Porsche 911T 1972 2.4 MFI US Coupe

[BasherBell]

Hi.
Been an avid reader of the forum for my 912, I now have a freshly imported (to the UK) Porsche 911T 2.4 Coupe 1972 USA model with MFI and I have a problem.
A couple of weeks ago when It was delivered from the docks I fired it up and it started. A lovely warm summer day 70F.
Now its cold , wet and blustery here in Yorkshire England(10 Deg C) 50F and I cant get the car to start. I am changing the lights over to UK spec ready to get it registered here, so haven't / cant run it on the road yet.
I am using the throttle lever fully up and keeping off the gas, letting the pump kick in before I start, fully charged battery ( I have a spare). It just doesn't want to take, after 7 or 8 tries I can smell the fuel.
My concerns are that I am flooding the engine and also the oils getting saturated , and that the thing wont start because of a faulty thermostat or fuel pump solenoid. If I am flooding it , how can I speed up deflooding if you get my drift?
I've checked the fuses in the engine bay, the air filter, I plan to have a look at the thermostat tomorrow and make sure its clean and also look at the relays.
I know its not a lot of temp diff but who knows?
As far as I know I haven't messed up the electrics as I have only been dealing with the indicators and headlights and they now are fine.

Any suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers
Dave

[BasherBell]

Here's an update. I removed the air filter housing and spent the whole afternoon feeling and searching around the engine bay at connections and wires and eventually found one that was loose. It was a connector under the RPM transducer on the fuse board.
The car started on the second turn, but very rough.

Now when I put my foot down the revs increase very slowly and won't go above 3k. Also the engine dies when the throttle lever is pressed down . Also if I try and move the car on the engine it dies so is this too much fuel or too little..?
I have been worried about possible fuel- Oil contamination and it looks like it's happened . So before any other work I will perform an oil change and get that fuel out of the oil system.

If anyone can shed light on the power issue I would appreciate it.
Cheers
Dave

[47silver]

First set your point gap.
Set your timing
Check the rotor, they use a centrifugal rpm limit.

[t6dpilot]

And check your fuel filter. Could be clogged. Also is the pump putting out a good volume of fuel?

[Porboynz]

Suspect the cold start fuel system, it maybe on all the time instead of only when cranking a cold engine. When the engine is running remove the wire from the top of the fuel filter housing cold start solenoid. If things improve then troubleshoot. The other trouble area is the thermostat on the fuel rack, it needs a flow of warm air from the heat exchangers to shut off when the engine warms and avoid an over rich situation. It goes on, there are threads on MFI to check everything, but its a good sign it started so easily when it was a warm day.

[frosty2]

Another thought may be to check or for the cost change your wires and distributor
cap seeing as how it did not want to fire on a damp cool day but at least tried to run when the air was a little warmer and drier.
Could have a crack in the cap and moister is getting in.

Thanks
Mike

[cmcfaul]

If you smell fuel and suspect it is flooding...floor it while starting.

Get rid of the points and go to a Petronics type ignition. The best upgrade you will ever make. Points are such a PITA and cause exactly the type of issue you are describing.

Chris
73 911 E mfi

[BasherBell]

Thank you for all your suggestions, excellent as usual.
Replaced the warm air hose to the thermostat, double checked connections and hose connections and removed and replaced air filter unit , with hoses connected at rear just in case.
I mentioned I suspected fuel in the oil and was concerned at testing again while that could be an issue. I fired up the engine with the throttle lever up to give some basic revs this even at its pathetically low revs would get some warmth into the oil and then I could empty the sump and tank. I did and measured 10.5 Litres of fluid, I would guess that 2.5 of that was petrol , it certainly looked like it, very runny.
Refilled with just 6l of 20/50 Millers classic oil to flush around the system and try a few things. The plan being if I got it started correctly I would run it a while and then drop that oil out, change the filter and clean the screen plus new plugs.
First, strange gurgling noise from the fuel pump but the petrol gauge read a quarter full. So added a gallon plus some petrol additive. (Note:Need to check gauge later)

Now the car would turn over but not start, with a whine from the CDI but I noticed that there were air bubbles in the plastic nozzles on the air stacks. They are transparent where the fuel pipe meets the nozzles. Got my son to turn it over a few times while I watched and gurgling from pump disappeared, bubbles remained but car wouldn't start. It tried to a couple of times but didn't catch.
Then removed the sensor lead atop the fuel filter for the solenoid , and cranked it again. No start.
Squirted a little fuel into each intake top. Cranked a couple of times no joy.
Left the fuel pump running and squeezed the out and in pipes, slight change in noise.
Cranked it another four times and it started but with the low power / no accelerator rpm increase. If I put my foot down on the gas it just burbled and revs decreased to die.
Left it running at low revs and thought it could be either fuel starvation or too rich so while engine was running bent the fuel pipe from the bottom of the filter to the mfi to restrict fuel flow. My logic being if it was too rich then it would starve the mfi of fuel and maybe the balance would speed up the engine, if it was too weak then it would starve it completely and it would stutter and fail. Well after about 4 seconds the engine raced ahead at high revs.
Then I sat in the car, put my foot on the accelerator got that lovely throaty roar with a fast response and quick return to normal revs. Epic.

So was it a blockage in the system, an air bubble in the system , I really don't know. I just know it works and sounds lovely.
I've left the solenoid lead off and tomorrow will try and start it with and without. I may add in a remote button in the Dash to try and energise this manually.
Many thanks, moving forward thanks to your assistance.

Dave