This is fairly common problem. If the car sits for a day or more, the fuel
in the carb bowl may evaporate, or if your fuel filter is not the type with
a built-in check-valve, a certain amount of fuel simply drains back down
into the fuel line. So when you go to start it, there is not enough fuel
present at the carb until the mechanical fuel pump gets cranked enough times
to bring the fuel back. Swapping in a good electric pump eliminates this
trouble. But.... hmmm... just re-read your post... 10 whole seconds of
cranking is too long in any case. It usually only takes maybe 3 or 4
seconds of cranking max to fill a carb bowl. What is your starting
procedure? With all my old GM Q-jet cars, I will first press the pedal down
about 3 times, then crank the engine for no more than 3 seconds. If it does
not start, press the pedal down another 3 times, then crank again for
another 3 seconds. And repeat this process until it starts. (Never just
crank it for a whole 10 seconds straight.) Even if the car hasn't been used
in over a week, it usually takes only 3 of these cycles max to get it going.
It is important to pump the pedal so the accelerator pump squirts fuel down
into the intake. Hopefully your accelerator pump is working ok... when was
the last time your carb was overhauled? Well, if the accel pump was shot
you'd experience a hesitation when accelerating. You can test the accel
pump (with engine off) by looking down into the carb (primaries), then flip
the throttle wide open, you should see two streams of fuel squirt down the
carb throat. If not, you either have no fuel in the bowl or the pump is
shot. Is the engine running fine otherwise? No vacuum leaks, etc? But...
back to the fuel filter... you did mention that you replaced it recently.
I've seen later model filters with built-in "check valves" which are
supposedly designed to keep fuel from draining out of the carb bowl. I am
personally not sure if these little plastic check valves really work, but...
did the filter you pull out have the check valve? Did the filter you put
back in have the check valve? Maybe the check valve does make a difference.
As far as fuel pressure (condition of fuel pump)... probably not the
problem. If the pump was bad, you'd have starvation problems while driving,
etc. As for renting a fuel pressure gauge, they are cheap enough to just
buy at your local auto parts store. Often you can get a combo vacuum gauge
/ fuel pump pressure gauge... good to have in your tool kit, probably less
than $50. Remember that fuel volume is just as important if not more
important than fuel pressure... you can do a fuel volume test without a
pressure gauge. The procedure and specs are usually listed in most repair
manuals, easy to do.

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"daveo76" > wrote in message
om...
> My relatively stock, L48 '76 is getting more difficult to cold start.
> I'm probably up to 10 seconds of total cranking time for most
> overnight cold starts. It starts fine after sitting all day at work
> and it also starts great hot. The choke appears to be working fine.
> I've recently replaced the fuel filter, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, --
> all the normal tune-up parts. While replacing the fuel filter I
> cranked it for a sec. to clear the line and check flow. Fuel was
> pumped out immediately, but do I need to check fuel pressure to rule
> out the pump? Can you rent fuel pressure gages from an auto parts
> store? Any thing else I should check?