I've been dealing with an issue with the Stromberg 150 (with autochoke) on my
1980 Spitfire, getting some help from the Spitfire & GT6 Forum. The engine
starts easily, but during the end of the warm-up period when the rpms are
coming down, there is a sudden drop to a near stall followed by a quick
recovery and then a cycling of that pattern until the engine is fully warm.
Even then, the idle is a bit unsteady compared to what I am used to in my TR6.
Yesterday I came to the conclusion that the problem is that the enrichment
needle in the autochoke is so worn on the slotted end that engages the pivot
lever (controlled by the bi-metal spring--that thing is really complicated!)
that the needle doesn't fully seat when the engine is warmed and may even
vibrate in and out of position. I have a carb from a parts car, but the needle
in that unit is also badly worn. I even found, to my surprise, that I had
parts of another autochoke in a lot of old carbs I bought on Ebay some years
ago, but the needle there was worn too. Apparently this wear is very common.
New needles seem to be unavailable, but a member of the Forum gave me a tip on
a good used one on Ebay, for $52. Before I spring for it, I thought I would
ask if anyone on this list has experienced a similar problem and traced it to
the autochoke needle. After all, I'm just working on a theory here!
Also--and this is a long shot I'm sure--I'm wondering if anyone on the list has
the needle in good shape that I could buy for a little less than $52. If I
were sure of solving my problem, $52 wouldn't sound so bad, but . . . .
Thanks,
Tim Gaines
Clinton, SC
1980 Spitfire
1974 TR6
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