My 6 volt Hemi experience:
There are two issues when hot. One is slow cranking. The other is fuel.
My solution for slow cranking is a rebuilt starter motor, plus the heaviest gauge cables with solid connections. In addition I mount two Optima 6 Volts in parallel.. It doesn’t look period correct but what good are looks if the car won’t start and run. I am currently running three 331 Hemis this way with no problems. The cars are a C-300, a ’52 Cunningham C-3 and a ’52 Saratoga.
As for fuel, I always mount an electric on a toggle switch to supplement the mechanical pumps. I have been using Carters on all my cars with zero failures, and they are inexpensive. I tried a Holley once and it was so noisy i replaced it right away.
I use the electric to prime the cars before cold or hot starting. As for throttle, i find pumping these big Hemis when cold seems to work well, but definitely not when hot. Hot starting usually works best with no pedal at all. Of course your results may vary.
Oh, and i do have Pertronix ignitors and coils in all my cars and have had zero problems, contrary to what someone said they were told by Pertronix.
I can send a foto off line of how I connect two 6 Volt Optimas if anyone is interested.
Hemi Chuck
For years I was plagued with starting problems in my 6 volt cars. My longtime friend Ken Brody finally convinced me to let him work on our C300 and I did.
What changes were made is the starter was checked for proper voltage going through it. Correct heavy battery cables were installed, the distributor was set up on a machine and from that time forward the issues went away.
6 volt systems for Chrysler were at the end of the road by 1955 due to the demand being put on them and I'm convinced that this is part of the reason by 1956 they went to 12 volts. Ford did the same and you must remember that GM was using 12 volts on some examples, Caddy and Nail Head Buicks, back in 1953. By 1955 their entire line was 12 volt.
I've tried using Pertronix Ignitors on 6 volt Chryslers without much luck. According to a source at Pertronix the voltage is just to marginal unless the system is basically perfect. On 12 volt cars they work great and I use them but stay with points for 6 volt systems.
I am a believer in an auxiliary electric pump for priming during starts. Mine are on a separate switch so that I don't have to use the ignition turned on while priming. Once you hear the sound change in the pump as it is working then crank the car and pump the gas a couple of times and it will start and then be sure to turn the pump off.
You can purchase a 6 volt pump through Summit Racing in the $30 range and it is worth every penny. The instructions with the pump I got were for a negative ground system so you need to reverse the wires. I also install a changeable inline fuel filter just forward of the pump. As previously pointed out check your oil regularly due to the fact that if the factory diaphragm develops problems the electric pump will push fuel into the crankcase and can wash out engine bearings. Gas in Southern California is really bad for destroying diaphragms with all of the garbage they add in and I have a collection of fuel pumps to back this up.
One last problem I've encountered are the ceramic fuel filter elements. They can look fine but will sometimes not allow the fuel to flow into the carbs at a proper rate. When the engine is running look closely at them and if you see any kind of bubbles there could by blockage. The easy way to check this is remove the element and start and run the engine. Be careful not to crack the glass bowl when installing them and make sure your rubber seal is good where the glass meets the metal top. You can replace the element if you can find them but if you use a replaceable filter down by the electric pump I see no need. If you experience heat saturation with the engine and it won't fire on a restart hold the pedal to the floor and crank. It should start.....
John Lazenby
Carbs are heated with exhaust and are unvented. I’m convinced that between boiling away the fuel in the bowls and/or the fuel syphoning from the carb and gravity draining back to the tank through the mechanical fuel pump that there is no fuel in the carbs until all the air is pumped through the pump, some fuel is sucked from the tank and enough gets in the still-hot bowls to feed the bulldog. Electric fuel pump back by the tank enables priming the carbs. One can hear the pump pitch change when the bowls are full and the float valve close. One pump and crank. There are various ways to wire the pump—for starting only, continuous & etc. Must watch for diaphragm failure—nearly as bad in a car as elsewhere. Raw gas goes into the crankcase.
That said, starter problems get worse when they are hot, also. Some days, six Volts just does not cut it.
Rich Barber
Brentwood, CA
In this month's 300 Club News, Narve talks about his problems with hot starting his C300. Do any other C300 owners have similar problems ? I would think this is caused by a starter needing a rebuild, old wiring creating resistance, or a carb needing attention.
Any thoughts ?
Ron
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