1967 250 SL cold start valve

[zakkkk]

I took the old girl out of winter hibernation on Saturday. It's been in a heated garage since Thanksgiving.
Anyway she fires right up ( that battery has to be 10+ years old) and ran great but during my easy drive I smelled raw fuel so I go back home and pop the hood to take a look around.
Fuel was leaking from the clod start value. It wasn't much at all so I put a rag underneath and toured the neighborhood to fully warm up the engine.
When I got back home I checked the rag and it was merely damp.
I removed the rag and checked again and there was no fuel leaking so I went on a nice 10 mile spirited run on local mountain 45 mph roads.
No odor and no fuel leak.
Did the engine heat warm the cold start valve which expanded a bit and self sealed the leak?
I guess it's time to replace the cold start valve.
Any thoughts are welcomed.
thanks

jz