Chevrolet Repair: Chevy Nova ignition difficult to start, chevy nova, chiltons repair

Question
Dear Curtis:

I have inherited a 1987 Chevy Nova from my father who passed away recently. The problem is that the car is slow to start. It can always be started, but with some difficulty if the car has been sitting for a long time. If it has been running recently, it's no problem to restart, but if it sits overnight, will be difficult to start in the morning. This happens regardless of the outside temperature.

The way to start it is to keep the key turned in the ignition for a long time while "tapping" on the gas pedal, and eventually it will kick in.

I wonder why it's not possible to start the car on the first try. There are service records indicating that all of the following parts were recently replaced:

New spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter, ignition cap, ignition rotor, PCV valve, and ignition wires.

So most likely none of the above parts are the cause of the problem. What do you recommend that I should check to determine the cause?  Thanks,

Andrew
Chicago, IL  

Answer
Well Andrew I am sorry to hear of your loss. That is actually a normal problem and isn't a bad one. Most old carburetors do that. What happens is as the car sits the fuel drains out of the carb and by tapping the throttle your just filling the carb up with fuel again. Most of the time just a simple adjustment of the float will fix it. If you can gain access to a chiltons repair manual it will give you step by step instructions on how to do it. But if it were me I wouldn't necessarily worry about it unless you really want to have it fixed. If you need more info just ask a follow up question and we will go from there.