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OT Not about Toyotas, but perhaps funny

Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly, kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way. The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge." She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes. 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block and I'll show you." Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her purse strap on it. It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse on the dash like that ?" "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang my purse on, so it's out of the way."

"Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.

Reply to
mack
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What's a knob for a choke?

Reply to
B. Peg

Reply to
Pop-N-Fresh

Lawnmower engines have changed very little in the past for at least the last 50 years. :-)

Some motorcycles might have them too, since they still use carbs, although most I have seen in the last 30 years or so actually had enrichment circuits and not real chokes.

Reply to
Stuart Krivis

Oh, my, I just knew I'd have to explain this to younger readers. Until about 35 or 40 years ago (I told you the story was 50 years old) automobile engines had a butterfly valve atop the carburetor which decreased the air flow into the engine, thus INcreasing the ratio of gasoline vapor to air, enriching the mixture. It allowed the engine to be started more easily and quickly. Then automatic chokes (all in the engine compartment) and fuel injection rendered manual chokes obsolete. I'd guess the "choke" came from "choking off the air supply" to the engine.

As another reader pointed out, they still often have manual chokes on gas lawnmowers.

Reply to
mack

Oh, Cr@p, now I feel old!

My first car, and BRAND NEW Corolla 1200 in 1974 had a choke knob.

It came in real handy when it rained, cause then you could keep the engine running! (Toyotas were notorious for stalling when it rained!)

Reply to
Hachiroku

And my snowblower (which is a good 10 years old) has one. But I don't remember them on cars - I started driving in the mid-60's.

Cathy

Reply to
Cathy F.

Hell, Hachi, if you feel old, how do you think I feel? My first car was a 1935 Chevy business coupe, followed by a 1938 Buick convertible and several others including a 1948 Pontiac which got 10 miles to the gallon whether it was going UP or going DOWN Pike's peak (with the engine turned off). Odd, that I remember only the '35 Chevy having a manual choke, but then, Ol' Man Alzheimer probably has something to do with that.

(Speaking of Alzheimer's, do you know what benefit there is to having it? You can hide your own Easter Eggs.)

Reply to
mack

I can't beat you in the being old category, but I've got you whipped in the 'feeling old' category...

My first car has a manual choke, though it was one of the last cars to have one. The kicker is, if you want I can walk outside and take a picture of it for you.

Should dig out the UniSyn, go through the carbs and get it running - but then I'll have to pull the top shroud and change the blower bearing that was getting lumpy...

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Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

My how recent that 1935 oldie was.

Reply to
Some O

My 79 Corolla 1200 had a choke knob, but there was some sort of magnetic dohickey on it that after the engine warmed up it wouldn't stay out anymore.

Charles Official Old Fart.

Reply to
n5hsr

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