76CSRvette

Hi to all
I have a 355sb with an edelbrock 650 carb and electric choke. My question is I live in southern California is the choke a necessity. Should I wire it up or should I just open up the flap or remove it. Will I see gains in performance or does it not make a difference. Right now it is in closed position all the time. Am I not getting all hp because of it. I don't mind hooking it up but if it no difference to performance with it open or with it hooked up. what gauge wire should I use (i.e. 12g 18g 4g) is top hot and bottom ground, and is carb stud best place for ground wire. I know I can use the dizzy hot wire to power choke. Any recommendations or suggestions greatly appreciated. I know there is problem with cold starts but I really don't know what real cold weather is unless you guys consider 54 degrees cold like I do. I do use the car about 4 to 6 times a week also.

thanks,
david

LB66383

It's in the closed position all the time??? Not good. You can do one of two things. You can hook it up electrically and then adjust the spring tension and fast idle to help keep from stalling/stumbling on a cold start. Or you can adjust the choke so it is always wide open, even with the engine cold.

Also living is So Cal, I prefer to have the choke functioning so it gives me a minute or two of fast idle after a cold start. It also seems to help with getting the engine to start when it is cold. With no choke, I have to pump the pedal several times to get it to fire, and then it sometimes wants to stall if I don't keep my foot in it.

76CSRvette

[QUOTE=LB66383;1587613990]It's in the closed position all the time??? Not good. QUOTE]

Okay thanks I'll open it tomorrow...asap
are there performance gains or loses to it being closed. Im asking because I felt the car underwhelming upon acceleration. I will try and get it wired up right on first try.
thanks,
david

bluedawg

I start my vette in the garage when the temp is minus 4 farenhiegt out side and 20 degrees in the garage, it takes a little time and pedaling to get it up to Temps, not as long if your intake is a dual plane with no open spacer and my carb has no choke horn at all.

76CSRvette

Will do i'm a try it tomorrow a few seconds to warm up won't hurt. Thanks

Haggisbash

If your choke is stuck full on I'm surprised it doesn't over choke and stall or at the very least run like a dog and suck fuel and foul plugs. Choke does exactly what the name says and you only want it closed to start when cold.
Temp varies 0 deg C winter to max 30 deg C occasionally in summer here. My SBC starts with full choke and no pedalling of the gas. As soon as it fires I move it to half choke to keep the idle up and then I can move off. I have a manual choke and prefer it to the auto one. When I got the car the choke was disconnected and you had to pump the gas several times to get it to start and then feather the throttle to keep it going. Never was a fan of dumping fuel down the intake because the raw fuel washes the oil from the bores and contributes to ring and cylinder wear. JMPO.

cv67

Removing the blade wont give you any performance but you are losing it by the flap being closed. Dont really neeed one in Ca but if you got it make it work they are nice to have.

pawpaws toy

Top is hot. Carb stud ok for ground. Advise against using dist. for bat. Connect to something hot when ign. switched on.

doorgunner

Like he said---do not use the distributor for choke electrical power---you will have ignition problems. Use another wire under the hood that has 12 volts ONLY when the key is turned to the RUN position.

OR...the easiest way......you can open the choke plate (flap) all the way and use a piece of safety wire to hold the choke in the wide open position at all times. Performance should improve...but it may take a few more minutes of patting the gas pedal when warming up the car on chilly mornings/nights.

76CSRvette

Thanks guys. I'm a try to open it manually to see how that works out for me. When i decide to hook it up Would I have to run hot wire to fuse box or where would be a good source for ignition power. what gauge wire would be good (the bigger the better) I'm a see if I can tolerate the cold start pumping and if I can handle it it stays but most likely I will wire it up. I wanna see the difference in driving conditions asap.

76CSRvette

I left the choke open for now and it seems more responsive from 60 to 80 while I was on freeway today and the car ran about 5 to 10 degrees cooler on highway. I don't know if choke had anything to do with it but that was an upside. I'm drive it for a week and see if I'll keep it like that or hook everything up.
thanks guys

BKbroiler

I have an electric choke. Engine starts quickly and can be driven immediately. It doesn't impact performance. BTW - the best source of power is the yellow wire that powers the wiper motor.

76CSRvette

thanks i'll try it out next week. will 12g wire be sufficient.

PeteZO6

Get a spade connector and tap into the IGN lug on the fuse block. Put a 10 amp fuse in and run the wire to the choke terminal. Ground the other terminal. This will give you power to the choke when the ignition is ON.

The choke butterfly or blade is not centered on the shaft, so unless it is held closed it should open with airflow as you drive. Having said that, you should hold it open or use the electrical feature. Set up correctly it will enhance drivability. Really!

With the electric choke you can adjust how fast (or slow) the choke comes off, and the fast idle speed. Carbureted cars came with "automatic" chokes for years because they helped the car start and run well until warm. If they weren't needed, the manufacturers would have saved money and omitted them.

I don't have any exhaust heat in the intake, which makes the choke a big help on cool California mornings. Before I bought the electric choke, I had a manual choke with a cable and a **** under the dash. Major PITA.


Pete

76CSRvette

thanks for the info. I will give it a whirl seems easy enough.

Lt1er

No choke for 20+ years. A well tuned motor doesn't need a choke.

BKbroiler

A well tuned motor, with an automatic trans, needs a choke.

AkrHack

When I bought by '71 that has a SB and 4-speed in April, the choke blade was in a box along with some other spare parts the PO gave me. I initially was shocked that it would even start with no choke. I'm able to keep it running by feathering the accelerator with the clutch disengaged. It smooths out and will idle on it's own after about 30 seconds. After driving it all spring and summer without a choke, I have no plans to re-install it. I do agree with BKbroiler's remark though, that it would be much tougher to keep the car running with no choke if the the car had an automatic transmission.

76CSRvette

I actually didn't think the tyranny had any thing to do with the choke. As I have an auto Trans. I guess I just keep on learning new things everyday.

BKbroiler

With an auto trans you can't keep the engine running by stepping on the clutch and revving it. The choke, with a fast idle, does that for you.