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Chokeing an engine to start

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PopinJohn

Member
A guy stopped by the other morning to look at a Ford 850 I have for sale. It had been chilly during the night, 40 I think, so I pulled the choke, started the tractor, and left the choke partially on for the first minute or so.
His teen son asked "What"s a choke?"
And the guy was around back holding his hand over the tailpipe exclaiming "This tractor"s running rich". Duh!
It got me to thinking that in this age of fuel injected cars and such for what? the past 25 years, that only us old timers know about pumping the footfeed, pulling the choke out and getting the car started.
The last car I had with a choke knob on the dash was my first car, a "54 Ford.
So here we are, friends, 2010.
 
You'll notice too that most new small air cooled engines have no choke either. Just a primer. Took me an awful long time to get my new pressure washer started and even now, if I shut it off for a couple of min, the thing is a bear to get going again
 
Makes you feel the age creeping up on you doesn't it. My 68 F-250 had a manual choke on the dash. 360/ 4speed manual trans. Haven't had a choke since except my two cyl tractors.
 
They say things are "getting better" but I think technology has gotten way ahead of itself when it comes to engines in general. I just went through an ordeal a week ago trying to get the engines started on two welders that had set for awile. You could put the choke on and they would try to start but that was it. With the choke plate being spring loaded when they "started" the choke effect ended and they immediately shut back down because they just weren"t pulling enough vacuum to get the gas through partially clogged ports caused from setting. I wound up having to pull the intake housing off of both of them and give each a hard choke with my hand to get them going. Once running I put Seafoam in the tanks and let each machine run continiously for about 5 hours varying between high and low idle. When all was said and done both will now fire up and run like they are supposed to.
 
Yep now days cars and trucks have way to much wiring and computers on them for them to be all that good. Back in the 50s and 60s we had cars that got 30 plus mpg and now we are lucky if they get that and they have all these computers on them and cost you $25,000. People seem to have forgotten half if not more then what they learned when they where young and sad to say a person who is 50 that should know about things do not seem to know which is sad
 
I remember my cousins dad had a '51 chevvy 1/2 ton pickup, and on really cold mornings, (around 10d) they pulled the air cleaner off and kept a cup handy and poured a half cup of gasoline in the top of the carb then tried to start.
It usually started, then the choke would be left on just enough for faster idle for the rest of the morning.
My cousin's car was a '59 Chevvy Impala with 348, and it couldn't be started at all at ten deg or below. We learned later when HEI ignition came out on GM's that the no start was in reality the weak ignition on the 348.
However, when his car did run, it would wind the speedometer needle past 120 then past the R Turn blinker light. 120 mph car with 75 mph brakes.
 
get with the times old, fuel injection doubled the life of engines, remember starting the pickup to let it warm up while you ran back to the house for something only to come back and find it gasping way over rich and die just before you got there, my 95 f150 has over 242,000 miles,most 302's with carbs were shot at half that many miles. I remember when when someone bought a vehicle with over 100,000 miles everyone thought they were nuts
 
hey old what car did you have in the 50"s and 60"s that got 30+ mpg? never knew of that. my dad ran a paper route and also was a mechanic (not a technician)he ran 100"000 miles a year and had to trade every year cause they were worn out. did have a 59 chevy he overhauled and ran 2 years but usually even suspension" doors and seats and every thing worn out.
 
Computerized engines are like the little girl with the curl, right in the middle of her for"ead...when they"re good, they"re very very good...but when something goes bad, they"re horrid!!
 
Yeah, what car got 30 mpg in 50s and 60s. My Dad is alot older than you and he cant ever remember a car like that. Was oil from the 50s better to?
 
There again, small engines start easier, too. Old time lawn mowers, you would wear yourself out pulling the rope.
 
I just have to say this, don't you worry some of us youngsters know how to run chokes, I have a 1950 Chevrolet 3100 You hop in turn key on, pull choke stomp gas pedal once, and hit the button if it hasn't been sitting more than 2 weeks it will start on the 3rd turnover, During the winter things change a bit ya gotta hit the gas pedal twice before you hit the starter. Yes I do have newer fuel injected vehicles and they are great, oh and I'm 22.
 
There was a Hudson Jet a Nash Rambler that got pretty good gas mileage but to say we had cars that got 30mi per gal is stretching it a bunch.
 
Well, even back in the days of automatic chokes a lot of folks didn't know how to set an automatic choke. How many times did get in the car with someone who cranked and cranked while they pumped the gas, not knowing they had to take their foot off the pedal to close the choke?

