1969 Buick Electra in excellent condition has trouble starting for the first start of the day but after the first start... The rest of the day it starts normal. I had the carb rebuilt, new battery, and a new starter put in. I use a can of spray for cold start problems. Two sprays in the carb on the first start of the day and it starts right up. Engine runs smooth w 66 thousand miles. I am not sure what the source of my problem is. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

When the engine is cold for the first start, check to see that the choke closes when you push on the gas pedal once at least 1/2 down. The choke may need to be set.

Like Rowefast suggested, check choke, you mention carb was rebuilt but you can still have a weak accelerator pump or a gasket issue. Check if float bowls is bone dry after vehicle has been sitting for a while. Overnight they should not be going dry.

After having the problem with the first start of the day I had a new starter put in even though I was told the old one was fine... Just to make sure it wasn't the problem. When the mechanic installed the new starter he mentioned the carb being dry. He said the carb should be rebuilt even though I had it rebuilt 1 month prior. Thank you for the advice. I will research the topic of accelerator pump,gasket, and adjusting the choke.

also a good carb mechanic will epoxy [2] plugs on bottom side of float bowl if it is a quadrajet they start to leak over time. they will cause engine to run rich and drain bowl over night.

I went through all that with a 75 Elite this past summer, 2 rebuilds on a carb and float bowls still going dry, if car sat for more than a few hours. I found a tiny cap-full of gas (a water bottle cap to be precise) poured into carb to be better than all that starter fluid spray at starting engine (bit less of a fire hazard). If you have a bog or delay in acceleration I would think more accelerator pump, if it's just hard to start after sitting look into float bowls running dry.

starting fluid is nasty stuff watched a "mechanic" blow piston shrapnel thru the pan of a 65 Pontiac. he had sprayed the whole bloody can into 326 ci engine.

Thanks Ken, the carb spray is just a temporary fix as I figure out this riddle. It does seem to be dry after sitting for about 24 hours. But there isn't a bog or delay in acceleration. But I was wondering what would be the side effect of using two or three sprays per day...

Thanks for the help Jim, I appreciate it. -Mike