Hot Rods Manual Choke Carburetor

I've had many different carburetors over the years,probably every American made carburetor on the market but I now have a 4 barrel Edelbrock with a manual choke and there is nothing wrong with that but this is the only carburetor I have ever had thet you have to choke it to crank,even when the weather is warm.

You can pump it until you flood it but it won't even try to start without using the choke.

This is on the car I recently traded for.

I am going to use a proper choke cable since the one on the car is a major PITA,who want's to open the hood and pull the abbreviated choke cable,get in and crank it and thrn get out close the choke and latch the hood? HRP

 

Weird, that's what is in my Buick and I don't have to use it when warm.

 

Danny
No help on your particular problem but I bought the Edelbrock 1405 manual choke carb for a 350 years ago and it seemed too rich. After a little research I found out this carb is considered a performance carb and they are not just a manual choke version of the 1406 electric choke carb, they are both rated at 600 cfm but the 1405 is different internally and not just with different jetting.
I bought the electric version and it seemed to run better right out of the box.

 

Wife Joey said it was high time I rebuilt the 650 Holley double pumper on my F100...(350/350 for now...you know how that goes...)
So she went and got a new Edelbrock 600 w/ automatic choke. We installed it, adjusted it...a little 'tame', but real drivable.
I don't use it every day, sometimes it sits for 3, maybe 4 days.
Went to start it after a 3 day weekend...set choke, listened for fuel pump...cranked it, cranked it some more. Stopped. Pumped it. Cranked it, 'Vroom!'.
Parked it at the store, came back out, cranked it for 3 long seconds before it started.
I'm getting used to something I hate. Measuring linear travel on my flywheel ring, we are into the hundreds of feet...and climbing!
My Holley was notably different: One beat of a measure cranking, "Dzt...Vroom!"
Every time. (cold required 1/2 a step on gas pedal, just to squirt the emulsifiers; warm just touch the key. Always. Spoiled me? It did.)

The Edelbrock 600 stories are true. After inspecting everything, I am convinced that Vic Jr. has successfully sabotaged what was once our dependable Carter AFB.

 

I have a manual 750 Eddy that did the same thing.

I richened up the needles and jets a little and now I pull the choke about 1/2 way to set the high idle, give it about a half a pump while I crank and it jumps right off. If I pump it a couple times it will flood easy. When it's warm I don't have to choke it.

It's on a B&M 144 so it acts similar to a long plenum.

 

I had a edelbrok 1406 and on a new crate motor the car would start instantly hot or cold, same carb on a worn out motor and it still started within a crank or 2. It was electric choke but on my new motor I disconnected the choke cause i liked the cold weather lope.

 

My brand new Holley 600 Electric Choke was lean right out of the box. Took it to my buddy at the local auto shop, he put the smog sniffer up the tail pipe. He can compute the PPM to A/F ratio to take the guess work out of the equation.
He jumped it three jet sizes to achieve a 13.6 to1 ratio which according to him straddles the fence on performance vs some mileage if you keep your foot out of it, like that's going to happen.
Starts and runs excellent.

 

I like HOLLYS!ELECTRIC CHOKE MODELS ARE GREAT.

 

OP, that is an absolutely beautiful motor and IMHO the correct carb would be a Rochester 4-Jet (4CV?) from the mid fifties to early sixties.

These Rochester carbs are so superior to Holeys or Quadrajets in a street-driven vehicle. And that Edelbrock? Fugedaboudit.

 

Do you get a good strong accelerator pump shot prior to trying a cold start?

Get a plastic squeeze bottle with a small nozzle on it, like an old ketchup squeeze bottle from the drive-in. Put a few ounces of gas in it. Before your next cold start stick the nozzle into the carb vent tubes and squeeze in a bit of gas which should flow into the float bowls. If it starts easier that might tell you that the float level is too low or somehow fuel is draining out of the float bowls.

Is the secondary throttle plate completely closed at idle? In the event that it might be getting flooded, is the choke unloader properly adjusted?

 

I had one of those Eldelbrock carbs on an OT 84 Vette that had been changed over from FI. It always cranked first try, didn't even have to touch the pedal. But, the floats were set too low. We left a show one day, wife in said Vette, me in my OT Maverick I had then, we were goofing off at the red light brake torquing both up, suddenly the Vette died and wouldn't crank. Pushed it off the side of the road, figured fuel pump was out, disconnected line, good stream of gas. Hooked line back up, let pump run a minute or so, car cranked right up. When we got home, I pulled top off and checked float level, there was barely enough gas in the bowl to cover the jet. Raised the float, never had another problem with it. Electric choke wasn't even hooked up, yet it cranked fine hot or cold weather.

