New, quick carburetor choke question

[quiklives]

Hi everyone! I just bought a 1979 Clipper yesterday, from someone here actually! The whole story of that is probably for another post, but right now, I have a quick question.

I'm trying to arrange to get it smogged, and I know that the choke on the carburetor has been kind of wired open because it was struggling. I really don't know a thing about carburetors, so I'm trying to figure out what the odds are that it will pass smog as is, and if not, what it's going to take to fix it. It turns out my trusted mechanic doesn't actually work on carburetors, so I'm in a position of finding someone new that I don't know to try to get this sorted out.

I'm looking for advice/suggestions/previous experience, and unfortunately, running on fairly limited time since I have to register it within 10 days and I have to somehow work that around my work schedule.

Thanks in advance!

Oh! And yes, I'm totally planning on joining the national club, but since that happens via postal mail, it's a bit too slow for my current issue.

[Clipper Joe]

Hello quiklives,
Have Read Your Post.
First Off Welcome To ACOC Web Site & Hope To See You As A National Member

I Have A 1977 Dodge Clipper Rear Kitchen. Have Owned My Clipper Since 2003 & Just Got Most Of The Projects Completed To Make Him How I Like Him.
I Call My Clipper ' Wilson ' So Make Sure You Name Your Clipper It Will Bring You Luck.

Now On You Question On Your Carburetor Choke.
I Have A Few Questions, Is Your Clipper A Dodge Or Chevy?.
And If Dodge Does It Have A Orig. Thermo-Quad 4 Barrel Carb.?
The Way To Tell Does  It Have A Black Main Body Molded Phenolic Resin.

This Style Carb, Is If Adjusted Properly, The Most Like Carb On Clippers.
I Have Replaced My With A After Market, That Uses A Electric Style Choke.
I Think The Themo-Quad Uses Vacuum To A Choke Diaphragm & Linkage.
This Is A Complex Style.
I Have A Dodge Manual, & Feel That You Should Find A Person Who Knows These Old Style Carbs.
What City Do You Live In?

You Know If You Live In Calif, The Seller Is Responible For Smogging RV.
You May Want To Take Wire Off Choke & In Morning Look In Carb & See If Once You Push Gas Pedal Once, It Should Set Choke, Then After A Few Minutes As Engine Warms, Should Be Able To Kick Down On Gas Pedal While Engine Is Running, This Is Called " Kick Down" Then Choke Should Open, If It's Still In Closed Position, It Will Run To Rich & May Stall Or Run Real Rough.

You Real Do Not Want A Smog Shop Messing With Carb.

You Stated You Have 10 Days, What You Can Do, Pay Lic. Fee Reg. Then You Will Have Some Time To Have Clipper Repaired, Then Go Back To DMV After It Passes Smog. You May Have To Get A Extention To Drive It To Shop If Lic Reg Tagges are Expired.

Hope All This Makes Since & Go Luck With One Of The Best RVs Ever Made. 40 Years &
Going Strong

Joe

[quiklives]

Hi Joe! I know that normally the seller does the smog, but it's my fault, I was in a hurry and I caught up with them just one day before they went overseas. They gave me a discount on the asking price in lieu of getting it smogged, so I feel fine with that.

It is a Dodge, but I honestly don't know anything about this stuff so I can't tell you if it's the original or not, I don't even know where to look.

I live in Santa Cruz, if you have a recommendation for a good mechanic down here, I'm all ears. My normal mechanic for my car is great but he doesn't work on RVs, sadly.

We've named the Clipper "Paisley" in celebration of her awesome original upholstery :-D

[Clipper Joe]

Hello Caz,
I Know To Seal A Good Looking Clipper, I Feel Everything Will Be Fine As To Getting It Smogged.
I Had A Former Owner Who Did Not Maintain Our Clipper & Have Had To Put In A lot Of$$$ To Get Wilson In Shape.
Your Clipper Name Sounds Cool. There Is Someting About These Old RVs & The Clippers Were Made To Last & Are Built Well.
Looking Foward To Meeting @ One Of The Clipper Rally's, Being New Members Of ACOC, There Is Real A lot Of Info You Can Get. Plus The Fun Time @ One Of The Rally's.
Even We Had Rain at Last Rally Up North @ Gold Strike Was A Real Nice Turn Out & Got To Meet Some Neat New Clipper Owners.

Well Take Care & Feel Free To Ask All The Question You Want.

Joe

[Sfine]

Joe is absolutely right about the smog shop messing with your carb.    I have a 79 440 Dodge, all original. I did the smog last year and the guy said that he had to tweak a few things to get it to pass, I figured as long as it passes, great!  Well after that it was gutless and was really, really hard to start. This is a rig that we just went to Arizona and back without a stall or hiccup .
I was lucky to find a Mopar guy, Chrysler s, plymouths, dodges, because if you don't understand the thermo quads carbs. , you hate them.  He said the last guy messed up the linkage ( sound familiar)!, and now he's  got it running like a Charger with little more than the right tuning, and he increased the airflow, they require more than the standard air leaner will allow.
Or....get a new one and be done with it, like joe and so many others have.  Again, I was lucky. So, find a mechanic who's into the older muscle cars, he'll know exactly how to dial in your carb, if that's the prob.   I'm sure our guy could be able to help you if you somehow got it to angels camp !  Oh, there was a small vacuum leak he found as well that was overlooked. I had a smoke test done when it was smogged, and the old hoses were leaking badly, I'm  sure that was huge in helping pass smog too!
Good luck, once it's running like it should, it'll be worth any hassle you may have to endure.
Our chassis is a 78, but the coach is a 79... It took a few trips to the parts store to find out that !!
After looking at your photos I see a lot of similar finishes inside. The metal edges that you find on all of the corners,  were not in all of the other years and I think it has served well in keeping the edges from being banged up, and they serve as the door catch as well, which eliminates the hardware and catches that often fail. Fun stuff to see the differences and likeness in every one. You're gonna love it if you don't already.

[quiklives]

It did pass smog, though they said that the low pressure fuel test was very close. It's really hard to start after it's been sitting for a couple of days, and it seems to be not getting enough gas, rather than a battery problem.

I got it registered and dropped it at the local RV service center for them to go over and look for any urgent problems. It seemed like a good idea, but that was two days ago and the guy just told me when I called that they probably can't get to it until tomorrow.

I'm going to call him tomorrow and tell him we need it back tomorrow night, regardless of what they have or haven't done. It's frustrating, but we do actually need it home. I just hope they actually have time tomorrow.

I really do love it, though, even though the logistics of all of this has been a bit difficult around work schedules. I'm looking forward to spending more time in it.