Triumph Repair: 78 triumph spitfire, bright sun light, combustion chambers

Question
hi,car was running when put away in november,wont start now,
drained old gas,put fresh in,charged battery ,cleaned&gapped
spark plugs,its just coughing through carb intermittently.
any thoughts?
thanks

Answer
Hi Barry,

All gasoline engines operate the same and when one won't start, one or more of only three items has failed. The only thing an engine needs is Compression, Fire and Fuel.

Compression must be tested first to confirm that the combustion chambers are ok. If they test ok (125 to 165PSI) with little difference between cylinders then and ONLY then can you proceed to "Fire" (Ignition)

Spark must be thick and blue in color (not is bright sun light)and be close to the correct time.

Fuel is always tested last. A combustible fuel must be available to each cylinder.

November is not that far away, so there is a preliminary quick test you can do. Get a spray can of starting fluid from any auto parts store and spray starting fluid into the intake while trying to start the engine.

If it starts but will only keep running if you keep spraying into the intake, It is a fuel problem.

If you can't get it to fire at all with starting fluid then you have either a failed ignition or an engine problem and then you MUST run the compression tests.

If it only coughs back out the carburetor with starting fluid you need to start from the beginning as listed above and run a compression test (throttle open) and also add a vacuum test (throttle closed)of the intake manifold.

Let me know the results of the tests I listed and I will give you the next set of tests.

Howard