do i really need the choke?

[sacramento_ford]

or is it just for warming up,,,,but can a truck be started with the carb throat just open?

[willowbilly3]

No you don't need it, Ford just wanted to waste some money on parts.
Seriously, unless you live in a very warm climate, yes you need the choke.

[cep62]

Yes a choke is nice,but I've had some winter beaters that got by without a one.

You need a good battery and then pump and crank till it fires.The main problem is it usually won't stay running on it's own while you clean off the snow. A manual trans make it a little more forgiving also.

[Alvin in AZ]

If you live in Suckmytoe Kalifonia (lived in Sacto before;) you don't need no steekeen choke. :)
I never had to throw water on my windshield one time in two winters, to clear the frost.

There's nothing wrong with a choke... a hacksaw and hoof rasp can't fix! ;)
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/choke.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/choke1.jpg
If you want to go into the details just ask. :)

I had that sorry sucker wired open for about 10 years when I decided to just get rid of it.
Think about how hard chokes are on the rings and cylinder walls and if you really need it or not.

I got one of these to help it start good too tho...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/bendix6volt.jpg
It's wired to the winshield washer button (don't need one of them sissy things neither;) and
I fill the 2100 before I hit the starter. Many times my '91 with EFI doesn't start as quick.

Alvin in AZ
ps- I couldn't agree with "cep62" more! :)

[19674x4]

my 4412 racing carb desnt have a choke. when it gets below 20 i just have to kep the rpms at about 1000 for a bout 20-30 seconds and let off and it will slowly warm its way up from 500 to just under 1000rpms. they are nice to have though

[sacramento_ford]

No you don't need it, Ford just wanted to waste some money on parts.
Seriously, unless you live in a very warm climate, yes you need the choke.

[NM5K]

Yep, I'd say you need it.. Or at least I wouldn't want it to be gone, or broke.
The one on my 68 is manual. Which I like.. I like being able to set it any speed
I want, and I don't have to kick the pedal to get it to crank down when it starts
warming up like you do some automatic chokes.
In general my two Ford sixes tend to run like @#$% when they are cold, and no
choke at all. The choke on my 74 is auto..

[Banjo]

I've ran junkers without them before, but it sure is hard on the engine bearings having to sit there and rev the engine to keep it running while the oil is cold and not circulating well. I used to would do it, but won't anymore. Even on a junker, I'd take the time to fix the choke.

[binder56jd]

brakes can be a pita also--do u really need them???


draw your own conclusion

[willowbilly3]

Well, just remember all that pumping is diluting the he** out of your oil. I guess if it's a beater on it's last leg it really doesn't matter.

[Alvin in AZ]

Well, just remember all that pumping is diluting the he** out of your oil.
I guess if it's a beater on it's last leg it really doesn't matter.

I'd agree with you on that -if-...
...the choke was set about perfect for the weather that day. ;)
(the weather here isn't going to allow such a thing, don't know about where others live;)
...the extra pumped-in fuel didn't mostly sit in the bottom of the intake manifold.
(betcha money it's less than a bad choke or a manual choke that's forgot to be un-set!;)

-------------------------------------

When you break in a new engine you get it running and bring it up to at least 1500rpm
as quick as you can and keep it there for 45 minutes with a break in the middle of that
for an oil change and valve adjustments etc if you want to. Splashing the oil up on the
cylinder walls etc is good for it. Starting it up and letting it go directly to idle (or fast idle)
can't be all that much better, right? Wrong? :)

Not trying to sell the idea. I get to do it my way no matter whether it's bad for my engine
or not, just want all the ideas presented and the thread reader gets to decide how they
want to do it, whether it's just blindly following convention or because without the choke
it will ruin their engine in short order.

Take your pick.

Let's keep it up until all the ideas are presented and explored. :)

In my case, my old clunker 360FE with ~90k on the rebuild with a 252/252 Comp "Economy"
cam and everything is in top working condition, wires, cap, rotor, first generation Dura-Spark,
10 degrees BTDC, battery, battery cables, battery connections, starter bearings and brushes,
charging system, electronic voltage regulator, ignition switch contacts, and my 6 volt Bendix
fuel pump I use to fill the 2100's fuel bowl before I hit the starter all work together.

