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Installing a manual choke cable

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  • Fuel System: Installing a manual choke cable

    I'm in the throes of installing a Daytona replacement carburetor on my 1962 Lark 6cyl. It's gone pretty well so far, but the Daytona carb has a manual choke rather than the original automatic choke. I picked up a choke cable (http://www.amazon.com/Edelbrock-8013.../dp/B0052EPBX0) at the local Autozone but have not yet installed it, as I have a few questions:

    1. Where's the best place to bring the cable through the firewall? I'm thinking I should route it through the existing cable hole that sits above and to the left of the steering column (the one that contains the hood release cable); looks like there's just enough room there.

    2. How should I mount the choke knob inside? I'm thinking an L-bracket under the dash would work well, or I could drill a hole and mount it directly in the dash. A third option, the cigarette lighter is broken... if it's not a huge hassle to get it out, I could possible stick the choke knob right there.

    3. Do I need any sort of brackets inside the engine compartment between where the cable enters the engine compartment and where it is clamped to the choke?

    Thanks in advance!

  • #2
    I'd be tempted to return the carb in exchange for the correct one for your car. (one with the auto choke)
    Dick Steinkamp
    Bellingham, WA

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    • #3
      Dick, I had considered the same thing, but the options boiled down to either 6+ weeks to remanufacture my old carb or 1 week to get a brand new Daytona carb shipped. I finished installing it (except for the choke cable) this afternoon and it fired up beautifully, so I'm happy with the new carb.

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      • #4
        Hi JFF, your going to need to clamp the outer cable close to the end, in-line with the choke bellcrank. If it was me I'd go with an "L" bracket under the dash, rather than drilling a hole.

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        • #5
          Thanks Brian, I'm definitely thinking an L-bracket would be the best route; I spent a lot of time as a kid driving farm equipment, full of knobs mounted under the dash on L-brackets

          There appears to be a clamp on the carb, just before the choke lever. I went ahead and ordered a kit which includes an L-bracket and several cable mounts to manage things in the engine compartment.

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          • #6
            Once you get used to it, a manual choke actually works better than an automatic, especially for hot restarts. Reason is, after 20-30 minutes' shutdown, an electric or thermatic choke will close back up. Then, with a hot restart, the closed choke makes a bad situation worse. The motor has to crank enough for the vacuum pull-off to open the choke a bit, or as with Stude carbs, you have to push the gas pedal to the floor for the linkage to crack the choke open a bit. In either of those cases, the choke is only open "a bit".

            With a manual choke, you simply leave the button alone (pushed in/choke wide open). So the already flooded condition at hot restart is minimized.

            It does take some getting used to though. One quirk is, you have to learn to pull the button all the way out (choke closed) till the motor fires, then immediately push it in a little to keep it from flooding. You will get the knack of that pretty quickly though. The, when the idle smooths push it in about half way. Later, when the temp guage even starts to move off the peg, you can push it all the way in. Once warmed up, you will only need about half-choke to start it for the remainder of the day.

            As for being, "incorrect", it takes a keen eye to spot it, if installed with the button below the dash.

            Soo, I predict you will like the manual choke once yo get used to it.

            Joe
            Last edited by JoeHall; 09-06-2013, 03:18 AM.

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            • #7
              I vote for the lighter position, It might even be possible to fit the lighter knob on the choke cable, making it an invisible mod from inside the car. The lighter assembly is easy to remove. The wire should just pull off (tape up the end, so it can't short to ground). Stick a thumb in the lighter socket, to keep it from turning, and then simply unscrew the outer shell behind the dash. Usually they unscrew with little difficulty.

              To mount the choke cable in the large hole, you will need three washers, two slightly larger than the hole in the dash, and one that just fits the hole, and is not thicker than the dash itself. Center holes in all three washer need to clear the threaded barrel on the choke cable, of course. You might be be able to make the middle (smaller) washer out of rubberized cork gasket material that will squish down when the nut is drawn up.
              Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands

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