My first car was a '55 Ford. I'd forgotten it had a manual choke. Manual chokes were common on pickups in the '60s, for unknown reasons, since passenger cars with the same engines had automatic chokes.
 
Probably the only popular cars made before the mid-seventies that would hit 30 mpg would be very small cars like the Nash Metropolitan, VW Beetle and various British sports cars. Even those cars couldn't do it at 70 mph.
 
Compared to income now and then. Vehicles are both cheaper and better now.
Mileage claims and durability? I'll bet you what ever amount you want that a comparable 1960 vehicle vs. 2010 vehicle. The 2010 walks away in the fuel efficiency and HP contest.Rides and handles better too.
Too many wires? Anybody remember how many vehicles didn't leave it's parking space in cold or wet weather. Or just quit on the road with dirty plugs, points, fuel filter, vapour-lock, broken v-belts etc.Anybody seen a rad boil over recently?
 
Another seafoam devote. How does some fizzy Coleman lantern fuel and baby oil make an engine run better?
Just dump some IPA or methanol in there depending on how strong a solvent is required.
 
In the late '70's, I had a Fiat Spyder roadster that got 34 mpg when everyone else was getting 12-14.

That was the most fun car I ever owned. Rear engine, water cooled, 4 on the floor, sounded and felt like a Ferrari when you were driving it, but with 47 ci and 51 hp you could drive the he11 out of it and not get too far outside the law.
 
One of the reasons, among others, that new car engines last longer is they DON'T have a choke. Modern fuel systems assure that the engine never runs rich enough to wash down the cylinder walls. The oil isn't dilluted from an over-rich mixture and it isn't polluted quite as much by carbon and soot.

This post reminds me of my college buddy's 55 chevy. Back in the early 70's he put a souped-up 283 in this chevy. One summer day while he was sitting at a stop light, with the engine loping along because of the rough cam, an older gentleman sitting in the other lane yelled over to him "push the choke in".Jim
 
My dad's cousin (who's in her mid-seventies now) was telling a story about the time she blew the muffler off her dad's car when she over-choked it.

She and a girlfriend went to the dance on sunday night and when they went to go home the car wouldn't start. Her friend told her to keep choking and pumping. When the car fired the accumulated gas in the muffler lit up and the muffler blew apart. I can imagine how scared a couple of high school girls would be when this happens.

Did I tell you they weren't supposed to leave town in the first place, let alone go to the next town to the dance?

Well, they drove the car home, shutting it off right before they got to the house, and they coasted into the garage. Her dad was the rural mailman and he used this car for his job so he wasn't too happy when he fired it up the next morning. I never did hear what the consequences were. Jim
 
All I know is that you could tune up a car back then for $20 now they take you to the cleaners just to tell you what is wrong with it. Now you have to get a bank loan to get it fixed. Tell me again how good these new cars are, I keep forgetting.
 
I'm glad you said your '68 Ford PU had a manual choke. I was racking my brain, thinking that my long gone '68 had one. And the key was on the left side of the steering column - which was a common Ford thing back then. Made it handy to work the choke with the right hand.

By the way - that '68 Ford was one of the best vehicles I ever owned. That 360 engine was a good one. The front cab mounts were the death of it.

I'm going to look at a '75 F-250 4WD this afternoon. It looks nice in the pictures, hope it looks as well in person.

I like those old Ford pickups.

Paul
 
I friend of mine in HS had a 57 Chevy station wagon (not a Nomad) with a 283, 2V and powerglide.

The automatic choke had given him trouble and he had replaced it with a manual choke cable.

He would often chug around town with the choke pulled partly closed so that people would THINK that he had a big cam.

Dean
 
I agree.

In the US, 30 MPG cars were few and far between in the 60s and virtually nonexistant in the 50s.

Fuel economy was simply not important before the first oil shock in the 1970s.

Dean
 
Not so much of a 'devotee' per se, it's just that I know it works like they claim it does, and more so it's readily available. By that I mean when I needed it I literally ran across the street to an auto parts house and got a can off the shelf....meanwhile I don't have a clue how long it would have taken me to find any methanol, which last time I checked wasn't cheap, in a small quantity....Too to have gotten any ISP I'd have had to got in the truck and made a trip to Lowes or HD to get a can and too the last time I checked it wasn't all that cheap either.....In the end convienience wins the day. Being able to cross the street on foot instead of making a trip and using gas, as well as wasting work time, saved me more money in the way of time not wasted than any difference in cost there may have been between any one of the three.
 
