When engine is hot i have a hard time starting

hi terry, welcome to fp

your going to have to give us some more detail on your motor, and it will help us sort whats going on.

i see you are talking about your 79 ta....is it stock with stock carb ? 

frosty or justA6 will know what stock carb you have and most likely its a fuel/ tuning issue..

oh and pictures help too 

Kiwi is right, we need a little more information. Is the engine stock? Are you running headers? 

Pontiacs have known heat soak issues. A heavy duty starter and a heat shield often solve most problems.

Also sometimes too much advance timing can contribute to the problem, so check your engine's timing. 

If you are running headers, they tend to wrap around the starter that exacerbates the heat soak problem. So a stock heavy duty Pontiac starter (not the normal stock starter) or a mini-torque starter and a heat shield or heat wrap go a long way to solving the problem. Also check to make sure all your wires are not coming in contact with the engine. I had that happen and it melted the wire insulation and then grounded the connection to the block. Once the engine and wire got cool enough it contracted enough to allow the engine to start.

Welcome Terry.  1st we need pic's of the car.  We love pic's round here.  As Kiwi said, need a lil more info on the engine.  Size, headers?,  where your fuel lines are run.  Vapor lock is when your fuel lines are too close to the exhaust.  Headers tend to overheat your starter if heat shield of some sort are not in place. Will drain a battery in no time trying to start a hot motor. Operating temp of the engine is another. 

Instant double reply....... We have nothing better to do.   Do the pic's of the car 1st Terry!!!

Sorry it took so long to respond (crazy work hours), the engine was completely rebuilt with a milder cam and bored .030 over with forged pistons and a 750 duel feed holley and hooker headers. But the starter was a stock replacement and i did put a heat blanket around the starter because of the added heat but it runs great otherwise, only when I’m driving it for awhile and I stop for gas or something that it really drags to start and i have a short piece of rubber gas line connecting the duel feed line to a hard line down the front of the engine. I’m guessing that the added compression is a little too much for a stock starter 

What is the normal operating temp when fully hot?  Until I got my operating temp down to 160,  170 in 90 degree outdoor temps. Had the same "gas station" starting problems you are.  With the factory shroud, I'm assuming your still using a fan.  Stock clutch or flex fan? 

And terry , when it does it , check to see. If you cables to the starter are getting hot around the crimped ends 

some times you can blame a starter when it’s really the positive AND negative cables to blame ! 

Certainly check your timing too !! 

54 minutes ago, Terry Moatz said:

Sorry it took so long to respond (crazy work hours), the engine was completely rebuilt with a milder cam and bored .030 over with forged pistons and a 750 duel feed holley and hooker headers. But the starter was a stock replacement and i did put a heat blanket around the starter because of the added heat but it runs great otherwise, only when I’m driving it for awhile and I stop for gas or something that it really drags to start and i have a short piece of rubber gas line connecting the duel feed line to a hard line down the front of the engine. I’m guessing that the added compression is a little too much for a stock starter 

Really nice blue by the way 👍

I never checked the cables and the temperature is actually in the 180 range when it’s hot, and yea I’m using the stock fan and shroud. The throttle response and power is actually better when it’s hot, i love the color too “ intense blue pearl “ , thanks for the ideas and I’ll check the timing also

42 minutes ago, Terry Moatz said:

I never checked the cables and the temperature is actually in the 180 range when it’s hot, and yea I’m using the stock fan and shroud. The throttle response and power is actually better when it’s hot, i love the color too “ intense blue pearl “ , thanks for the ideas and I’ll check the timing also

Beautiful Pontiac, thankz for the pic.  Hope ya figure it out.  Sounds like you've covered most of the bases already.

Thanks , I’ll keep you posted 

Awesome ride and welcome bro!