manual choke conversion 1500 midget

[tweety]

Building on a previous post:
The Choke on my 79 1500 Midget CA emissions with Zenith Carb basically fell off the carb and vanished (I'm paying for the sins of the P.O.) I'm left with the carb itself and the heat mass assy and cover.... the Choke housing and insulator are gone. The car does run fine without the choke but I have to get it to pass CA smog.

My questions are this:

1. Do I need the missing choke housing assy and insulator (see ref #'s 20 & 23 on Moss catalog https://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29283&SortOrder=6
for the manual choke conversion kit sold by Moss and V.B.?

2. Anyone with experience with mods like this on a California car?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[tosoutherncars]

Tweety,

#1... Yes, if the entire housing is missing, I'm pretty sure you'd need it for the conversion kit to bolt up. I'd give Moss a call, their tech guys should be able to confirm.

#2... If you're sticking with the Zenith, and if CA smog allows it, I'd suggest a manual choke rather than trying to rebuild the auto choke. That auto choke is the devil!

That said... I see VickyBrit sells the kit for $130. (can't find the Moss price.) That'd get you almost halfway to an aftermarket carb conversion, or more if you need to order the choke housing as well! Or, as others have suggested, you could probably buy a single SU to adapt, with money left over for a rebuild kit.

How much modification does smog allow? And/or how much do you think you can get away with? :wink: