Choke

[Dick]

My wife has threatened to drive the 3a this summer......the only problem that I can see that she will have is that she will not have the strength to pull out the choke control. Has anybody found a solution to this problem?

 

Regards Dick

[Guest colinTR2]

Hi,

I have run without the linkage to the rear carb for some years now for this very reason, it will start on one choke, as long as you start the car fairly regularly. If you leave it for a long period and you then need to jump off the Peugeot diesel (not literally), then operating the second carb by hand and using the button on the solenoid helps.

I am open to other suggestions!!!

Colin

[TR 2100]

My wife has threatened to drive the 3a this summer......the only problem that I can see that she will have is that

she will not have the strength to pull out the choke control. Has anybody found a solution to this problem?

 

Surely the problem is that she may have the strength to pull out the choke cable!!

 

And then (unless you have learned the trick of twisting the choke cable before locking) the choke

pull will slip in again straightt away anyway.

 

Solution - switch the knobs for the starter and washer, also the choke and the wipers.

That should sort it.

 

Reading other threads today, I thought ithere should be a poll for the best posting.

I thought the suggestion that poilishing brake pipes would lead to the pipes becoming

too thin, leading to a safety problem would win hands down. Now, I'm not so sure!

 

All tongue in cheek, of course. (well, mostly!)

 

AlanR

[Andrew Smith]

My wife has threatened to drive the 3a this summer......the only problem that I can see that she will have is that she will not have the strength to pull out the choke control.

 

And the problem is?

 

Cheers

Andrew

[stuart]

This is a perennial problem of stiff choke cables Mostly down to the repro cables not having the correct ferrule on the end that stops the outer being crushed in on the inner cable where it goes through the clamp on the front carb arm. Im sure someone on the forum came up with a solution a while ago but I cant find it now.

Stuart.

[Dick]

My wife has threatened to drive the 3a this summer......the only problem that I can see that she will have is that she will not have the strength to pull out the choke control. Has anybody found a solution to this problem?

 

Regards Dick

 

 

Hi Collin,

 

That sounds like a good idea and I will try it.

 

Dick

[Richardtr3a]

Stuart,

 

In order to avoid the outer cable becoming distorted I had a small brass fitting made up about 1/2 " long with a step. The smaller part is gripped by the clamp and will not pull through because the larger diameter end is retaining the outer cable. I was very pleased with this arrangement and design until I noticed that some bicycles have a very similar fitting.

 

I also used the old motor cycle technique of leaving the cable hanging in the garage for 3 months and every few days allowing a few drops of high quality lubricant to run down the exposed inner cable into the outer cable and find the way to the knob end. So to speak.

 

It would have a better cable run without the heater. I also fitted a strong spring so that the jet returns to fully elevated position.

 

Yours Richard

[Don Elliott]

Richard - The problem with stiffer return springs is that, if they are too stiff, it makes it even harder to pull out the choke knob.

 

I attach mine at the front end under carb #1 on the inside. I know that, from a logical engineering sense, it shouldn't be like this, but it keeps the outer end of the pin and the cotter pin from getting caught in the outer cotton sheathing on the wire harness. That may be another reason that the cable could be hard to pull. Not to say that it will also very quickly tear up the covering of the wire harness.

[Richardtr3a]

Don,

 

Mine is attached at the same place but the clamp fixes on my new fitting and the outer rests inside the fitting, so that when screw is tightened the outer is not compressed in any way. It is still quite easy to pull but I worry that the jets have not fully returned and sometimes have to check by hand. I really want to start without opening the bonnet and drive along without watching the temperature guage or the red light. I used to enjoy the car like this when it was rusty and all worn out.

 

I suppose that I am older and therefore worry more in all areas.

 

I see that you still have the old starter. I sold mine for scrap.

 

Richar

[vivdownunder]

Dick,

 

A while back my wife took a liking to open top motoring in the TR, and thinking it was a bit ungainly for her to have to put her foot up on the dash to operate the choke, I did the same thing as Colin, and the car always starts first tick.

 

The large diameter balance pipe on the inlet manifold allows some enrichment to the rear cylinders.

