Hard Starting 55 Ford Truck

[jlawrence]

Looking for input for a hard starting engine .... I can't start driving my truck around the neighborhood until I solve the starting issue. I believe the engine is a 239V8 or a 272V8. It starts ok when the engine is warm i.e. the starter turns the engine over a couple of times and then runs. It doesn't start when cold. The carb has been rebuilt. The gas tank has been cleaned out. There is a new fuel pump and fuel filter. There is good spark to all the plugs. There is a new battery. The starter motor turns fast. After the engine does not run for a day or two there is plenty of gas in the carb bowl such that the accelerator pump squirts out a good stream of gas. One thing I haven't figured out is what is the best formula when doing a cold start i.e. use the manual choke or pump it (think it is something more complicated than this but not sure). I usually can start it cold after half a dozen tries which is hard on the starter motor. One thing I have noticed is that it does seem to be fairly easy to foul some of the plugs with gas. Anyway this is frustrating. Don't know if this is a serious issue or something simple.

Would appreciate some ideas.