A couple of first time start up questions

[Anonymous]

I got this Comet (144cid/manual tranny) several months ago. It hadn't been started for the past 2 years. The last few weeks I have been preping it for it's first engine turnover. I got a couple of newbie questions.
1) I dont have the carb all completely hook up yet but slapped a battery in it this morning and fired it up. It's turing over good but when it's cranking, the fan is turning pretty slow. Is it normal for the fan to turn slow before it actually fires up?
2) I don't have the fuel lines connected to the carb yet cause I wanted to see if any junk would flow out of the lines when I cranked it. A little gas came out at first but then after about 2-3 seconds, no more gas came out. Is this normal for gas not to flow since it's not hook up the carb (vaccum)?
Thanks to everyone for thier advice and I've learned tons from this site thus far. 8)

 

[Asa]

1) yup, normal for the fan to turn slowly
2) i'm not completely sure, but i believe that as long as it's turning, it should be pumping, i don't think my fuel pump even has a vacuum hook up for it, so i don't think that should be a factor

 

[Anonymous]

A fuel pump should fill half of a quart of fuel after 30 seconds of cranking. You might want to set up a small 1 gallon fuel jug on the fender to supply fresh clean fuel to the pump incase there's some type of clog in the line from the tank. Try blowing on the line that supplys fuel to the pump to see if there is anything blocking the line. Compressed air works better, doesn't leave that bad after tast in your mouth. :roll: Even with the gallon jug you'll beable to tell if the pump is working like it should. Good Luck on getting her fired up.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the tips and advice. I'll definitely give the jug method a try.

 

[hasa68mustang]

lol dont take this the wrong way, and no I'm not calling you stupid its just a joke, but When I got my mustang I asked the guy if it ran and he said he couldnt get it to but it wasnt froze up, well a few months after we bought it we replaced the gas tank and sending unit AND HOOKED IT UP, well the guy didnt have the gas lines hooked up to the tank, but anyway we then went inside the car turned the key and it fired up immediately, it was kind of scary how fast it started it was a clik vroooom almost like it wanted to be started so bad. I musta sound really wierd, Have fun and good luck on getting your car started, one more thing is it a caliente? my dad owns a 66 comet caliente convertibly with a cough cough 289, piece of crap but I guess it pretty rare, anyone know about them?

 

[Anonymous]

No offense taken, I agree, every little thing, as common as it seems, should be checked first to rule it out. No, it's not a Caliente. This is just a plain jane Comet sedan, the first year they were made. The 60-61 were the only ones that had the big fins in the rear. I got a 60 cause my first car was a 61 Comet back when I was 15. Wish I never sold it but oh well, more fun with a new one I guess. Thanks

 

[Lazy JW]

Having driven/worked on many older cars I think it's safe to say that your fuel tank NEEDS to be removed and thoroughly cleaned. After 40+ years there is just no way that it doesn't have some gunk in it. Do yourself a favor and don't try to fight it. It will make things much easier.
Joe