Anyone know where I can get some info on how the automatic choke works on a 1953 Merc 255 automatic choke? Ive searched the web and this forum and have not found anything very helpful. Mine is not operational and as you might know it makes for a hell of a job starting. Any help in the right direction is appreciated. I will post a picture of the carb in a few minutes. Doesn't look like the one in the diagrams I've seen.
Yep that's one funky looking carburetor, but aside from that, the auto choke works pretty much the same. That black plastic drum shaped thing on the driver's side intake manifold is the choke spring which is the heart of the mechanism and most prone to fail. That spring changes its tension based on temperature, and the drum rotates to adjust for finer tuning of the mechanism. I'd remove the spring and inspect. As far as I can tell, those springs are commonly found over a lot of different car manufacturers over decades of use, so you should be able to find a replacement if necessary.
That carb is known as a Holley Teapot, but I don't know the model number offhand. They were used first in Lincolns and police cars and then on the late Flatheads.
Fixed! That shit was easy. The spring was fine. Just needed a good cleaning, lube, and adjustment. Thanks again.
If you ever want to beef it up, stick a Holley 8007 4 barrel with a dual point distributor on that thing. You wouldn't BELIEVE the performance boost!
Thanks for the info. I have been drooling over some of the performance options and can't wait to get working on that. Might be a little while though. Almost got it reliable and road worthy. The fiancé might want me to back off the check book a bit. Little does she know, I've got a few side dealings (totally legal) that will let it slowly continue. I haven't read much about multi carb set ups. From what I gathered it isn't as efficient as it is beautiful. Correct me if I'm wrong. Might be going with that sort of set up just for the way it makes me feel inside.
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