Did these trucks ever come with a manual choke? If so where can I get a factory manual choke cable? Doesn't have to be factory though... I just need a good quality manual choke cable. Right now I'm using one of those cheapy things from the parts store with the loosely coiled wire housing an unsheathed cable. The cable is loose, sloppy, and the whole thing flexes so it won't open the choke all the way, I end up with a 100-200 RPM high idle until I pop the hood and push the choke the last little bit open. So I need a good quality cable with a jacket and whatnot. Basically like a motorcycle throttle cable or heater/vent cable. What's available? What do you guys use?

 

The 1980 - 1986 trucks never came with a manual choke option. These years had either the automatic hot air choke with the electric assist or the later 4-barrel trucks had a fully electric choke.

To find a stock Ford manual choke, you are going to have to go as far back as the 1960s.

What carburetor are you using? If it is a stock Motorcraft carburetor, you may look into the catalogs that sell restoration parts for the first generation Mustang, like Mustangs Unlimited.

 

I forget the exact list number but it's a Holley 4150 750 CFM DP.

 

Been there, done that. The best way to do it is use the cheapy choke kit, but shorten the cable considerably. Cut it, and then un-wrap it enough to give the proper amount of cable sticking out the end.

I found a spot right behind the choke area on the carb where I could drill a hole through the firewall. Be careful and check it out before you drill.

I mounted the **** assembly to the right of the steering wheel, under the dash, and I mounted it at a angle. So the only bend in the cable was about a 45 degree bend going up to the hole I made.

Read the directions and hook the choke piece up on the carb like they tell you to. If you do it right, the cable will be sloppy on the lever. This lets the kickdown feature work wonderfully. You pull the choke **** all the way out while holding the gas pedal down, and then crank it over, and it will start right up. The idle will be a little bit high right after it starts, but all you have to do is kick the gas pedal a little bit without even touching the choke ****, and it will idle right down to a medium speed. Then a little while later you can push the choke in. You can also drive some with the choke on, all because they way the lever is setup up that lets the choke have play on the cable end.

 

The cable I have barely fits.. I come out the drivers side but even if I found a place to go through on passenger I doubt it would affect overall length much or help with angle of bends as there's not currently any really sharp bends. I do have the cable mounted right under the light switch though. I prefer it on this side since there's more going on on my right side, with shifting and whatnot, since I'll gradually push the choke in as I drive.

 

I used to run it on the driver's side all the time, and never had good success. I always tried to use one of the holes already around the steering column to go through the firewall. I did use them a long time like that and found;

You have to keep it well lubed.

Try to minimize the bends. Try to avoid a bend right at the ****(mounting position). You will have 90 degree bend after it goes through the firewall, and another behind the carb. No way to get around it at that position.

What you have to do also is make sure to mount the cable in many different places. If you leave the cable loose, it will have a tendency to flop around when you try to use it, and this flopping takes the force away from the center of the cable that does the work(for every action there is a reaction type thing).

We have in our mind set ways thing should look and be mounted. I would say think out of the box. You probably have it setup to pull toward you for on, and push for off. You could always mount the cable sideways on the driver's side under the dash. Let it run under the column and make one large 90 bend up to the center of the firewall right behind the carb. It will be very easy to move if you get it right.

You can experiment with it not installed, and see how bending the cable affects it. And there is no rule saying what kind of cable to use. A lawnmower throttle cable will work just as well.