My '77 Spider, SHELOB, has been really hard to start when cold for awhile now, to the point where it would take 15-20 seconds of continuous cranking to get her to start, even after sitting just overnight. Once started, however, just a bump would be needed for the rest of the day. I suspected it was a bad check valve, either in the carb or the fuel pump, but it was mainly a nuisance, so I didn't fret over it too much.
The other day, however, while driving home after filling up at the local Grange Supply (ethanol-free mid-grade), she started bucking really bad while accelerating up a hill and, after my initial thought that I had absent-mindedly filled up with diesel, I started smelling gas. I made it to the top of the mile long hill (going easy on the throttle) and pulled over to check things out. Guess what I found? The inlet barb at the carburetor had become completely disengaged and gas was spewing all over the radiator
! I still can't believe it didn't start a fire, but I guess it was just not meant to be.Anyway, I pulled my tool box out of the trunk, replaced the barb back into the carb, tapping it into place, and went back to refill the tank. Probably took about 5 minutes. As an aside, I figure about 1-1/2 gallons of gas were lost. After I got home, I removed the hose from the barb and once again made sure it was securely tapped into place. Since then, she's been starting right up, even after sitting for a couple of days. I suspect that, with the barb being loose in the carb, there was just enough clearance to lose pressure in the line (and probably a slight amount of fuel) to the point of needing that much cranking to build enough pressure back in the line to start the engine.
Anyway, hopefully this will help somebody else, and I now have something else to check, besides oil and coolant levels, on a regular basis.
LeRoy