Manual or auto choke

[MrMootsie]

Assuming I get this new FSP head, which kind of Holley 350 do I put on it? Auto, or Manual choke?

edit: This would be for a stock 200ci on a 65 Mustang vert.

 

[CobraSix]

I've had 3 different style of chokes on carbed cars I've driven. Manual, Automatic (heat), and Automatic (Electrical). Personally, I do not really like ANY of the automatic chokes, though the heated one isn't too bad. Currently I have an electric and I want to rip it off and put a manual choke in. The electric choke, on cold mornings driving on the highway, will cool off so much at 75MPH that even after driving 40 minutes at that speed, it is cold and rechokes the car when I slow down on the off ramp. In some ways it isn't bad as it acts as a cruise control almost on level road.

I like manual chokes because they offer more control. I've had my electric cool off faster then the engine and rechoke a hot engine or vice versa. With a manual choke, I know how long the engine has been off and I can feather the carb depending on the situation. The only reason I don't switch just yet is my wife is scared of manual chokes for some reason. Once I convince her (or just do it and face the wrath) I will replace it with a manual choke.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

I'm with Cobra on this, auto choke were designed for idiots. A manual gives you the ability to keep a slow idleing engine from stalling at lights on those damp mornings when it's warm enough for no choke but the car doesn't want to quite idle right. I have a spring auto on my autolight ONLY because it came that way and I don't want to mess with more cables and stuff right now.

 

[Anonymous]

a manual choke is great...it makes sure no one else can drive it

 

[MrMootsie]

my 1980 RX7 had a manual choke.

Is it difficult to run the cable?

 

[Anonymous]

Electric chokes are almost contradicting the purpose of a carb. If you want electronics, go for TBI or SFI... seriously.

However, automatic chokes aren't just for idiots... it's for people who don't want to have to adjust their choke all the time. Granted, if you don't mind it, it's all good... I may not like electric chokes, but the heated air kind doesn't seem too bad...

Then again, I know little about carbs :roll:

 

[wallaka]

Well. Electric and electronic are two different animals. Anyhoo, just move somewhere warm. Then you won't need a choke. :roll:

That being said, if you feel comfortable fiddling with the choke, go that way. If you don't want to worry about it then get an auto choke. I'd go with heated vs. electric because of previously mentioned concerns.

With my '82 Nissan pickup I just wired the choke open and patted the gas until it warmed up because the electric choke was shot. A new carb was $600 so that was a no-go...if I knew now what I knew then I would've adapted a 5200 or something to fit.

 

[CobraSix]

However, automatic chokes aren't just for idiots... it's for people who don't want to have to adjust their choke all the time. Granted, if you don't mind it, it's all good... I may not like electric chokes, but the heated air kind doesn't seem too bad...

Then again, I know little about carbs :roll:

If I had my choice between automatics, I'd go heated tube definitely. My old 1100 heated tube choke worked much better then my Holley 390's electric choke. Things to remember, if you go with headers on your car, you are faced with a choice of electric or manual as heated tube chokes require some real effort to make them work with headers. Or, you can do like I did one winter when the choke on my 1100 failed and wouldn't open at all and just remove the choke all together. It was a real pain to start when it was 20*F outside and I had to stay in the cold car for 2 minutes with the gas pedal down, but once it was running it ran just fine.

Manual chokes get a bad rap as being in need of constant adjustment. Maybe it's that I learned to drive on a manual transmission car with a manual choke. It's much like an automatic choke, usually after 3-5 minutes of the car running you can turn the choke off. There are 2 ways of working a manual choke. THe ON-OFF method or the 'Fine-Tune I'm going to make my car run the best all the time' method. I'm teaching my wife the ON-OFF method. When the car is warm, turn it off. Car is cold...turn it on. If the car doesn't really want to run with the choke off, pull it half way.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I may not be a "impress a person at a stop-light you don't know with a car you can't afford" guy, I like to have a rather respectible car. Does having a manual choke make it not respectible? Apparently not.

As I have learned with the heated tube choke, I would much prefer to have direct control with the choke than to have to depend on an automatic choke. I love the little things like how the car used to start... and how you had to tap the trottle or give it a little gas to keep it running...

To me, those were the things that made me fall in love with the Maverick. When it started, it started at about 2000-2500 RPM... very roughly speaking, just very high RPM for idle. I'd let it do that for 5 seconds or so, then I'd tap the gas to allow it to drop to normal idle. From there, it was light taps or just constant gas till the thing warmed up. Ahhhh... memories...

Now? The thing idles rough at start-up, then it idles really rough when it warms up. In fact, if I sit in D, the car tugs forward like a Bull. I don't want that to go away. That's personality.

I figure it will, however, once I get headers, a 2-bbl, and a manual choke... oh well...

 

[JackFish]

I grew up around boat motors, which of course have manual chokes. When I encountered my first automatic choke on a car, I wondered, well How are you supposed to control your warm-up, thinking that choking was just part of the normal process. I did not like handing over that control to some springs and levers. Of course I would also like to have manual advance. :roll:

 

[Anonymous]

I have a 2001 vehicle that came factory equiped with a manual choke. Kind of simple,pull the knob, pump the gas, hit the starter. after about 2 minutes push half way in, after 2 miles push the rest of the way in.
Have a very similar 2002 model with fuel injection. Now you gotta love the way it cranks, hit the starter--period-- I have converted many automatic chokes to manual because i got tired of adjusting them (the auto choke) as a matter of fact, i was about 2 days from converting the Falcon when i finally got the auto choke on it where i could live with it.

designed for idiots

this is very different than-

automatic chokes aren't just for idiots

-auto chokes wern't everyday till the mid sixties . meaning that when it was developed operateing a choke was an everyday thing like tying your shoes.
There were a lot of people who simply couldn't grasp the complexities of pulling out a knob on a cold morning and then pushing it back in after it warms up. Caused a lot of fouled plugs- men started to buy auto chokes so their wife wasn't making extra work for them ( seemed pushing it back in was the hard part).
Also another little problem with auto chokes is a snowy day and it's REALLY cold, I have seen them freeze open. moisture on the linkage froze before the choke closed back up makeing it hard to start next am. Point is- get whatever you like --2 sides to every coin. Personally i have thought alot about an electric choke on a toggle switch; seems like the best of both worlds.