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Post by grampa on Mar 28, 2018 16:10:03 GMT
Watching Paddington 2 with my daughter and grandson the other day, there's a scene where a modern-ish Volvo won't start - someone advises the driver he's using too much choke and has probably flooded it.
"What's wrong with that?" I asked my daughter (yes the car-dumb one)
"I don't know, probably something to do with the car?"
"A car like that doesn't have a choke."
"Oh"...
... "what's a choke?"
Of course being 'only' 26 she has never driven a car with a carburetor let alone a choke (I think she would shudder at the idea of driving the Minor), so it had me wondering - how many on here have never had the fun of coaxing an engine into life with a careful balance of choke and throttle?
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Post by LandieMark on Mar 28, 2018 16:15:08 GMT
My Beetle had an automatic choke. It was useless! A manual one would have been much better. The Suzuki SJ farm truck I had had a manual choke IIRC.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 16:18:05 GMT
Most of my cars had a choke but Bess has an automatic type choke so no manual setting to play with. That little knob with a gated slide was sometimes a sod to get right but perhaps we have missed something since computers took over.
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Post by PG on Mar 28, 2018 16:48:54 GMT
I think the first fuel injected car I had was a BMW in the 1980's.
My first ever company car - a Ford Orion 1.6 Ghia (wwoooohh!!, but sadly not he 1.6i Ghia that I really wanted as it was in the next band up) had an automatic choke. Everything prior to that had a manual choke - various Minis, Mk II Cortina, Rover 2200, Rover 3500.
My mum's MGBs had manual chokes, but I'm pretty sure that all my dad's Jags had automatic chokes until fuel injection became the norm.
I still own quite a lot of stuff with chokes - our ride on lawnmower has one and it is a bugger to start. Some of our Stihl equipment - strimmers, hedge cutters, chainsaw wtc - still have manual chokes. Our chainsaw is an absolute bastard - once you've managed to start it. it is best to leave it running all the time!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2018 17:00:58 GMT
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Post by LandieMark on Mar 28, 2018 17:04:42 GMT
I think the first fuel injected car I had was a BMW in the 1980's. My first ever company car - a Ford Orion 1.6 Ghia (wwoooohh!!, but sadly not he 1.6i Ghia that I really wanted as it was in the next band up) had an automatic choke. Everything prior to that had a manual choke - various Minis, Mk II Cortina, Rover 2200, Rover 3500. My mum's MGBs had manual chokes, but I'm pretty sure that all my dad's Jags had automatic chokes until fuel injection became the norm. I still own quite a lot of stuff with chokes - our ride on lawnmower has one and it is a bugger to start. Some of our Stihl equipment - strimmers, hedge cutters, chainsaw wtc - still have manual chokes. Our chainsaw is an absolute bastard - once you've managed to start it. it is best to leave it running all the time! I had forgotten about the various mowers and other machinery. I’ve never found Stihl stuff hard to start unless it’s gummed up from old fuel. I’ve found Husky stuff is a twat to start - especially when hot. |
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Post by Martin on Mar 28, 2018 17:05:56 GMT
My first car (Astra) had an automatic choke, but the Sprite had a manual choke.
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Post by Blarno on Mar 28, 2018 17:32:13 GMT
My first Escort - a Mk3 - had one, as did my Mk1 Fiesta and Mk2 Escort. Belmont had an automatic choke that didn't work, so I fitted the carb from a Nova SR on it with a manual choke. After that, it was all FI.
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Post by Boxer6 on Mar 28, 2018 18:20:17 GMT
I had several cars with chokes, but the worst by far was my Mk1 Golf which I'm sure had an autochoke; reason I remember is the bloody thing stayed on ALL the time, meaning it ran very rich (natch) and at a consumption rate noticeably appalling even by early-80's standards!!
Every bike I ever owned had chokes too; last ZX still used carbs and had a manual choke. Annoyingly, I can't remember what side it was on!
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A choke?
Mar 28, 2018 19:40:49 GMT
via mobile
Post by bryan on Mar 28, 2018 19:40:49 GMT
My golfs' chokes were automatic, I think, but not sure about the 1.3c. The waxstat made running a little lumpy.
