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ponyakr
02-19-2016, 07:29 PM
For those who run a '72 or older Pontiac Q-jet, and do a lot of cold weather driving, this may be a nice new part. It's an electric choke conversion, that bolts to the carb, NOT the intake. :)

http://www.everyday-performance.com/electric_choke.htm#!/Pontiac-1968-1972-Quadrajet-electric-choke-conversion-kit/p/60306004/category=16728003

http://www.firebirdnation.com/forums/topic/524321-68-72-qjet-carb-mounted-electric-choke-conversion-kit/?p=1344401

Old Tin Indian
02-19-2016, 07:39 PM
you can get the electric choke from other companies like Cliff's cheaper than that.
plug a vacuum line and run a 12v line for the choke and a good adjustment and your in business.

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 08:20 PM
you can get the electric choke from other companies like Cliff's cheaper than that.
plug a vacuum line and run a 12v line for the choke and a good adjustment and your in business.

Please post a part number and any other pertinent info on another electric choke conversion, that will bolt directly to the carb, and not the intake, on '72 & older Pontiac Q-jets. Thanks ! :)

Keep in mind, we are talking about the '72 & older Q-jets, which had a divorced choke--NOT the '73-up Q-jets which had the hot air choke. I think everybody knows that the hot air chokes can be replaced with a cheap electric conversion. Cliff even mentions it in his Q-jet book.

tom s
02-19-2016, 08:33 PM
Don,looks like all SMI stage one pontiac QJs come with a elect choke conversion so im sure he sells them as with Cliff.Tom

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 08:51 PM
Don,looks like all SMI stage one pontiac QJs come with a elect choke conversion so im sure he sells them as with Cliff.Tom

I just went to the SMI site and did not see an electric choke conversion, for the early Q-jets, which did not come with a hot air choke.

So, please post a link to it, or at least post a part number-- NOT a hot air choke replacement--but a divorced choke replacement, that bolts directly to the carb--not the intake.

Here's an SMI stage 1 Pontiac Q-jet. The description does say it has an electric choke. But, IF the carb pictured is the actual product, it is obviously a later model carb, which came with a hot air choke--NOT a divorced choke.

http://www.smicarburetor.com/products/sfID1/28/sfID2/9/sfID3/100/productID/838

I'm not saying they don't make one. I am saying that I have never seen one before, sold by anybody. There are other electric choke conversions, for the divorced choke carbs. But all of them I've seen bolt to the intake--NOT the carb. If these are readily available, and I'm just not aware of it, somebody please post links and or part numbers, and any other available info about 'em. Thanks !

bendutro
02-19-2016, 09:14 PM
Why wouldn't I just get a later model Qjet with the E-choke already on it?

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 09:14 PM
Let me come at this from another direction.

I assume there are hundreds of Pontiac guys on this forum--maybe thousands. So, if Cliff and SMI and others sell these, as ya'll say, then somebody who has one, please post pics of the choke, and tell where you bought it.

Now, keep in mind, the carb MUST be a '72 or older Pontiac model, which came with a divorced choke. All '73-up Pontiac Q-jets had a hot air choke, unless I'm mistaken.

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 09:22 PM
Why wouldn't I just get a later model Qjet with the E-choke already on it?

Ever heard of "numbers matching", or "stock appearing", or "period correct" ?

There are LOTS of '67-'72 Pontiacs that run '72 & older Q-jets. Included in this number are all sorts of Ram Air and HO engines. A few of these are street driven. So, I just assume that there are at least a few guys who might benefit from one of these electric choke conversions, for their '72 and older Q-jet, rather than switching to a '73-up carb. But hey, once again. I could be wrong.

There are several Q-jet experts who post here. Maybe some of you guys can shed some more light on this. This guy is going for a patent on this choke. So, he must think it's something a little different than anything else on the market. :confused:

bendutro
02-19-2016, 09:29 PM
Ever heard of "numbers matching", or "stock appearing", or "period correct" ?


I'll just run my '76, 800 CFM, APT equipped E-choker. I'd rather drive than worry about numbers stamped on the side. I ain't a museum curator, I'm a gearhead!

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 09:38 PM
I'll just run my '76, 800 CFM, APT equipped E-choker. I'd rather drive than worry about numbers stamped on the side. I ain't a museum curator, I'm a gearhead!

If you were the only Pontiac guy, this choke would not be of any use. BUT, as it happens, there are LOTS of guys who DO care what numbers are on the side, and whether the carb looks period correct or not.

No, this is not for EVERYBODY. But, for some, it may help with cold weather street driving. There is an old saying " If the shoe fits, wear it." If this will help you. great. If not, then all you have to do is just not buy one. :)

pontibeast
02-19-2016, 10:03 PM
I for one am interested and this comes at a perfect time. I told the guy who is porting my heads not to block the exhaust crossover as I live up in the mountains and it gets damn cold here in the winter and I had heard of some issues with Qjets in the cold that had the crossovers blocked. It sounds to me that I could have the best of both, crossover blocked and choke operating properly to warm up my frozen Lemans. SMI is building my stage 2 800 Qjet so I need to talk to Shawn and see if it is already set up this way with the electric choke. Thanks for bringing this up and maybe I can block the crossover after all.

ponyakr
02-19-2016, 10:10 PM
Yeah, those SMI 800's came with hot air chokes, so it's easy to rig up an electric choke on them.

