Welcome to the list!
John Muir's book is a fun read, and the funky drawings are great, but
I only refer to it for my 71 air cooled van.

Try this with your Westy: connect a fully charged portable jump
starter to your battery and see if there's any hesitation. It will
tell you whether you need more amps going in or not.

Be sure the ground straps are good and heavy. I went to 00 welding
cable (buy a lot of it because my boat likes it). If your engine has
more than .2 ohms resistance between block and frame, you're in danger
of melting holes in the aluminum heads. Hesitation starting can be a
symptom of that.

Good luck.
Jim C

On Aug 15, 2009, at 4:13 PM, Rocket J Squirrel wrote:

> On 8/15/2009 1:38 PM Rene Ditton wrote:
>
>> It's hart to start. When it's cranked cold, it has a bit of a delay
> > before kicking over (a fraction of a second).
>
> My 84 has always had a moment of hesitation before things get going.
> Turn
> key, starter makes a sort of grunt-pause, then it turns over briskly
> and
> the engine starts. The pause is a bit more noticeable in cold weather.
> I've gotten used to it -- it has never not spun up.
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> Bend, OR
> KG6RCR