Rochester Monojet carburetor???

Well so far man you have been right on man so I have a feeling that you are right on it this time to. Thanks for the help & info man.

Ok will have a look on the weekend again. so how do you test if the diaphram in the fuel pump is bad, by pulling the line out the carb and cranking? If the fuel takes long to come then the pump is bad?

Ok, did the test on the weekend and fuel is coming through nicely, so I do not think that the fuel pump is the problem.

Do I need to srip the carb now and make sure all the gaskets and little openings are all clear?

Yes it did this before as well. Except it has a flat spot on takeoff. It wanted to die when you took off from standstill.

After the rebuild the flat spot was gone, but the struggle to startup is still there if it stands for days.

Ok Donovan

I started her up yesterday so will leave it till the weekend I think.

I do appreciate all the advice.

Best

Ok lets give you the answers.

My starting sequence is to pump the pedal a 3 times and hold it half way down when I crank the motor. (I do this when I start everyday) When It stands I pump several more times and hold the pedal down and crank for about 10 sec. each time. On about the 4th attempt its fires up.
I have the original distributor, only changed the internals to electronic. I had the same issue with the points and condensor. I'm not familiar with the ballast resistor? Where do I find this?
My location is South Africa. Our climate is hot very hot! Its summer now, and are experiencing >36 degrees celcuis most days. Overnight the temp dips to about 15 degrees celcuis. Vehicle parks in a garage so not exposed to the elements. So I do not think that it is the weather.
Btw, when i look into the carb and I pump on the gas, should I be seeing a squirt of gas in the carb? I see nothing actually. Please advise.

sounds like a prob i had on a jeep before the fuel pump would bleed off after setting for about a week then id have to prime it but if i started it up dailey or every other day would fire right up,dave

OK so i sprayed some carb cleaner into the carb and she started up easily.

I then decided to see if there was fuel in the fuel line between the fuel pump and the carb float bowl. I was very surprised to find almost nothing there. Does this suggest that my problem may indeed be the fuel pump even though when I cranked the motor previously with the line disconnected from the card to see whether it was pumping fuel through and it was.

Will try and see if I can find a kit for the pump or look at replacing it.

Please confirm my thinking. Thanks

Donivan, the fuel level in the float bowl always seems to drop to about half. I did have the float level rechecked.
I assume if it is not flooding the needle and seat is doing its job.

I do not have a filter in the bowl as I cannot seem to find one in South Africa. All the carb kits sold locally do not supply one. That is why I installed a plastic in line filter just before the fuel pump.

I have a metal fuel line from the tank to the fuel pump, only little rubber hoses that join the lines at the tank and fuel pump.
Perhaps I need to replace the clamps that join the tank to the fuel lines. I used the original clamps, perhaps they have lost their tension over the years. I'll replace it anyway.

I must admit that I never held the top flapper closed while starting, I just checked that it was closed and was satisfied with that.

I may need to get a new carb kit as I eventually stripped the carb and cleaned out everything and then put it back together and just my luck she is sucking air!!! Or perhaps I installed something the wrong way round. I will only be able to check on the weekend again.

Thanks for all the advice thus far.

If the carb was doing the same thing before you rebuilt it. It is probaly not your problem. If the rubber fuel lines are not tight they will let the fuel pump suck air. Then when you let the vehicle set for 2 or 3 days the fuel will drain back to the tank and the fuel pump will lose its prime. If all of the rubber hose clamps connecting the lines are tight the fuel pump might have a bad diaphragm in it causing it to bleed back down after sitting a few days. I have had both problems with my vans!!! I have bought fuel pumps and them be bad straight out of the box & these days the quality of materials & workmanship on most of the parts made over seas suck!!! When a fuel pump is functioning properly the pressure is supposed to hold on the lines until your next start no matter if it is a month later. I would suggest that you install a clear fuel filter just before the fuel inlet going into the carb as don suggested. I have one there on all of my vans & other vehicles that use a carburetor. I would buy some new rubber hose & remove the one before the fuel pump. I am not saying that's your problem just saying that when I bought my 1969 Chevy 90 van that I had the same problem & after replacing all of the rubber gas hose connecting all of the lines with new hose, clamps & installing a clear fuel filter before the fuel inlet to the carb I have no more problems!!! I can let it sit for ever & pat the gas pedal a couple of times & it fires right up. My 1969 GMC van started doing the same thing with me and I eventually had to replace the fuel pump & have no problems with it starting right up now. If the diaphragm in the fuel pump goes bad it will still pump plenty of gas to the carb but will have to be primed to start pumping. This usually occurs when it gets a small hole in it & once it completely comes apart the pump will stop pumping all together. When the diaphragms in the old fuel pumps went bad they would fill the crank case up with gas but the pumps are made with a small hole in them to prevent that from happening.
Now with that said have you ever ran out of gas???
I have quiet a few times in my van due to the fuel hand not working & me thinking o it will make it to the gas station. When you run out of gas & put some back in the tank you have to prime the carburetor to get the fuel pump to start pumping the fuel from the tank cause it lost its prime when you ran it out of gas. With a bad diaphragm in the fuel pump after it sets a few days the gas drains back to the tank, the pump loses it's prime & it's just like you ran out of gas. Then you have to prime the carburetor to get the engine to start & once the pump pumps the gas back out of the tank you are good to go until it sits a few days again.

One more possible thing could be the fuel sending unit might have a small pin hole in it due to rust. Just a very slim chance but possible. When you check all of the hose clamps you will have to drop the tank so I would suggests that you pull the unit out of the tank & inspect it.

Hi HandivanMan, Until about a year ago my tank was bone dry as i was busy restoring the vehicle. When I started up I put some fuel in the tank and some in the carb and then fired her up. Should I have done something different?? Its been running for a year now like this. Although the problem was there before the restore, so its not a new problem.

My fuel sender unit is free from rust, so I doubt there will be any pinhole in it.

Priority now is to get her to start ans idle on her own....will look for a new kit this week.

Donivan, I will try what you suggest with adding fuel directly to the float bowl and see what happens.

I shall report back as soon as I can

No that's usually about all that I do if it is completely out of gas. I am just going to buy a new carburetor for mine. It cranks right up no matter how long it sits but won't idle. Good luck on yours.

With the van standing for a week most of the gas was gone from the float bowl. There are no leaks externally.

Anyways filled the bowl up with gas and then pumped the pedal 3 times and she started up easily.

I have been chatting to some locals and they seem to think that it was normal for this carb to loose its fuel while standing for a while. They tell me that they always had fuel lying around to prime the carb before starting. Surely this cannot be the way to go

Please advise.