Ford 351 wonbt start after running

" I have a mastercraft with a

" I have a mastercraft with a Ford 351 V8, and holley 4 barrel carb. I switched to electronic ignition several years back. Now, it will cold start great and run great, but after I shut it down, she won't crank back up. Just spins as if the plugs are flooded or something. Any suggestions? "

I have a similar problem. My

I have a similar problem. My '80 Nautique cranks cold but very tough to crank hot. I would do the following checks: take the air filter off while the engine is running and then cut it off and if vapor comes out from the carb after shutting it off then the engine could be flooding. That would make it a carb problem. Then check the timing. I advanced the timing on mine a little and have had no cranking problems since. My best guess is your problem is a combination of the two. Your carb is worn and allowing fuel to dump into the engine after shutting off and your timing gears and chain are worn thus causing your timeing to be off. Check the timing and please give follow up post. This is a very common problem on the 351's around here.

" Is that a 351C or is it the

" Is that a 351C or is it the windsor, the windsor is a small block while the 351C is a big block ... while the displacement is the same they are two different engines at the heart.

I do agree with the theory that a worn timing chain can cause the need to advance the distributor in order to compensate, but if that were the problem I would expect it to exist hot or cold.

I want to lean more toward a fuel problem, and think at least on the surface, that a slight adjustment on the choke may be of some help. Perhaps it is not opening all the way once the engine is warm and is contributing to what will resemble a flooding condition.

I happen to have an old 1981 inline 6 in an old car that is doing the same thing. Have not found the combination but have found a slight advance of the timing did help .....


If you get this figured out please do take a moment to fill me in. "

My stab at this. Clean the c

My stab at this. Clean the carb. Fuel pump pressure is still in the line immediately after shut down for a time. A dirty needle and seat will allow fuel into the cylinders. Is this a Rochester 2 jet?

OOPs. Reread your horror sto

OOPs. Reread your horror story and see it is a Holly 4 jet. My earlier response still applies. Good luck

Thanks for the suggestions so

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Someone around here told me to try using "hotter" plugs. Don't really know what I have now. Opinions?

Hotter plugs doesn't corr

Hotter plugs doesn't correct the problem. May delay the inevitable as in a full breakdown. Running temp may rise depending on the plug selected. Might as well install an ether start system since once it starts it runs good. Good luck.

" I agree that going with a ho

" I agree that going with a hotter plug doesn't fix the problem. Going with a hotter plug may seem to help in that excess fuel if your slightly flooded would burn off quicker but as suggested in the post above that would also increase the temp inside your chambers.

In fact, if you go with a hot enough plug, it is possible to actually melt a hole in your piston unless you have steal pistons and I would not expect to find such in a standard motor. "