About 6-8 years ago, I had a daily driver work car that had a factory manual choke. The car was a '69 Chevy II/Nova with the factory 4 cylinder. I always wondered why they put a manual choke on this car because I suspected the main customer base for the 4 cylinder engine was a girl in college.
I should use this car to teach my kids how to start a car with a manual choke, but I guess I need to teach them how to drive a stick shift first.
(That will be the job for a '50 Binder........)
 
You leave out a good many but I'll not go into that other then the Renault which got up around 50mpg I know since I owned a few of them and I could list a few more but will not.
 
Now see again you go to your daddy who from what you say doesn't know it all. Many cars back then got up around the 30 mpg plus. Simca, VW, Nash, Renault, King mdget. The BMW of the time and the list can go on and on plus the price of fuel back then was under the 2 bit mark if you understand what 2 bits was that is
 
My first car had over 400,000 miles on it when I got it back in the late 60/early 70s. Ya the engine had been rebuilt a few times but it was still going. I know of many that had well over the 100,000 mark with no work done to them Yes some things have gotten better but a good many worse
 
I had an old chevy truck like that and it didn't have a "button", it had a starter that was to the right of the accelerator that you pushed with your foot. I think mine was a 49 model. Am I right...anybody? ohfred
 
Those are all foreign cars.... Ha ha ha. My Dad is way smarter than you are. And doesnt get a welfare check either. ha ha
 
If people tried to drive the miles they do now back then, you would have to have one of those $20 tune-ups about once a month. I for one have better things to do than spend every 4th Saturday under car hoods all day.
 
MOST cars back then has crappy suspensions, drum brakes, steel dash boards, non-collapsing steering columns, bias-ply tires, no seat belts and the roads were primarily two-way traffic with lots of hills and corners and the speed limit was 70 MPH. Lots of traffic fatalities considering traffic volumes. No, I think I'll take things the way they are.
 
Well #1 smart a$$ I do not get a welfare check I get a VA check for doing my duty to my country and a S.S. check that again goes but to doing my duty to my country. Also I said cars I did not say cars made in the U.S. and no one else did either. But if you want ones from the U.S. that got close to that 30mpg the old Ford falcon with the small 5 and a 3 speed got very close. The old Dodge cars with the 170 slant 6 got close to that also. See now smart one shut up or prove things before you open your mouth. I was taught to think for my self not let others tell me stuff KID
 
Learn to respect your elders child. And I had the papers with that car to prove how many miles it had on it so stop talking with out thinking child
 
Paul, Those late seventies Ford 150/250's were great farm trucks though the 400 engine wasn't much to brag about, I did like the 390, not much mileage but what a torque monster! I had a 79 F250 4x4,it never got over 8mph but it would pull a 300bu load of corn out of a field without a problem. C6 trans and a cast iron transfer case, it was heavy and built like brick $hithouse!
 
you're just digging your hole deeper, I'm not talking rebuilds, you could get a million miles out of anything if you rebuild it enough. I am talking mileage from new without removing the heads or pan. My mother had a Henry J in the 50's, it got good mileage and had about enough room for the driver and a bag of groceries!
 
Just learing to shoot off the mouth like you do. So many people have caught on to you and know your full of it, or your behind the times. Jack of all trades Master of none.
 
(quoted from post at 11:11:14 10/31/10) All I know is that you could tune up a car back then for $20 now they take you to the cleaners just to tell you what is wrong with it. Now you have to get a bank loan to get it fixed. Tell me again how good these new cars are, I keep forgetting.
Click to expand...

New cars are cheaper to run , last longer and cost less to maintain. 100,000 miles with just air filters and oil changes. That's cheaper than tune ups every 3000 miles and a complete overhaul before 100,000 miles. Saving several hundred dollars a month on gas adds up too.
Scan tool to read the computer costs about the same as a carton of smokes, two four of beer and a 40 of rye. People seem to have money for those every payday.
 
(quoted from post at 11:34:34 10/31/10) Not so much of a 'devotee' per se, it's just that I know it works like they claim it does, and more so it's readily available. By that I mean when I needed it I literally ran across the street to an auto parts house and got a can off the shelf....meanwhile I don't have a clue how long it would have taken me to find any methanol, which last time I checked wasn't cheap, in a small quantity....Too to have gotten any ISP I'd have had to got in the truck and made a trip to Lowes or HD to get a can and too the last time I checked it wasn't all that cheap either.....In the end convienience wins the day. Being able to cross the street on foot instead of making a trip and using gas, as well as wasting work time, saved me more money in the way of time not wasted than any difference in cost there may have been between any one of the three.
Click to expand...

You couldn't find ordinary gas line antifreeze? What do you think the stuff is?
 
I have a 1976 MGB sports car. My grandchildren pointed at the window crank and asked me what it was for????
I thought they would wear it out rolling the window up and down.
They said "That's cool".
 
