hi everyone. long time lurker first time poster. i recently bought a 64 impala that was jalopied up by someone else. it has a 350 out of a 72 pickup, unknown tranny and didnt run when i got it.i'm finally getting some time to work on it, fixed the timing and got it to start, but not run without pourin as down the carb. i dont have much experience with carbs. it has an edelbrock 1405 on it with a manual choke. it may be rebuildable, but i figure for a little more i can get something that wasnt tampered with. i hate the look of the choke cable, so i thought about going with an electric one, but again, i have no experience with them, so i dont know the pro's and con's. can you give me your opinions? thanks, juan here she is in case anyone wants pics of her. crappy repaint ontop of crappy bodywork, but it's complete and a 10 footer once i change the floors
Pull the fuel feed line to the carb and stick the end in an empty container then crank the engine. If no fuel comes out you probably just need a fuel pump. Two bolts and two hoses you'll be off and running. As far as the choke goes I would keep it stock I'm not sure if that car came with electric or manual choke stock.
Manual choke lover here ... years ago, driving down the highway in winter, at night and the damn electric choke closed up on me. I hate them. You will get the people who claim that a properly set up electric choke is the absolute best, blah blah blah ... up until the unit fails that is With a manual choke (properly set up and functioning) it does ONLY what you tell it to do ... no need to worry that it might close too soon or close completely or not open enough etc. Converting to a manual choke is one of the first modifications I make on a carbed vehicle ... (I do not presently own a fuel injected car ... wife isn't a big fan of the manual, but she did get used to it).
I go with ray-jay. Manual chokes take adjustment while the car is warming up and before you drive away. Electric chokes, turn the key let it warm up a little and drive away, no adjustments needed after set up.
You only have to adjust an automatic choke once, you have to adjust a manual choke every time you drive. I'd want to know more about the engine before making a recommendation on what choke to use. Most important, what intake manifold does it have? If it's a stock intake for a Quadrajet carb that came on a 72 chevy truck, I'd put one of those back on it, with the original mechanical automatic choke. If it's an aftermarket squrae bore intake, then I'd probably just rebuild the carb that's on it, and consider converting it to electric choke.
Another dissent... You couldn't pay me to put an electric choke on anything! Same experince as someone above! And "adjusting" a manual choke is hardly rocket science!
I learned to drive when there were no automatic chokes so it's not a problem for me. I know that there are 2 FEs with 3 deuces and manual chokes on the HAMB. I can't adjust an automatic choke from the drivers seat. My 56 6cyl came from the factory with a manual choke so I thought it was cool to make the cable on the dash functional.
thanks for the responses! the car originally came with a 327, now its a 350. the motor looks stock other than the chrome valve covers and edelbrock on it. when i pulled the carb off it there were 2 gaskets on there. one set with 4 holes symetrical in size( square bore i am assuming) and a metal one with the correct size to match the carb and intake. sooooooooo i only had 1/2 the airflow thanks to the p/o. the intake looks to have a divorced choke in pieces on it. i think the car came with a manual choke, it looks stock inside. being that the motor itsnt whats supposed to be in there anyway i plan on putting a new intake on. it has a oil fill tube, but so does the valve cover, and the vacuum port in the back is plugged up ghetto too. i figured an electric choke will clean things up further. its not going to be a daily driver, i drive 120 miles a day, just a nice weekend car.
How to use an elec choke - Get in, buckle up, pump throttle pedal one pump about 1/4 throttle. Some motors like 2 pumps. Turn key, no throttle, vroomm engine starts and revs to extra fast idle. Tap throttle pedal and motor drops down to normal fast idle. Drive away after a minute or 2. Depending on how you have the bi-metal coil module adjusted the engine goes to normal low idle in 3 or 5 mins. If you let the car sit while warming up it will need one last tap of the throttle to allow the choke fast idle cam to disengage.
6 of one half a dozen of the other. I run electric chokes most of the time. When they are working right they work real well and when they are screwed up they are really screwed up. I am old and lazy and still prefer an electric choke.
I'd like to know what states allow a manual choke, to pass smog check..... I use electric,..and the set n forget thing is fine with me. I connect an electric choke the same as an electric fuel pump, so if engine stalls, both of them are immediately shut off. Leaving the key on, with a cold engine not running, will open the choke,...then starting becomes an issue.... learned that, the hard way,....Kinda like a lot of things.... 4TTRUK
i like no choke, pump it a couple of times and fire it up, keep it running by pumping it and then 30 seconds later drive off, if your choke has a bimetallic coil it will have to be replaced one day, the coils have a life span measured in cycles, what happens is they loose their range and the choke will either not stay on long enough or they never open all the way, then it's time for a new coil, i avoid this by just not running a choke.
I've had mostly electric chokes, and honestly I like this manual choke carb I put on the Merc. the electric ones idle high for too long IMHO.
I just removed a carburetor with an electric choke to install one with a manual. The car is now driveable cold where before it was not. This engine is not the normal street engine, and others experiences may differ. I happen to prefer manual chokes, manual brakes, manual steering, and manual transmissions. My opinion, others will differ. But the manual choke is probably NOT the cause of the engine not running without pouring gas down the carb. As with any unknown engine, start with the basics: (1) compression test (2) ignition tests (3) fuel Like someone earlier posted, check the fuel pump to make sure the carb is getting fuel. Jon.
I stated above that I just don't like electric chokes, and the Plymouth has a manual choke... I think I MIGHT have actaully used but three times in the last twenty years or so. It's probably going to get machined off with the air horn when the turbo goes together.
Electric choke on my Holley. Never failed. Easy to wire up. Love '63 Impalas. Put a rear sway bar on it, you'll never regret it.
No car is gonna pass SMOG if the engine is so cold the choke is still on. Once it's warmed up it doesn't matter which choke you have on there. I like manual chokes. I had a Quadrajunk electric choke stick partially shut on me once and wash out the cylinders. Sure, electric chokes are nice, but I'm a fan of knowing for sure the choke is all the way off.
The original intake on a 72 truck would have a divorced choke, and no oil fill tube. But it might be some other engine, unless you've check the numbers carefully. The Chevy cars all had automatic chokes since the early 50s. Trucks had manual chokes well into the 60s. It can be a pain to get an automatic choke working right, especially if you're not patient or if you don't have some experience with them.
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