But, you might wanna consider using the heat crossover also. That will get your intake and carb up to operating temp, quicker. I think I read that Cliff runs the crossover, on his 11 sec street/strip Ventura. :)

Will
02-19-2016, 11:15 PM
This is useful for the few guys like me who have Formulas with Ram Air. Reason: later carbs with the hot air chokes have the vent stack on the top of the carb in a very slightly different position than the earlier carbs. It's only about 1/8" difference, if that, but it causes the RA aircleaner to rotate, or be "clocked" differently in how it sits on top of the carb. This causes the snorkels to no longer line up properly with the ducts in the hood. That 1/8" difference at the carb airhorn translates to a little over 1/2" out at the end of the snorkels. There is also a slightl misalignment of the valvecover breather tube because of this.

I'm running a Cliff prepped late model 800 Q-jet with the electric choke conversion and that misalignment with the hood ducts drives me nuts.

Cliff R
02-20-2016, 09:29 AM
We don't offer an electric choke conversion for the early divorced choked style carburetors simply due to low demand for that product.

Carbs Unlimited sells an intake mounted electric choke conversion, they are around $60 last time I checked.

I might get 1 call a year for that sort of part, so it's not something I offer and am not really interested in the latest carb mounted conversion, the market for that part at that price point will be very small.....IMHO

I also run a later Pontiac q-jet with the large front vent tube, and it "clocks" the air cleaner base slightly different than the 1973 carburetor did, something to consider if you are upgrading to a later Pontiac carb from a 1971 to 1974 model.

As far as the crossover goes, my KRE heads aren't set up for one, so I use an electric choke on the 1977 Pontiac carb, and have for quite a few years now. It provides instant starts in any weather, and fast idle, but it still takes quite a while for the intake to heat up in really cold weather.

I think a working choke is a nice feature for these engines, at any power level. I've started my engine in minus zero temperatures and it roars to life instantly and will stay running on the fast idle. This is nearly IMPOSSIBLE without a working choke.......Cliff

ponyakr
02-20-2016, 10:11 AM
Thanks for clearing that up, Cliff !


So, there you have it. For those few guys who still run the divorced choke style Q-jets, and would like to run a carb mounted electric choke--one is now available.

That settles it. If you want one, Everyday has 'em for sale. :)

http://www.everyday-performance.com/electric_choke.htm#!/Pontiac-1968-1972-Quadrajet-electric-choke-conversion-kit/p/60306004/category=16728003

Cliff R
02-20-2016, 10:29 AM
I think he's got a good idea going on there, but if you have bills to pay and parts sales are part of your daily business, I doubt if it will be much of a money maker, unless of course they are making their own and don't have set-up or production costs.

I have a good many parts made here, and most of my suppliers require a pretty big "buy-in" to start making the parts for us, set-up costs can be pretty high as well. Seldom it's under 1000 pieces, and often 10,000 pieces or more per order. Just based on the interest I've seen in that sort of part, I'd have to live to be about 900 years old before I could start making any money on them on a buy-in at 1000 pieces.

As it relates to this topic, I bought out quite a few intake mounted divorced chokes for the 1970's Chevy carbs about 7-8 years ago. I think there were about a dozen in that order. Finally sold the last one about 6 months ago, if that tells you how many folks are interested in those items, and there are a BUTT-LOAD more divorced choke Chevy's on the streets than Pontiac's........FWIW......Cliff

Overkillphil
02-20-2016, 11:24 AM
I bought an electric divorced choke kit years ago and was absolutely disappointed with the quality as well as the fact it wouldn't work correctly. It was purchased from one of the pontiac vendors at the time so it arrived in a clear bag with a sharpie part number so I have no idea who actually made it. I ended up switching to a later qjet that I had Cliff build and include his carb mounted electric choke.

I retired the divorced choke qjet to the shelf but if I ever use it again, I would refurbish it with Cliffs parts to properly calibrated it for my combo and that alone would probably negate the need for a choke. If that still wasn't enough, I'd run a manual choke for those occasions.

carbking
02-20-2016, 08:13 PM
To those who might consider this, I would suggest talking with the vendor to determine the timing on the choke (or if it is adjustable).

One problem with O.E. electric chokes is that they were designed for smog engines, where it was desirable for the choke to fully open as soon as possible. With auto transmissioned older vehicles and O.E electric chokes, if there happens to be a stop sign 3 blocks from your driveway, don't forget your cell phone so you can call the tow truck.

I finally gave completely up, even with a manual transmission, and installed a carb with a manual choke. End of problem. Of course, I also foolishly blocked the crossover due to the advice of well-meaning individuals. If that engine EVER comes apart, the first thing that will be done is unblock the cross-over. I don't race, so I don't need the extra 1 1/2 percent horsepower. I have way more than I need now!

Maybe there is a market, don't know. But to echo Cliff's comments, we had hundreds of different divorced chokes PICTURED on our website for approximately 8 years. During that time, we sold a grand fabulous total of TWO! Finally had a young gentleman ask if we were interested in wholesaling them all. We did, and he is now the proud owner of a bunch of new old stock divorced chokes!

Jon.

goatwgn
02-22-2016, 10:46 PM
My "divorced" choke, with the heat stove still in place on the manifold, seems to have worked reliably for a few decades now. I actually like the old system and it's simplicity.:) Running a GM 1 1971 intake with a '69 400 Q jet on my 455 since 1987. If I ever switch to an electric choke, I will go with a later model 800 cfm carb.