77 Spider Cold Weather Starting

[FordPrefect]

I'm in Arkansas, where the weather isn't too bad in the winter, but the temperature does get a bit low. Lately, around freezing, my normally reliable(!) Spider is pretty tough to get started. Any advice before I go poking around under the hood?

[rlux4]

Tell us about your car: Year? Car'b? FI? Type of carb. Type of choke.
And don't get too far from the computer, suggestions will come flying in!
Ron

OOPS! I'm loosing it. A 77. So it's not FI.... pardon me.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

Sometimes the chokes have to be reset for really cold weather. Normally, the choke plate should lightly close at 70f. If you get down below freezing the choke may be shut so tight that no air is getting in. On a cold engine, remove the air cleaner lid and see how much tension is on the choke plate. If it's really tight, use a small screwdriver to barely hold the choke open. Then try starting the engine

[FordPrefect]

Thanks for the info, I've been a bit busy the last few days, but I'll give it a look see when I get a chance.

[BigBird68]

My brother-in-law put himself through college working for a Fiat Dealer in Texas, I asked him that very question. He said Fiats are not cold weather cars but a 60W light bulb next to the carb works every time. I'm currently using a heat lamp over my 80 FI to start it in the single digits.

[FordPrefect]

Actually, the choke had a broken pin, so it couldn't move at all. That, and the pre-heater hose crumbled to bits when I pulled the air filter off.

It's running ok now, after fixing those bits, thanks for the advice guys.

[FordPrefect]

My 'fix' failed last night, and the choke got stuck closed, which wasn't fun.

Here is the situation, the choke linkage I circled in red is the bit I'm having trouble with:




The outside edge (the one facing us in the pic) of the pin holding the two lever arms together is open ended, so the vertical lever arm can fall off. The problem being that the tolerances involved make it impossible to work in, or remove the pin.

My previous fix involved superglue and a bit of wire, and my current one is upgraded to JB Weld, but something more permanent and elegant would be preferable. How much carb would I have to disassemble to fix it properly, and how would I do that? The pin appears to have been a rivet, which would lead me to believe that I may need a whole new contraption instead of being able to replace a mere pin.

[danaspider]

The pin you have circled should have a slight ridge on it. This is for a small c clip. If that is true then you can get a new clip and probablt fix the problem. The choke is controlled from the thermostat, the big round thing with the two heater hoses coming into. You can remove this and the level arem to gain some access. May be easiest to remove the carb from the car, not a bad thing.

If the problem is the other side of the choke arm, that is a slot fit and is deformed at the factory to hold it in place.

Does yours have the ride for a c clip? You can slide it loose from the arm and flip it up to get some access, without having to dis-assemble too much. Get a new pin of some type that can be c clipped ot a little pin with hole for cotter pin.

Let us know.

[FordPrefect]

I'll have to check to be sure, but I think the pin sort of tapers off on the outside edge where the clip may go.

The main problem is that I can't get the pin out because of the tight fit, so I guess I'll have to start pulling stuff off to get at it.

I stole this image from someone else's post on this board; I can see the above mentioned clip, but I don't think my pin is that big, and the lever arms don't clear the metal edges on the sides at all, so the pin can't be removed, but the arm can fall off.

It almost seems I'll have to pull the choke plate out to be able to free the pin.




Also, where would I find a clip like that?

[danaspider]

Home depot or Ace hardware or Bill clintons library (oops that would be a roach clip) I have not tried but I think you can remove the 2 screws holding the choke plate on, and then that shaft will slide out. Might make it easier to get to then. For gods sake if you do it on the car, shove a rag into the throlle opening so the screws do not fall into the intake. (and they will!! )

[So Cal Mark]

often times those plate screws are peened on the end to prevent loosening. If you try to remove them without grinding the end they will break off

[FordPrefect]

Ok, the pin is really small, much smaller than the one in the picture, and the smallest clip I could find at the hardware store was too big, even after crunching it down with a pair of pliers.

It may be possible to find smaller clips, but I'm not sure that was the original solution.

[So Cal Mark]

you could replace the top of the carb, remove the 5 screws holding it onto the base and it lifts off. All you would have to do is swap the needle, seat and float over to the new top and reinstall. If you give me the carb number off of the base, I'm sure I have a used top half I can sell

[FordPrefect]

I've found this company http://www.arconring.com/circlips.htm that seems to be the answer to all my e-ring questions, so I've fired an email off to them to see if they have anything that will work.

On a side note, I've noticed a lot of oil around the air filter, probably because I've fixed a few other oil leaks recently, I guess I've got to hunt that one down now too, and the choke business may have created an idle speed issue...