1 have a 1981 Mercury Cougar XR7 with original 34K. I hadn’t started mine in almost a month and I tried it yesterday. It sounded just like yours starting up and now the battery is completely toast. I saw it was a Walmart battery with a CCA of 525. That explains that! I’m going out to buy a new battery with anCCA of 650 or higher.
Dude! After two month of not running, all the gas that was in the carb float bowl has either evaporated or settled back to the gas tank. Your just pumping a dry carb until the fuel pump has refilled the float bowl again. Do yourself a favor. If your gonna let it sit like that, install a low pressure electric fuel pump in the fuel line, near the tank. That way, after sitting a long time, turn the pump on for a minute before cranking and let the pump fill up the fuel bowl first, then pump it once. If the choke is working properly, it will fire right up. If not, you need to fix the choke. Revving up an engine to keep it running after sitting that long means your freezing cold, thick motor oil hasn’t had a chance to fully circulated throughout the engine yet. Your “screwing the cat” doing it the way you did it! It can be done better, smarter, and easier.
He knows that chief However his cold starts are all fun because he wants to get them started on their own without any aid and see how long it takes to start🤣🤣
I used to have one of these as my first car in the 90’s. That sound of the engine slowing down and it not firing really takes me back. I know the moment it didn’t fire on your second attempt that it wasn’t going to start. The 80 Cougar is still to this day the most unreliable car I’ve ever driven. It was reliably unreliable.
2 pumps is not the correct procedure. If it has not been started in a month or more in cold weather. He could have done one of two things he could have shot some starting fluid into the carb throat or put some gas down it but he wants to start it on its own naturally bringing the gas up from the tank through the carb
Yes. In fact, I had a top of the line fox body 1980 Ford Thunderbird Town Landau and it had the pleasant key chime. Cougar XR7s that had the more upscale options like the digital dash had the pleasant chime.
The only way to get these Ford engines to run correctly when cold is to rev the living HELL out of them! I speak from years of experience dealing with the Crappy carbs on Fords and Dodges!
@@Cheap1981 the pedal only actuates the accelerator pump and throttle valve, has nothing to do with how gasoline gets to the carb. Youre just pumping air. Either fill the carb bowl with fuel through the vent or stick the palm of your hand over the carb to get the fuel to get sucked faster to the carb. Those Ford carbs with that style accelerator pump tend to rupture which causes gasoline to leak directly onto the engine. I enjoy your vids but please stop pumping the gas pedal!
Another awesome cold start of an old classic. Is that you son or grandson running around the garage? Maybe it's time to let him do a cold startup. Gotta teach him sometime right?
