to catch but no actual running and thats pretty well all its done the origional car was pretty gummed up so i replaced it with one off of a friends running 7 still no real luck it seems to be trying to start but just wont quite catch
i live on van isle bc and we're still pretty cold around here so that "may" have a bit of an effect but any tips tricks should i use a bit of ether or other starting fluids for initial firing. like i said it sounds like its trying to go just not quite enough to actually fire

 

Make sure the battery is charged 110% and the plugs aren't wet w/fuel.

I always steered clear of starting fluid b/c the car should start on it's own w/out, but.... on my starlet it's a tough start especially in the cold so i give it a litte squirt to save me the trouble of swapping out wet plugs, charging the battery, etc...

 

Charge the batter to top condition as stated above, then pour an ounce or two of 2 Cycle oil (or motor oil) down the smaller carb barrels. Then try it again.

When these flood, they loose all compression and will never start again unless you do something to rebuild it. That's what the oil is for. Expect a bit of smoke when you get her started.

If that doesn't work, post back and we can go from there. Good luck.



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My guess would be that the timing is way off where it should be... except that you got it to run once.

I'd say it's still worth it to re-stab the dizzy, and verify TDC first. Compression test wouldn't hurt, either.

A rebuild that never started has a lot of unknowns involved, so you have to get very basic with it.

 

This man knows hip hop....

You can also do a little atf/alcohol mix (50/50) which works for me every time my race car gets flooded.

 

when it's flooded spin it on the starter with the spark plugs removed and ignition disabled. put some shop towels by the plug holes to catch the fuel. reinstall everything and spray some wd-40 in there and go for it.

 

thanks guys ill update you after i get out there again to try it (its living out of town) should be by the weekend

 

With the radiator full, pull the plugs and see if coolant comes out. I've read there are ways to fix this but it usually means a bad engine. Make sure both the leading and trailing plugs are firing.
Take some gas and fill up the float bowls on both the primary and secondary, I don't mean pour it down the throat; find the bowl vent and fill it through there. That way you will have enough fuel for it to start and run for a while and you should also see the accelerator pump squirt fuel if you move the throttle.

While it is odd, you could have a bad ignition pigtail. It gives it power to start but when you move it to run, it kills power to the coils.

Check for vacuum leaks, they have a way of hiding out.

 

Do the deflood procedure, then as Kentetsu and DriveFast7 said pour some type of oil down the carb (I preferred 2 stroke back in my rotary days). Pouring a little oil in is key when starting either a fresh rebuild, or a motor that sat for a while (yours applies to both) that initial bit of oil helps the dry apex seals seal far better, so your motor can more easily suck, squeeze, bang, blow. And as always check ignition timing! timing lights aren't expensive and you will get a lot of use out of it.

FYI, some of the more less credible engine importers will pour oil into down the intake of a tired motor and then take a video of a compression test that yields great numbers, "13b rew only $750 120psi compression on both rotors, zomg what a deal!"

 

Also check your fuel pressure! My car had very similar problems after I completed my V8 swap, it would run, but then it would die, it would idle forever, but the motor would die when you started driving, the culprit?

This


Carbs work kinda like a running toilet, fuel is drawn from a bowl, and as the float drops fuel is allowed to fill the bowl, my problem was due to the clogged filter fuel was allowed to fill the bowl when I turned the key, but there wasn't enough volume to refill the bowl fast enough. So when the motor was idling (low demand) or off (no demand) the little trickle could keep the bowl full, but when I stepped on the gas the bowls emptied and couldn't be refilled fast enough. I found this out when I hooked up my vac/fuel pressure guage (a nice tool to have, only $20) to my fuel line with a T fitting, it read 6 psi with the motor not running, 3 psi while idling, and 0-1psi when I stabbed the gas. I assumed my pump was bad (I don't run a regulator) and when I removed my fuel filter in preparation for the pump swap I was greeted with gasoline that looked like skim milk. A new fuel filter and a tank cleaning later she runs fine, holds 6psi under wot.

 

Holy Crap, that's a fuel filter? I thought mine was clogged but damn! Were they running the car on mayonnaise or hand cleaner?

 

I have no idea what the hell that stuff was, it did look a lot like pumice hand soap, I wonder if some one may have tamponed my gas tank.

FYI the gas that poured out of the input looked like skim milk, and the output was crystal clear, those fuel filters do the job!

 

alright update time
mixed gas worked like a charm fired almost right up once it had the extra sealing power of the oil thanks for all your input guys still have to put everything right for it to be drivable (i just ran it with a spare pump running out of a bottle to see if it would go at all)
but all i needed to know is that it runs and will run again without too much trouble

WOOT!!!

 

Awesome, congrats!

 

Thanks for posting back. Glad to hear you're making progress.

 

Glad to hear you got it going, now get it put back together and get out and enjoy your FB!

 

little update and a few more questions
it runs!! still and its all back together more or less but i have a question about A/F mixture ive never tuned one but i understand the concept and have tuned many other things (plus i got pops nearby to help out) but i need a good baseline to start from IE: all the way in and two turns out sort of thing from there it should be a non issue. i think its running slightly lean now based on how it sounded between choke on and off

it didnt seem to like hangin around a thousand rpm popping and fwapping untill i brought it back up higher but it runs strong and pulls reasonably (i didnt wind it out yet since as far as i know thats the first time its ever moved under its own power) which reminds me any advice on breakin from someone whos done several ive heard many different rules and many contradict eachother so shoot me some knowledge and next time im out there ill bring the cam and get you guys a running video !
thanks for all your help prior and to come

 

http://sterlingmetalworks.com/tuning_the_nikki.htm

 

perfect thanks

 

well i have a video of it idling (finally) but i dont know how to make it smaller so i can upload it oh well if someone wants to help me out i can email it to them or make me a little how to, anyhow thanks for everyones help