I have rebuilt at least 5 of them and have never seen this happen,I have NO issues with linkage or assembling it (don't think) and it runs absolutely great but...I have a very choppy throttle response right away while using the choke but then I can bring it down to idle speeds within seconds and it will idle normal,I have had 6 FB's and have done all of my own work to them in the past 10 years but I really dont know what to think about this. I am going to investigate more when I wake up but was hoping someone had an idea as to what this might be,Thanx!

Oh yeah, it is a 83 gsl 5spd,with the vacuum nest removed and routed properly,perfect float level,good pump& filter,runs great but has a shitty response with the coke out,also seems like the mixture screw likes to be out,(lean) more than normal.

 

i really don't know what the specific mods are, but one of my friends back in the day used to modify Nikkis and he did 2 of them for me. they both exhibited the same behavior you describe - caught me way off guard one winter's night to point where i had to leave my car at my friend's house because it flooded so bad with the choke on. from then on ... 3 pumps, start and go. it would idle just fine no matter how cold it was outside.

 

In your part of the country, I would want one, however, when Sterling and Carl do thier wonders, they remove the choke buttefly, but still keep the choke cable conneted for high idle. On my widebody, I've had both a Mikuni and now the DCDs carbs, neither of which have a choke. They do have starter circuits which work with the choke **** however.

Do you have to have one, no. Will it be harder to start when it's a popsicle, probably.

 

the choke REALLY helps out in those cold mornings. i went to the stoage garage yesterday to start my 84 GSL and without he choke it was a little difficult to start. i used the choke and it fired right up. like trochoid said, you really dont need one, but it makes life a little eaiser when cold starting in cold weather. it also helps for warm up, as the choke will disengage once the engine is warm due to a nice choke magnet.

 

Yeah i miss my choking ability! It was so nice on cold mornings... Which is almost always here in the murder mitten

 

I suppose I'll wait and see if it becomes a problem,it just seemed really weird.Thanx for the input!

 

Dont get me wrong, you "can" get a long with out it

 

I know I don't NEED,need it,but it's just the fact that it is needing to be leaner on the idle mixture that worries me,but It sure doesn't seem lean,plugs are not looking like a lean condition,smells good,just WAY out of character for these things in my opinion

 

When I first rebuilt my original carb, I believe I screwed up with the choke linkage. The flap worked, but the idle didn't adjust with it. Never did get it figured out because I ended up getting a Sterling carb shortly after.

 

Update: Turns out that I hadn't checked the timing(just bought the car) and the leading was pretty far off,trailing was dead-on. There was practically no split in the timing the way it was set...I found other "things" about this car too,nothing too damaging but someone who should not have near it,did all of it's previous maintenance,I guess you just cant take it for granted that things are set where they should be when you get a car,I have double checked EVERYTHING now...seems perfect

 

Thaks for posting. Yeah, I've found it always pays to go over every little item on a new purchase. I still get suprised at what some previous owners have done.