Hello All:

1967 Volvo 122S Wagon. Other than my lawnmower I have never used a choke before I owned "Virginia" so I wanted to run my method by you guys to see if you had suggestions or even warnings.

I pull the choke out all of the way to start the car. As soon as the engine catches (right away in warm weather, a few cranks in the cold) I immediately move the choke to a position where the engine is comfortably idling before stalling. This is generally achieved by pushing in the choke 1/3 to 1/2 of the way in, thereby leaving it 2/3 to 1/2 open. As the engine slowly increases its revs on its own I gently bump the choke down, again just so it is comfortably idling before stalling. During this process I occasionally give the throttle a gentle nudge, more for my listening pleasure than for Virginia.

Once the choke is in all of the way (about five minutes later) I wait for the water temperature gauge to rise to its normal operating temperature. This whole process takes between six and seven minutes. That is a long time in our modern world but I really do not mind doing it in the interest of preservation of my vehicle. When I have tried to short-change the process in the past the engine misfires on acceleration and generally bogs down. The previous owner told me he keeps a hand on the choke until the engine comes up to temperature and uses it to goose through intersections, etc. I have always preferred to give it time instead.

Any thoughts on all of this?

Cheers,

Jeff Pucillo