Tough cold-starts w/chokeless Webers..., any secrets from you northerners? Options

[PinetreePorsche]

My 2.0 w/ Webers will fire, catch for an instant,and die. Each re-start, the instant stretches out, till, on the 4th try, it runs for maybe one second, and the 6th or 7th it goes for 2-3 sec, and maybe the 10th or 12th, it will stay running with lots of artful foot flutter on the gas. Less artful and it dies--until it has had about 15-20 sec of uninterrupted running with the foot flutter. Even then it needs just a slightly high rev, like 1800 (hate to do that when it's still cold), then, after another half min, I can let the foot off the pedal and it'll stay running. Then, maybe another 15 sec, I can lift my clutch foot and not have the extra load of the heavy oil kill it again (maybe keeping the revs at 1000 with my foot). Finally, after 2 min total I can get underway, if I over-rev it pulling away in 1st. Still, it will back-fart a bit if I gas it too much after a shift to too low a rev. By 5 min, as the heat starts to come out on the glass, it gets more normal. SO: you far northerners with carbs --what can I do with choke-less Webers to make this a kinder, gentler process? (Yes, if there's salt on the roads --last 3 weeks here-- I leave it at home. But the warm and rain are coming for 2-3 days, so it will get out again, and I'd love to do right by it.)

[r_towle]

My 2.0 w/ Webers will fire, catch for an instant,and die. Each re-start, the instant stretches out, till, on the 4th try, it runs for maybe one second, and the 6th or 7th it goes for 2-3 sec, and maybe the 10th or 12th, it will stay running with lots of artful foot flutter on the gas. Less artful and it dies--until it has had about 15-20 sec of uninterrupted running with the foot flutter. Even then it needs just a slightly high rev, like 1800 (hate to do that when it's still cold), then, after another half min, I can let the foot off the pedal and it'll stay running. Then, maybe another 15 sec, I can lift my clutch foot and not have the extra load of the heavy oil kill it again (maybe keeping the revs at 1000 with my foot). Finally, after 2 min total I can get underway, if I over-rev it pulling away in 1st. Still, it will back-fart a bit if I gas it too much after a shift to too low a rev. By 5 min, as the heat starts to come out on the glass, it gets more normal. SO: you far northerners with carbs --what can I do with choke-less Webers to make this a kinder, gentler process? (Yes, if there's salt on the roads --last 3 weeks here-- I leave it at home. But the warm and rain are coming for 2-3 days, so it will get out again, and I'd love to do right by it.)

Clean the idle jets.
Sound like dirty jets.

When you start it, let it sit still for 2 minutes minimum at idle.
It will cough a bit, but it should sit at idle if properly tuned, and all jets are clean, the right size.

Check in this order.
points/condensor (important that the points are perfect this time of year.)
Valves adjusted.
new plugs.
All jets are clean, all jets are the right size (look at plugs when you replace them, they should be the brown of a perfectly coked marshmellow)

Use premium gas, and dont let it sit so long that the tank has really old gas in it.
Add gas antifreeze.

In the real cold, they will be a bit hard to start, but you are experiencing a car that is out of tune, and dirty jets...all rolled into one.

It gets pretty cold up here, and I just tune the car twice a year, and when I tune a car, I replace all the consumables...plugs, point, rotor, condensor...
Sometimes I replace wires
yearly I replace the distributor cap...it gets corroded on the inside.

So, twice yearly tune up. new parts only...they are cheap
Once yearly wires and cap replacement

I think a tune up costs like 30 bucks total...twice a year...big deal.
I assume you have no chokes on the carbs...you dont need them if you have some patience (2min) and wait each time you start it cold.

Rich