hi,
i just bought a 1973 monte carlo a couple of weeks ago. the car had not been run in about 15 years. i have changed the fuel tank sending unit, the spark plugs and wires, air filter and fuel filter. i finally got it running today. it has a 350 4 barrel engine.
BUT... i have a problem. the choke is not working. what do i have to do to the choke, carb, or choke vacuum to make it work????

also, even though i changed the fuel sending unit i still don't get a reading on the fuel tank, and the fuel tank it full.
thanks
James

 

If the car has been sitting 15 years I'd pull the carb and rebuild it or replace it with a rebuilt unit. There's probably a lot of varnish and crud in the float bowls and the accelertor pump and seals are probably rotted. What I'm getting at is there's probably more wrong with the carb then just the choke. As far as the fuel gauge goes, you'll have to check the fuse/wiring and eliminate them as the cause. Being that the car sat for so long it's possible some kind of critter got hungry and nibbled on some wiring. If the wiring and fuse are good then it may be the gauge in the dash is defective.

 

i have checked all carb seals and they are all good. i opened up the carb and there is no crut. i have changed all the fuses. could it be the gauge?
thanks
james

 

It could be the gauge or a bad/broken wire.I'd chase the wires an see what condition there in.
What is the choke doing not working at all or stay in high idle.It should be a rochester on there they're a pain to tune if you don't know much about them.
You can always upgrade to a new intake an carb

 

If it's an electric choke like the Qjet on my 73 Camaro then check the wiring for the choke. that's what I would guess for the choke issue. For the fuel gauge issue, I'm guessing wiring as well. Lots of wire between the sender and the gauge in the dash, meaning lots of places it can be cut/chewed/destroyed.

 

Check the ground wires for the tank. It is a common problem on a lot of older cars. As for the carb issues i agree with Zenloser unless your and expert they are a pain to get set up right. They take a lot of fine tuning.

 

Trust me on this one - If that carb has been sitting 15 years it needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Even though the gaskets may look good they shrink and the old gas inside the carb turned to sludge/varnish and could be blocking passages in the carb. Rebuilding/Replacing the carb will eliminate those problems. I would also replace all the vacuum hoses that connect to the carb/intake manifold and the carb mounting gasket. If the choke doesn't work properly after that then I'd focus on it.