Firstly my apologies for such a simple question!

Welcome to C3VR!!
There are several possible reasons for the delayed start when cold(first start). The most common is fuel leakage from the carb. When the fuel in the carb bowl leaks out, there is none left in the bowl to start the car. Once you crank on it for a minute, it fills the bowl, and the car will then start. Then it will start OK the rest of the day. This is a perfect example of the expansion plugs on the bottom of the fuel bowl leaking. They leak slowly, so it would take an overnight sit to drain the bowl completely. It's VERY common on Quadrajets, and there are a couple of remedies for it.
The quickest is a rubber "pad", that goes between the base plate of the carb, and the center, or "main body" of the carb. It seals the plugs so they don't leak. Over time, however, this "fix" will cease to work, as the rubber pad will shrink, and get soft, due to it reacting with the chemicals in the fuel. It is a good, quick, patch, tho.
Another method to seal the plugs is to "expand" them again with a small mallet, or hammer. This will tap them farther up into the passage they seal, and create a new seal. This will last quite a while, but will also eventually start to leak again after a few years.
The best solution is to first tap the plugs up a little with the small mallet, and then seal them with an epoxy such as JB Weld. This is a permanent fix.

Check out Ken's Carb article for more info, and pics on working on the Quadrajet carb. (click on the link, and then "Ken's Quadrajet")

                                                

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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

It sounds to me like a choking issue. I'm not sure as to what kind of choke system is on your application, but if it starts fine after being warmed up and difficult at a cold start up, then the choke probably needs to be adjusted. Is it controlled manually, automatically or electronically? Does it have the original or an aftermarket carberator?

Thanks for the tips.

As far as I know its an automatic choke but I have no idea if it's the origional? Will try both of those and see how I go.

hi dragon,i'm uk too.in milton keynes,where are you????

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1979 Corvette

Dragon; before start depress gas pedal all the way to the floor and release then start it. That sets the choke, after it starts and warms up a little it should idle kind of fast. Tap the gas pedal to release the chock and it should idle down to normal rpm.

Thanks for that, will try it in the morning.

small world. Joanne2009-02-22 14:05:52

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1979 Corvette

Hi Dragon !

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Bio11 is correct about pressing the pedal to the floor (oncwe only)  but I have to "tap" it several times to get the rev's down!

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Hmm, how do I like her? I LOVE HER!!!

Howdy!  My 81 does the exact same thing even after I had the carb blueprinted.  Its a q-jet thing, no way around it. 

WHen I start, I give 2 pedals to the floor, then turn the key and go about 1/2 way down maybe a little more.  It'll take a few secs..  My 81, I wanted this since an old girlfriends dad had 1 when I was in college back in 81.  I love it! 

Just to give you some idea how your choke works. Gas engines are built to run using a certain fuel-to-air ratio when they are at operating temperature. That's when your carberator, in this case, would be adjusted for peek operation. When you turn over any cold engine it takes a higher fuel-to-air ratio to start the engine. The choke has a flap inside the carberator that closes off most of the air entering the carb during cold start-ups, thus "choking" the carb. That flap is attached to a small rod that attaches to a small flat metal coil that sits no top of your manifold just below and outside of your carb, and as the temperature rises from the heat of your engine that coil expands, turning the rod it's attached to and slowly opens the flap allowing more air to be mixed with the fuel. When you shut your engine off and let it cool, the coil then contracts and should close that flap again. BUT, the flap doesn't close right away. Just before you start the cold engine next time, you need to press your gas pedal to the floor once. This will release the flap to close and squirt a shot of gas into the carb. And now with the carb choked and that extra gas in it you should be able to start the engine. Depending on how much choke you have will determine how quickly your engine will start. Sometimes you may have to press the gas pedal a couple of times to get even more gas in there before it'll start.

P.S. For easier starts in cold weather you should use a light weight oil. 10W-30 is good.

With today's cars being fuel injected, we get used to that immediate start up. It's just not so with our older Corvettes. They're not (most of 'em) controlled by computers, they're mechanical instead.

I would like to know if there is any smoke on that first start...  if it is black then you probably have fuel leaking down as joel suggested.  if it is blue/gray then you could have oil leaking past the valve seals.