383 starting issues with new carb

[JH27N0B]

I got my vert back recently from having some work done on it, including doing a partial rebuild on the engine. The original carb had some issues, so the shop talked me into replacing it with a new Edelbrock.
The car came back a few weeks ago on a trailer, fired right up and I drove it up the driveway and into the garage.
The next evening, a Monday, I went out to drive it to a local cruise- in, and it wouldn't start.  Turned over fine but not even a hiccup.  I called the shop, they said it started fine for them, and said they were suspicious of the old gas.  The gas was from last summer early fall, I topped it off, added Stabil, before parking for winter.
While talking to them, I had the idea of trying starting fluid.  Squirted some in the throat, turned the key, and it fired right up!  Drove to the cruise and back no problems starting after the car sat there 2 hours.
That Friday, got home from work eager to head to another cruise.  Again no start.  Fine, need starting fluid.  Fired up, ran weak for a moment and died.  Wouldn't start, so squirted more fluid, started ran 20 seconds or so, then died when I tried revving the engine.
I gave up and drove my late model Challenger to the cruise instead.
The next day, my buddy stopped by to look.  First thing we checked was fuel flow, maybe the new mechanical pump is defective?
Disconnected line, he held it in a jar while I turned key.  Fired right up and jar filled in the couple seconds before I could shut off.  Reconnected line and tried again, fired up, and I drove to a couple Saturday night cruises 65 miles or so driving no issues. Stopped on the way home and put 8 gallons of fresh gas in her.
So last night, I go out to head to the Friday cruise.  Yet again no start.  Spray starting fluid in again, and it starts up, but seemed like it was running weak, so I waited close to a minute before I revved the engine.  Sort of backfired when I did that and I saw 2 jets of vapor shoot up out of carb as it died.  More starting fluid, started, seemed to idle ok this time, let idle a couple minutes, then drove out of garage and to and from cruise OK.
Plan to head out this evening to a cruise, and I expect the same issues.
I'm really baffled as to why car is having so much trouble starting.  Could something be defective with the new carb?

[Shane Kelley]

For starters I will just say I'm biased with those carbs.  I hate them. I think what you have going on is kind of commen issue with them. You let them set and all the fuel drains out of the bowls and back into the tank. That's why once you have it going your fine until it sits again. If that's the case I think you can put a check valve in the fuel line up by the carb or get a different carb.

[Solarguy]

The fuel isn't draining back to the tank, it's evaporating.  Common issue with the ebrocks.
You can install an inline electric primer  pump, fill the fuel bowl manually, or crank away a few times to fill the bowls with the mechanical pump. 

[JS29]

For starters I will just say I'm biased with those carbs.  I hate them.      I prefer A Holly, I put A quick fuel on my 383 and love it. QF is got better technology using there design.                                                                                                           

[Shane Kelley]

For starters I will just say I'm biased with those carbs.  I hate them.      I prefer A Holly, I put A quick fuel on my 383 and love it. QF is got better technology using there design.                                                                                                         

All I use on all my cars and customer builds are Quick Fuel carbs. My favorite!

[JH27N0B]

I wanted to stick with my original Carter.  The car always started easily with it.  It was leaking, and he tried rebuilding it.  But found after he rebuilt that it was leaking, at a throttle bushing or something like that, and a mixture or idle screw was frozen or broke.  So it was going to need to go to a carb rebuilding shop and the backlog was over a month.  He really likes the Edelbrocks and has had good results with them on customer cars.
My Carter would leak down, and he could see deposits in the intake from years of that happening.  After sitting a week, the car would take a 2 or 3 times turning over the engine before it would start, but then it would run fine.
I suspected the new Edelbrock was leaking down, but the fact I can start it with ether, and run for a bit before it dies and won't restart, tells me it's more than an empty fuel bowl going on.  It certainly wasn't running 20 seconds to a minute just on starting fluid.
And the fact that after the no start issue, it fired up instantly after removing the fuel line, tells me the bowl was full of gasoline.
The car is going back in a few weeks to have the restored AC put back on, and if nothing else, I will tell him to figure it out and fix this issue before returning my car to me, but in the meantime I'm trying to get some enjoyment with the car, as I lost much of our too short season, and want to figure out this starting issue ASAP so I can make the most out of this brief window of opportunity!

[Shane Kelley]

There is still probably just enough fuel in the bowl to keep it running. But the accelerator pump well is probably empty. That's why when you hit the throttle it backfires or spits. No extra shot of fuel from accelerator pump but enough in bowl to keep it running after you give it a shot to get it fired up.

[JS29]

I had the same problem, same carb. I would drizzle A little lacquer thinner down it's throat and it was good to go for the rest of the day. put on the QF 750 and no more problem.  

[Solarguy]

The accelerator pump well goes dry before the fuel bowl is completely empty which is why is will run a little after starting with ether.  I have a carter AFB on my 340,(same carb as ebrock) which is dialed in perfectly but also loses pump shot after sitting a few days,  Other that that, decent carb for general cruising. 

[Cuda Cody]

I agree, sounds like a simple carb issue that is taking time for the fuel to fill back up in the carb.  Once you have fuel in the carb and running for a bit it doesn't give you any issues.  Electric fuel pump would solve most of your problems I would think. 

[RUNCHARGER]

I agree it is boiling the fuel out of the accelerator pump well by the sounds of it. I would recommend getting the original carb properly restored.

[JH27N0B]

Each time I've cranked the starter over repeatedly and never got any evidence of any ignition until I started spraying starting fluid down the throat.  And even that takes 2 or 3 tries before it runs smoothly and doesn't die immediately when you tap the gas pedal.
I've spent 3 or 4 minutes cranking off and on (taking breaks to cool the starter) before giving up and going with ether.
I'm not going to try cranking off and on for longer as I'm sure I'll burn out the starter or wear it out.
The car is somewhat rare and I want to keep it as stock as possible so I don't want to put an electric pump on, in addition I have some safety concerns with them.
I'm a little baffled about how Edelbrock manages to sell any of these carbs if owners must spend 10 minutes wrestling with them to get their cars started after they've sat more than 12 hours.
But whatever, I guess I'm not going to figure this out, and when it goes back to the shop in a few weeks the shop can figure out what's going on with the carb they talked me into.  If the only answer I like is sending the original Carter to the carb shop to get new bushings etc installed to restore it, will be fine with me as I never had any issues starting the car in the 20 years it was on the car!

[RUNCHARGER]

Yes: I've run Edelbrocks on my Hemis and they don't play well with the new gas formulations. You can bandaid a few things to make them livable like electric fuel pump and isolating base gaskets but the bandaids don't fix the root cause. Your car ran great with the original carb so that is what I would do. It would be nice if they give you a refund on the Edelbrock.
I used to pull the aircleaner off my 66 original Hemi car and pour fuel into the float bowls through a tiny funnel when cold starting it. What a PITA but I'm sure it saved me a camshaft failure.

[Strawdawg]

Another vote for no accelerator pump shot due to the fuel drainage

[Solarguy]

What a PITA but I'm sure it saved me a camshaft failure.

I've wondered about cam wear when cranking as well.  Is it better to have the motor fire right off or does cranking for 2 rounds of 15 second intervals to prime the carb also help prime the oil pump using slower rpm's?  Assuming of course that motor is already broken in.