Just pulled the original 300 I6 out of my 1978 ford f 150 4X4 with 336,000 something miles no rebuilds. (confirmed from talking to previous owners since od. rolls over every 100,000). That old 300 still ran great and got me between northern and cental ohio a few times starting right up at -20 deg. with 20w 50 oil. The 300 is for sale right now, dropped a BUILT 460 in its place. I hope to be driving this truck for a long long time. Also, the 78 requires less repairs than my 94 f 150 and my 98 wrangler combined.
 
A lot of cars got low gas mileage--but gas was 25
cents a gallon! My retarded son-in-law is so
proud of his "powerful" Dodge Durango "Hemi"
(Which isn't even a true hemi, as per the old
cars, it's just "Called" a "hemi") But it only
get 14-16 miles per gallon with a full load of
kids, and he's whining about being broke all the
time with gas almost $3.00 per gallon.
(Yea, I know, when gas was $1 per gallon, wages
were $1 per hour)
 
Looked at a new car--YOUNG salesman was excited to show me the pushbutton start. I stated that I had a 1951 Ford that had that!
He said "They got it too?"
 
There were a few 60's cars that would get 30+ MPG. That wasn't much of a concern back then. Any of the Falcon, Mustang, Maverick 6 cylinders would get in the mid to upper 20MPG range. My parents had a Maverick that would get 27 MPG highway.

By far the most expensive car to maintain I've ever had is a '98 Continental. Engine is bullet proof but everything else required lots of repairs. If I never own another front wheel drive it will be too soon.

Most economical car to maintain I've ever owned was an '84 Mercury Grand Marquis. Sold it with just under 200K on it 18 or so years ago. Wouldn't surprise me if that thing is still running today! I've regretted selling it all these years.

Best cold starting vehicle I ever owned was a '71 F250 with a 360. Like someone else posted, rusted cab mounts and floor did it in. That 360 was not easy on gas though. That was such a good engine I put it in another truck once the '71 rusted away.

Best truck I ever owned was an '84 F250 351HO. It would pass anything on the highway and get 18 MPG doing it.
My current truck is a 2000 F250 5.4 There is NOTHING about it that's better than the '84 I had.

My Dad had a '66 F100 with a 300 six. I'd still see it around as a daily driver recently as '95. It's probably in a collection now. Hard telling how many miles that thing has on it.

Allot of today's engines do last longer. Improved oil has allot to do with that. Run 1960's oil in a modern engine and see how long it lasts. The old engines did require more frequent tune ups but not nearly every 3000 miles like someone posted. It was not unheard of to go 25-35K between tune ups. Tunes ups were cheap, quick, and easy on allot of cars. Some things are better on today's cars, but some things aren't as good.
 
There are plenty of people who have many skills.Makes you mad.I have worked as a carpenter, mechanic , farmer, logger.Spent time in sawmills, textile mills,radio and TV shops, repaired appliances.fireman, code officer, dog catcher now called animal control.Have my own sawmill now, ran thousands of feet of door and window trim.Built a TV Radio shop in 1968.At 73 Im slowing down.Ill work on the barn roof today .I can repair guns,use a metal lathe.No wind bag, just have a strong interest in many thing.Like Old Ive been there and done that.
 
No it does not make me mad. But when a persons thinks that cars were made better back then because they cant afford anything newer, that is just nonsense. Cars are made better today, some not as a good, no one in thier right mind would go back to a carb engine.
 
How much does Seafoam cost?Iso alcohol, naptha and mineral oil.Methanol is still sold as gas line antifreeze.I bought quart of iso alchol for 2 bucks,Have coleman fuel on hand and oil.Seafoam calls it pale oil to confuse you.Saw a list of contents of all additives.Most are identical in make up.Rislone contained kerosene years ago.It was used to cut oil visconsity in cold snaps.Fuel injection cleaner is a mix of alcohol and diesel fuel.Since most gas is 10% alcohol now there is no need for dry gas or fuel injection cleaner.I saw 2 pallets of dry gas at Sams last fall so its still selling even though theres no need for it.My friend dosent like a certain brand of milk, says it doesent keep.He buys the store brand thats bottled by the same dairy.
 
Ive worked on new and old and know you are wrong.If my 77 Chevy hadnt been destroyed by road salt I would still be using it.It had no pollution crap on the engine and anyone could fix it in the driveway.Didnt need any 100 buck an hour technicians, new name for crooks.
 
Actually the techs don't make anywhere near $100 per hour, it's the shop that's screwing not only the customer but the tech too!
 
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