 

That would make sense. It would decrease the vacuum signal on the primary side especially near the idle fuel port. Take a look at the air bleed just above it. Is it possible a bit of a vacuum leak could be happening there ? Or even to small of a low idle jet ?

 

Thank you. HRP

 

Don't thank me yet. I've never messed with an Eddy and I'm crossing my fingers that the Carter diagram is compatible.

 

I drove the car for the first real outing yesterday and had to choke it when I first cranked it in the garage and after the car had sat for several hours I was able to fire it off without using the choke.

I'm going to the try and adjust the float levels next week but I plan on driving the car this afternoon while the weather is nice. HRP

 

I think with the eddy, a float adjustment is a good place to start. I have had several eddys over the years and had to make fine adjustments to the floats on every one of them. Make sure fuel pressure is 4-5 psi, 5psi being the high limit.

 

Now I am going to throw a wrench in this game. My Roadster has a 306 sbf, 2-450 Holleys and NO CHOKES!!! Tap the gas a little and she fires right up COLD. Warm just touch the key and she is running. Seems to me that if you must choke it to get it running your Primary/idle circuits are tooooo lean.

 

My old beater has a Edelbrock as does the boss lady's ranch wagon but both have a automatic choke and they work perfectly.

 

Are you sure you've got power to the ignition during cranking ??

 

Good idea... thinking outside of the "carb" a bit. Maybe something like an ignition ballast resistor where one's not required, or one with too much resistance.

 

I'm running a Holley 700 with manual secondaries and a manual choke, I used the stock Ford bezel and the choke kit is a Dorman. It will start even in 15* weather without the choke, but I can't drive it right away. I have to fiddle with the choke a bit but it works pretty well.

 

What would that have to do with the cranking?
Remember,we are talking about a carburetor that has a manual choke. HRP

 

I cut the choke off because I have a dual quad set up I was thinking of running and I didn't want the hole in the firewall to be off if I changed intakes later. That motor was a runner already built so I just rigged it up temporarily.

It's hot here year round so all I had to do was choke it once in the morning and it was good all day.

 

Hey Danny, Buy an Electric choke kit for that carb and bolt it on. Edelbrock sells a kit that'll bolt right on.

 

Edlebrock = Rich , if you want to believe it or not your car is flooded and hard starting is the result rejet, springs and rods and good to go . Easy repair


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Edlebrock has a good tuning guide-manual you can get online. It has charts for jet, spring, rod changes, and other adjustments. If you do not have one, this info my be helpful .

 

Vic Edelbrock has sabotaged NOTHING. The differences between the old AFB and thePERFORMER as well as the AVS and the THUNDER carburetors come down to calibration. THE TUNING PARTS ARE INTERCHANGEABLE WITH ONE EXCEPTION: IF YOU HAD A CARBURETOR WITH 3-STAGE METERING RODS, YOU MUST SWAP THE TOP OF THE "POWER PISTON" WITH AN EXTENDED TOP COVER AND USE THE EXTENDED AVS JETS to use the OEM calibration in the aftermarket Edelbrock carburetor. (I know 1st hand that this will work, as I bought out ALL of the now long gone Ace Speed Shop's Carter tuning pieces when the Performer first came out in the early 1990s!)

The PERFORMER and THUNDER carburetors are considered performance carburetors, where the AFBs and AVSs used by the big 4 had lots of tuning by the OEMs to have decent driveability and later, respectable exhaust emissions.

Would you like better drive ability? Simply swap the Primary Metering Rods and Jets to the specification of your favorite Carter AFB or AVS tune. Bottom end still a little soggy? Swap the metering rod springs to the next stiffer spring on both sides. Big-ass cam with no vacuum at idle? Go to a set of step up springs that are lighter. Too rich on top end? Go back to a smaller secondary jet. Bog on secondary opening? You need more pump shot and maybe bigger shooters. On the AVS, tighten the air door spring tension.

If you still have "soggy" acceleration with a big AFB or AVS, you might have to change the primary venturis (but this is just a crutch that is best solved by a smaller cfm carburetor).


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I ask a counterman at O'Riley's and he said they don't make a automatic choke kit for that carburetor but I put more stock in a fellow hamber that the rube at "O'Really's?" HRP

 

the electric choke kit for an Edelbrock performer carb is part # 1478

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/EDB1/1478.oap?ck=Search_1478_-1_2126&keyword=1478

i've been a counter person for O'Reillys for almost 8 years, not all of us are rubes