cold engine start

It would flood mine. If you are in cold weather perhaps you need to use a choke.

by the way, I am in Houston, weather is almost always hot, only 1 month a year where temp reaches a low of around 34 degrees

Stone cold engine:  pump 2-3 times, hold half-throttle, crank.  I have 2332 with Dell 48s.  Never flooded.

Hold RPM at 2000 til smooth, drop to 1500 til smooth, I am good to go after that (warm idle at 1000).

Yup, almost everyone does this.......at least those of us who do not have choke butterflies in the dual carbs (I guess Rusty has chokes, from his reply).  

Pumping the gas 3 - 6 times before you hit the key is pretty normal.  Once it catches, it will most likely run rough at 2,000 rpm for 30 seconds or so until the heads warm up enough to let it idle normally, but you may still need to pump it occasionally to keep it going, depending on how cold it is and so forth.  Again.....this is normal.

BTW:  if you plan on driving through the Winter months there in Houston and it gets down into the 30's often, I would highly recommend running at least 10W-40 oil for the winter, and if it's going to be in the 30's for a month or so all the time, think about going to 10W-30 for the colder duration.

I have a much smaller engine than you do (1915 cc) and dual kadrons without chokes.  I usually give the engine a half pedal's worth of gas before cranking the starter but basically follow the startup/warmup procedure recommended below:

http://intermeccanica.com/athi...011/07/operating.pdf

Thanks Guys -

Oil wise: I was told to use 20/50 valvoline year-round...will check that out !

In Houston you shouldn't need to switch to a thinner oil in what passes for winter there.  I run 20w-50 Brad Penn year round in Charleston with no problems.  My cold start routine is the same 3 pumps (sometimes 5) as described above.  Your CB Perf. 2332 probably has large Weber carbs which don't have chokes, so what folks are stating here will work just fine.

Just curious; do you guys who pump their gas pedal 3-5 times turn their key to the 'on' position first, and do you have an electric fuel pump?

I have an electric pump and turn the key on first.  I usually hear a few thumps from the pump before I crank.

I don't have "thumper" pump - mine's a rotary - but I turn the key to "on", count to five to get pressure up, then pump it a few times (it varies from 2 to 6 times, depending on how cold out it is)  then hit "start".  Usually it starts right up but runs awful for the first 20-30 seconds til it settles out.

gn

Electric rotary pump.  I turn key on first and wait long enough to make sure float bowls have filled.  If I drove the car yesterday there is no reason wait.  If it has been a week+, then some fuel can be expected to have evaporated away.  In any case giving the pump 5-10 seconds to fill the bowls and pressure the system is no big deal even if it is not really necessary.

I don't imagine anyone with a 2332 is running with a mechanical fuel pump.

Do you guys have fuel pressure regulators, or is the fuel pump set to run at a certain pressure?  Is it 3 to 4 pounds with carbs?

Rotary electric with Holley reg. set at 3.5 lbs.   Babby Dels....

Hi do you have a model number or source on the holley regulator?  Thanks

I'm running a pair of 40mm Dells and a CB Performance rotary pump.  No regulator, just right out of the pump to the carbs using the usual Dell banjo-style connections (dual in/out on the left, in only on the right).  The pump is supposed to deliver 3-4 lbs. pressure.  Never had any trouble with it.

BTW, I've set up Webers on Speedsters, as well as on a bunch of other cars (all water cooled).  If you match the pump pressure range to the carbs, you don't need a regulator.

Some pumps, like the Huco I'm running, have the regulator built in.

I have a Carter rotary pump that is supposed to push at 6 psi.  I MUST use a regulator (the pump pressure is more than the floats can hold back).  I use one of those cheap regulators like probably 90% of us use:  http://www.jbugs.com/product/9...-pressure-regulators

You can get the same regulator at any auto parts store, the one I linked to is just one I picked from random.

Set the regulator for 3-1/2 as mentioned previously in a post above.  These regulators choke flow as well as choke pressure.  If set for less than 3-1/2 I can run my carbs empty during high rpm hot-rodding around.

I think a regulator is a good idea regardless of the type of pump used.  It is backup protection just in case somehow the pump over pressures the system.  What then happens is the carb overflows and raw gasoline is spilling.

Getting back to the original question of pumping the gas before starting, it was about 35 degrees F here yesterday morning when I went for a short ride, and the 3-4 pumps before starting wasn't enough.  It took another 3-4 to start, then another few shots to keep it running (coughing and puking for 10-15 seconds) until it smoothed out at just under 2k rpm for 30 seconds until it would idle, grudgingly, at 900 rpm.  

You don't start these engines when they're cold, as much as push them out of bed to wake them up.........