 

If your choke doesn't twist lock on, toss a couple of pegs into the door pocket to put behind the choke knob to keep it out. Really cold weather is usually a two peg day; summer weather a one peg day. The pegs also remind you to release the choke. Another owner I know carries two coins to sit on the flat between the back of the choke knob and the dash. Then it's either a ten cent or a five cent day. Unique TR terminology, I suspect.

 

Cheers,

 

Viv.

[Nigel Lay]

I agree with Viv, I thought cloths pegs were obligatory equipment on TR's. This one has been with the car since the rebuild.

 

Nigel (with TS952)

Edited April 17, 2008 by Nigel Lay

[Don Elliott]

I learned the trick of using a clothes peg between the bottom of the knob and the dash in 1991 from a TR3 owner at the TR Register International in Stafford. His is BRG with a red interior and it can be seen in one or both of Bill Piggott's books.

 

I heard a true story about a lady who bought a Triumph Herald brand new back then an complained to the service department that it was always chugging and stalling. She found all that most embarassing. So the S-T mechanic looked at everything, found nothing wrong, and the lady came to pick up her car. Then she came back. About every second or third day. Still they found nothing wrong and it never stalled or chugged when they took it out for a test drive. The next time she came in, the mechanic asked her to take him for a test drive to see if he could spot what she was complaining about. They got into the Herald and she immediately pulled out the choke knob and hung her purse handles over the pulled-out knob. Then off they went, chugging and stalling.

 

It was immediately obvious what was causing the problem and he told the lady right there that she should do that. She replied, "And where do you think I should hang my purse, if it's not for that?"

[angelfj]

I learned the trick of using a clothes peg between the bottom of the knob and the dash in 1991 from a TR3 owner at the TR Register International in Stafford. His is BRG with a red interior and it can be seen in one or both of Bill Piggott's books.

 

I heard a true story about a lady who bought a Triumph Herald brand new back then an complained to the service department that it was always chugging and stalling. She found all that most embarassing. So the S-T mechanic looked at everything, found nothing wrong, and the lady came to pick up her car. Then she came back. About every second or third day. Still they found nothing wrong and it never stalled or chugged when they took it out for a test drive. The next time she came in, the mechanic asked her to take him for a test drive to see if he could spot what she was complaining about. They got into the Herald and she immediately pulled out the choke knob and hung her purse handles over the pulled-out knob. Then off they went, chugging and stalling.

 

It was immediately obvious what was causing the problem and he told the lady right there that she should do that. She replied, "And where do you think I should hang my purse, if it's not for that?"

 

Great story, Don!

[TR 2100]

And then (unless you have learned the trick of twisting the choke cable before locking) the choke

pull will slip in again straightt away anyway.

 

No-one seems to have picked up on this.

 

TRs were designed in the days of old currency - a ha'penny coin used to be the perfect

means to hold the choke open just the right amount, though the coin that suits best

depends on the exact setup of your choke cable.

 

With the factory choke cable, there are notches at the end of the inner cable that will

hold the cable out in a series of positions, but it was some years of coin abuse before

I realised that the notches will not engage unless the inner cable is twisted a few turns

before it is clamped in the carb connection.

 

The spacing between the notches doesn't necessarily give just the right amount of

choke but that's the level of engineering.

 

These comments relate to the factory choke inner cable - I have no experience of

repros.

 

AlanR

[Alec Pringle]

Before Tom chips in on his favourite subject . . .

 

You could always fit Webers - 3 prods on the throttle, 2 if it's an Alfa, and you don't need a choke.

 

Holleys are much the same, come to that.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

[Guest colinTR2]

A small blob of weld on the end of the outer will stop it pulling through the clamp, and means you don't have to over-tighten. Mine was still very stiff. A ferrule would look much more professional though, perhaps for the concourse boys?

Colin

[Dick]

This is a perennial problem of stiff choke cables Mostly down to the repro cables not having the correct ferrule on the end that stops the outer being crushed in on the inner cable where it goes through the clamp on the front carb arm. Im sure someone on the forum came up with a solution a while ago but I cant find it now.

Stuart.

 

 

I have now disconnected the rear carb. choke and starting does not appear to be a problem......and niether is pulling the choke knob out.

 

Regards Dick.