I have a 2bbl carb that is supposed to have the heat tube for the choke but I dont have any of the parts for it. I have found that Autozone has an electric choke thermostat that fits a 1976 F150, It looks like it will fit my carb but will this work? Its a lot cheaper than the electric choke conversion kits they sell. Any advice? Thanks.

 

The Autozone part# is E638

 

You would still need to do the conversion. Just putting in an elec choke won't make it work. You need everything else that goes with it. You can also just get what you need to make the heat tube type work.

 

Heat tubes went away years ago, you should be able to run the truck just fine without one.



John

 

The conversion kit looks to only have some wires and such, I can do all that other stuff myself and save about $50. It would seem that all that it realy needs is the choke therostat and run the hot wire. Is there something I am missing here?

 

Boy you're asking this antique brain to really think hard about it. You know with EFI and all for the last 20 years. I don't have a choke set up on my truck. I only drive it in the summer and the few minutes I spend keeping it running til it gets warm enough to run on it's own doesn't bother me. Anyway back to the choke and someone who knows for certain definitely chime in here. I believe the piece where the heat tube connects to the manifold is replaced with some sort of unit that has hot wire going in and then one that goes up to the choke. If I remember correctly the piece in the manifold when it warms up allows elec to flow through to the piece located on the carb causing the spring inside to release tension thus allowing the choke to open.

It may pass elec gradually allowing the choke to open gradually but that seems a bit advanced and unneccessary for the application and time in vehicle history.

 

This is what you need:

Help/Choke stove kit (03840) | | AutoZone.com

The choke stove kit listed above consists of a small aluminum dome, a hose clamp, and a roll of coiled up aluminum tubing with the correct fittings to fit the Autolite/Motorcraft chokes. All you do here is strap the dome (this serves as the choke stove) down on a header pipe with the hose clamp, and push the end of the aluminum tube in the hole at the end of it. Then you can bend the rest of the tube by hand to route from the dome to the choke cap. This works by drawing hot air from under the dome and into the choke cap. It works very well; MUCH BETTER than the all-electric aftermarket chokes.

The thermostatic "hot air" choke your carburetor has controls the choke in direct relation to how hot the engine is, when the tubes are hooked up and working correctly. The problem with aftermarket electric chokes are that they work on a timer and choke the engine every single time the engine is started, whether it needs it or not. They also come off after only 60 seconds, which isn't long enough in cold weather.

Why would you say something like that, John? Surely you know that his truck will *not* run "just fine without one" in cold weather. Carburetors come with chokes for a reason, and that reason is to help it run without stalling when the engine is cold. Even if it is 90 degrees outside, an engine is COLD when it is first started for the day, as normal engine operating temperature is close to 200 degrees.

 

What year is your truck...76? I wouldn't mess with an electric choke...buy a manual choke kit and you're set for the life of the truck.

 

LARIAT 85

This is what I have been working on most of the day before I read your post, Thanks.
I got a piece of 1/4in steel brake line and the compression fiting for the choke and got it all hooked up just like factory. I still have the stock manifolds and the hole for the heat tube was still in good shape so thats where i hooked it up. Seems to be working just fine.

One question about the heat tube, Does the tube need to be insulated?
Thanks.

 

This doesnt work worth a *****. I bought one for my truck and it doesnt work...

 

The purpose of the insulation around the heat tube is to keep the air inside as warm as possible as it leaves the choke stove chamber and enters the choke cap. I am sure it would still work without it, but it does serve a useful purpose.

I wouldn't recommend a product to another member if it didn't work, Chief.

Since I replaced my exhaust manifolds with headers, I bought one for my truck about two years ago and it works great. The temperature dropped to 10 degrees last winter here in South Carolina, and my Autolite 4100 with the choke stove kit started right up and continued running without stalling at all. You must have done something wrong for it to not work. Although I don't really know how you manged to screw up such a simple system.

 

It was insulated originally and when you bought this from a dealer...

B9AZ-9A761-A .. Choke Stove Kit (similar to LARIAT 85's autoparts store kit except the tube is copper), it came with a white nylon shield that slipped over the tube.

1968/78 Passenger Car 429/460's, 1973/79 F100/350's with 351M/400/460's had a 4 1/2" formed choke stove that fit into the intake manifold (usually rusted out).

An insulated copper tube attached to the stove with nuts/ferrules, then routed to the choke on the carb. You won't find one of these on any I-6 or FE engine, as none used it.

 

i agree with an earlier comment. save yourself a whole hell of a lot of trouble and put a manual choke on it. I like them better cause you can control it and its easier/cheaper to work with.
Better technology isnt always a good thing, just a lazy thing.

 

Last year Ford offered an optional manual choke on F100/350's: 1969, and it's rarer than hens teeth because 99% of these trucks (1968's as well) had an automatic choke.

Only two things usually go wrong with an automatic choke. The choke stove rusts out or the coil spring inside the choke cover weakens. Replace the cover, problem solved.

 

Didnt the FE's heat tube plug into the ex manifold on the passenger side? My ex manifold has a hole near the rear that goes into a hollow cavity and a 1/4in tube slipped right in.