Difficult starting after sitting for a few days

[hunterhicks]

Howdy all, 289 w/ rebuilt Edelbrock 600.

-If the car sits for 3+ days, it takes 20 seconds for it to fire up, no matter how many times you pump the pedal, etc.
-If I fire it up a day after driving it, it starts up with little problem.

It has always done this, before and after the carb rebuild. The time left sitting is proportional to how long it takes to start up- 20 seconds being the longest it takes.

Letting it sit for a week, I looked at the accelerator pump jets, and when you hit the gas it squirts lots of gas in, just like it should. One would think it would start easily with a few pushes of the pedal before starting, but it does not.

I am assuming the bowls have plenty of gas in them, even after a week of not being started. (there is no where for the gas to go/evap... I think)

So, what's going on here? If the carb is full of gas, shouldn't it fire up every time, easily?

It acts like the fuel pump has to push gas through my inline filter, and into the carb before it starts.

Does a carb need fuel pressure to start? (my logic says no, but my logic is sometimes illogical!)

The fuel pump is 15+ years old, if that helps
thanks!

 

[D.Hearne]

The only function fuel pressure has with a carb is to supply fuel to the carb. It has nothing to do with supplying fuel from the carb to the engine. Next time it's parked, remove the top of the carb and see if there's fuel in the bowl. I'm not familiar with the Eddy carbs, but the accellerator pump could still have some fuel with the bowl being too low to supply the venturis.