The w reg Bedford CF van we used for the shop has a manual choke, that was a beast.
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Post by Big Blue on Mar 29, 2018 8:27:42 GMT
First car, Chrysler Sunbeam - can't remember but sure it was manual - I have driven cars with manual chokes so maybe that was just one of them. Every bike I had between 1985 and 1995-ish had a choke.
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Post by Roadsterstu on Mar 29, 2018 8:56:32 GMT
Another here who started driving a car with a manual choke, my mum's 1988 Metro. I think my own first car, a Mk1 Fiesta 1.1 of 1982 vintage also had a manual choke. Pre-fuel injection I recall oyr cars with automatic chokes could start with the revs high but a hefty blip of the throttle reduced the amount of choke. Does that sound about right?
Edited to add that my 1.2 Nova, after the Fiesta, had a manual choke, too. Everything since has been FI.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Mar 29, 2018 8:57:28 GMT
I can't remember the first car I had with an automatic choke - I think it might have been my A reg Orion.
There is an old story about the lady that kept taking her car into the garage complaining that it was using loads of fuel and idling fast. After repeatedly finding nothing wrong the mechanic asked to accompany her on a test drive and when they had both settled into their seats the first thing she did was pull out the choke and hang her handbag on it...
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Post by Alex on Mar 29, 2018 9:10:01 GMT
My first Polo, an A reg one had a manual choke but my second, a G reg had an automatic choke. I’ve never driven a car with once since.
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Post by scouse on Mar 29, 2018 9:21:00 GMT
Mk2 Escort - manual choke
Mk1 Escort - manual choke
MG Midget - manual choke
Mk4 Escort - automatic choke
Everything since has been fuel injected.
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Post by Roadrunner on Mar 29, 2018 9:41:12 GMT
Unsurprisingly I have had many cars with a manual choke, with my current Standard Big 9 being one of them. That also has manual control for the ignition advance and retard. Other manual chokes include:
Escort Mk1
Cortina Mk2
MG Midget
Rover 3500
Land Rover Series IIa 2.25
Land Rover Series IIa 3.5 V8
Triumph 2000
Land Rover 110 3.5 V8
My first automatic choke would have been on my 1989 carburettor 2.0 litre Mercedes 190 and my RR Silver Shadow had an automatic choke. All others have been diesel or fuel injected petrol.
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Post by ChrisM on Mar 29, 2018 12:49:50 GMT
My first 3 cars had manual chokes. I never had a car with an automatic choke; my 4th car was the Rover 820Se with single point injection
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Post by PG on Mar 29, 2018 15:57:47 GMT
There is an old story about the lady that kept taking her car into the garage complaining that it was using loads of fuel and idling fast. After repeatedly finding nothing wrong the mechanic asked to accompany her on a test drive and when they had both settled into their seats the first thing she did was pull out the choke and hang her handbag on it... A friend of my mum used to keep her manual car choke half an inch out with a clothes peg - so that it idled faster and she was able to move off without stalling. The lady was a crap driver... |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2018 19:54:45 GMT
One of the blokes on my estate drives an x-type, he increases the revs to a bit under screaming point and lifts the clutch to meet somewhere around the same point. How he gets away from his parking spot but so far he just about does. Hearing perhaps.
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A choke?
Apr 2, 2018 7:38:02 GMT
via mobile
Post by racingteatray on Apr 2, 2018 7:38:02 GMT
The original Pierburg carb on the mk2 Golf 1.8GL I had as a student was problematic so I had it replaced with a Weber carb with manual choke. I was fine with that as my mother had retained a G-reg Nova 1.4 (a hand-me-down from her mother) as a runaround and for us to all learn to drive in, and that had a manual choke. As did my father’s 1960s Fiat 500, which has the two little levers (choke and starter) between the seats, as well as a hand throttle under the dash!
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Post by Ben on Apr 2, 2018 13:35:02 GMT
Not me definitely.
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Post by Stuntman on Apr 2, 2018 19:51:07 GMT
My first 3 cars had chokes (two Fiat Unos and an AX GT) but nothing since.
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