Manual Choke?

I'm old school, but a manual choke? Has anyone converted a 250 six to an automatic choke? Are there conversion kits?

What year van are you trying to convert?
I can shoot you a picture my 66 motor that has an automatic choke set up out of a nova if that is any help.

you need an automatic choke carburetor,,,,,,,,then an exhaust manifold made to mount the choke,,,,,,there are some like Chinese carbs that have electric chokes on them,,,,,,,,

new Chinese carb,,,,,,,,,what will they think of next??????/


http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-Carburetor-Carb-Fit-Chevrolet-GMC-V6-7043017-1-Barrel-4-1L-4-8L-250-292-6-CYL-/231916946043?hash=item35ff53c27b:g:h0kAAOSwGJlZGqv-&vxp=mtr

Indeed, that's wacky enough to give it a try. If only they shipped to Canada.

Thanks for your thoughts guys!

I'm running the original manual choke set-up, no big deal, great for warming it up and then one push and you're fine the rest of the trip.  Too me its part of the nostalgia of owning an old vehicle, you operate it the way it was intended by the original owner about 50 years ago....and Donnie is right, you need the automatic choke manifold with the rod and spring set-up to make it work or go electric....and then you need to worry about getting power to it...

I am not so sure about that electric choke set up,,,,,,,Robert has that carb on his van,,,,,,,a choke needs to feel the heat of the engine to open accordingly,,,,,,that electric one just seems to work on minutes,,,,I have not looked real close at one, but it seems that choke just opens after a few minutes whether the engine is ready or not,,,,,,,,and is the heater inside it always on,,,,,,,it surely closes so the engine starts, but until the engine warms up, you might have a driveability or rough idle problem..........

donivan65 wrote:I am not so sure about that electric choke set up,,,,,,,Robert has that carb on his van,,,,,,,a choke needs to feel the heat of the engine to open accordingly,,,,,,that electric one just seems to work on minutes,,,,I have not looked real close at  one, but it seems that choke just opens after a few minutes whether the engine is ready or not,,,,,,,,and is the heater inside it always on,,,,,,,it surely closes so the engine starts, but until the engine warms up, you might have a driveability or rough idle problem..........

Yeah, aren't they usually controlled by a sensor that turns them on and off? so you'd have to deal with installing that or add a manual switch, then you might as well keep the manual choke! LOL

the electric choke just needs keyed power. it would take me longer to grab the wire, heat shrink and wire cutters than it would to hook it up. no timer or switches. just one wire to anything hot with ignition on. if you don't want to cut wires, you could hook it up at the coil.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I did some poking around on the internet, and consensus seems to be just sticking with the manual choke. And, as you say, "you operate it the way it was intended by the original owner about 50 years ago..." Well said. That makes sense to me.

The coil is 6 volts, that would make the heating element take longer to unwind the bimetallic spring and leave the choke on too long,,,,,,,,,Automatic transmissions  really need the choke to be working right,,,,,,,and electric chokes cant tell if its 20 below or 20 above zero and without a sensor to control the choke, you aint going too far,,,,,,,,,,I am just saying there is more to an electric choke than just running a wire to it,,,,,,,,,Manual chokes are simple, you dont even have to deal with vacuum break diaphrams or unloaders that automatic choke carburetors need for their chokes to work,,,,,,,,

donivan65 wrote:The coil is 6 volts, that would make the heating element take longer to unwind the bimetallic spring and leave the choke on too long,,,,,,,,,Automatic transmissions  really need the choke to be working right,,,,,,,and electric chokes cant tell if its 20 below or 20 above zero and without a sensor to control the choke, you aint going too far,,,,,,,,,,I am just saying there is more to an electric choke than just running a wire to it,,,,,,,,,Manual chokes are simple, you dont even have to deal with vacuum break diaphrams or unloaders that automatic choke carburetors need for their chokes to work,,,,,,,,

overlooked that he might have points, so the coil wouldn't be my first choice in that case. just saying its one wire from anything controlled by key and that their is no additional switches or sensors to install.

Stomper wrote:Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I did some poking around on the internet, and consensus seems to be just sticking with the manual choke. And, as you say, "you operate it the way it was intended by the original owner about 50 years ago..." Well said. That makes sense to me.

Yeah, I had a 1940's car, (49 Ford) and that was one of the coolest and most talked about features at car shows, that big old manual choke knob on the dash! They work great as intended with a simple carbed engine and manual tranny....just like a big lawnmower engine....

Stomper wanted to talk about chokes so here we are,,,,,,most people ask me how to convert their automatic choke to manual because it dont work right,,,,,,,that electric one sure is different,,,,especially since you get a NEW carburetor that fits our 6 cylinder vans,,,,,,but is kind of generic,,,,,the choke springs  job is to open the choke plate 1/2 way when the engine is 1/2 way warmed up,,,,and then all the way when the engine is warmed up,,,,,thats why they put the choke spring on the exhaust manifold, so it can tell the choke what temperature the engine is so it can adjust the amount of airflow that the gas needs for it to burn,,,,,,,,,,that electric wire does not have a clue what the engine temp is and how much choke it needs,,,,,it just works for a couple of minutes and hopefully that is enough for the engine to run down the road,,,,,,,,,I guess the worst thing would be is that you would have to sit there and rev the engine until it warms up and the choke is open so you could drive down the road without the engine stalling or flooding out,,,,,,but I think we are choking on all this choke talk,,,,,,we come here to learn and for information,,,,,,,I think I might see Robert at the Bay tomorrow and I think he has that carb,,,,,,,,,he was complaining about the choke a few months ago,,,,,,,

Back to the choke discussion. I finally have my G10 up and running, and I'm fine with keeping the manual choke. However, the choke cable is in bad shape. Really hard to push/pull. I tried dripping some light oil into it, but that only made a marginal difference. Can anyone recommend where to get an aftermarket cable, or maybe NOS? Or is anyone willing to part with a used cable that is silky smooth to operate? :-)

Maybe straighten out the end of the wire, then, leaving the housing there, pull the knob and wire all the way out and clean and grease it and slide it back down in the housing and hook it back up,,,,

if you go that far, take a few minutes and fill housing with oil from one end and lower the other end so it runs all the way threw and out.

For lubing the cable I would suggest the graphite spray stuff

For replacement, the parts book show original replacement comes 69-1/2" long trim & to length.
I saw a couple on eBay or Amazon @ 63/64" you could try that. Local Tracker Supply as some cables, the length was not posted