The carburetor itself has had the low speed circuit jets reamed out, the fuel level is actually
a little bit lower than "spec" and the accelerator pump rod is on the lowest setting and the
idle mixture is carefully re-set a couple times a year as the weather changes.

Somehow my situation isn't anything like you describe as "all that pumping" since I've learned
how to use the minimum pumping as needed for the conditions. Believe it? ;) I'm not perfect
but I bet less raw fuel ends up in my oil than most chokes put.

My clunky old '75 360FE+T18 starts as quick and easy as my 72k mile '91 F150 5.8L I inherited.
No kidding on that, but my weather ain't Dearborn's neither tho. ;)

I guess one point needs to be brought up is how you re-learn how to start it when you're
running no choke. And you don't have to burn any bridges to give it a try, just wire it open
and try it out and see if you like it or not. :)

Alvin in AZ

[Alvin in AZ]

brakes can be a pita also--do u really need them??? :wink:
draw your own conclusion

LOL :)
My dirt bikes never had anything on them they didn't need, except for a kick stand. LOL :)
-I- wanted the kick stand. ;)

I really like good feeling brakes that don't pull to one side or pulsate or anything. :)
I want my pickup to start and run and steer better than new. ...and it does too. :)

Funny, but that's the main reason I don't run a choke. :)

Running no choke is consistent, not too much one day and not enough some other day etc
the way a choke can do here, the way the weather can change. Dry air and no ground cover
can make for big changes on a daily basis. In Sacto the weather gets cool and rainy and stays
that way until it warms up and gets sunny and stays that way too. Nice stuff! :)

On my old clunker, I'm in charge of how much fuel it gets to start it, not a mechanism. YMMV? :)

Should we open the ABS can of worms in this thread too? ;)

Alvin in AZ

[willowbilly3]

Well, when we talk about a choke, I kinda figure we are talking about a properly operating one. No they are never set perfect for any particular atmospheric conditions. The cold start and warm up is not only when most engines run the least efficient and produce the most pollution but it is also when the oil gets the most severe dose of contamination and when a huge percentage of the wear on an engine takes place. And in all reality we may have never had computerized engine controls forced on us if people would have maintained their carbed non computer cars properly. I don't think there is really any parallel between fast cold idle and running in a new cam. You only run in a cam once. The less strain you can put on an engine during the warm up, the longer it will live.
If you have to pump more that a couple times to get your engine running then it is too much raw gas and much of that gas may be washing past the cylinders.
Having spent many years as a shop operator in cold country I probably have a different view on this than someone who lives in a warmer climate. Most of my carbed trucks would pop right off in 35 below without being plugged in. No way you would pull that off without a choke, even at much higher temperatures. So I guess you can't just carve anything in stone here but for the sake of good advice I would have to go with the choke and not eliminating it, unless you live somewhere near or south of I-10

[thebannister8]

cars and trucks are built for 40 below to 140 above ... yet they're all the same...modifications can improve longevity and performance...

[Alvin in AZ]

I had my engine overhauled at 148k on the odometer, but since the new tires and wheels (and
it's own inaccuracy from the factory) had the odometer reading off by 12.8% most of that time...
...the 360FE was overhauled at 160k to 165K is my guess. I drove it to Willcox, we pulled it out. :)

It measured as having .008" maximum cylinder wall wear. :)
If I knew then what I know now, I would have sprung for .060" over 352FE pistons. :)

At least half those miles, the choke was defeated and wide open.
The wife drove it quite a bit especially for short trips so, fewer miles per start by someone that
wasn't as careful as I was about not pumping the gas pedal anymore than necessary on cold days.

That's really all I -know- about it, the rest is guessing and figuring. LOL :)
{edit: I don't even know if .008" at ~160k miles is good or bad, which is it?}

Alvin in AZ
ps- At 148k the heads were what was the real problem, specifically the valve seals.
pps- What valve seals? LOL :) The sucker used oil like crazy right from the start. :/