Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about a
lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly, kept
stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave her
the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block and
I'll show you."
Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her
purse strap on it.
It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse on
the dash like that ?"
"Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang my
purse on, so it's out of the way."

"Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.

> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
> news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
> Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about
> a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly,
> kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
> The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
> her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
> She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
> 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
> and I'll show you."
> Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
> entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her
> purse strap on it.
> It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse
> on the dash like that ?"
> "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang
> my purse on, so it's out of the way."
>
> "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.

What's a knob for a choke?

you pull the choke lever and it tightens a noose around the neck of the
large cat that purrs in your engine compartment...... duh!
B. Peg wrote:
> > "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
> > news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
> > Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about
> > a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly,
> > kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
> > The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
> > her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
> > She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
> > 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
> > and I'll show you."
> > Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
> > entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her
> > purse strap on it.
> > It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse
> > on the dash like that ?"
> > "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang
> > my purse on, so it's out of the way."
> >
> > "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.
>
> What's a knob for a choke?

My lawnmower still has a choke...


B. Peg wrote:
> > "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
> > news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
> > Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about
> > a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly,
> > kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
> > The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
> > her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
> > She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
> > 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
> > and I'll show you."
> > Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
> > entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her
> > purse strap on it.
> > It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse
> > on the dash like that ?"
> > "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang
> > my purse on, so it's out of the way."
> >
> > "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.
>
> What's a knob for a choke?

On 16 Oct 2006 06:52:23 -0700, "Mark" <bogusmailmark@yahoo.com> wrote:

>My lawnmower still has a choke...

Lawnmower engines have changed very little in the past for at least
the last 50 years. :-)

Some motorcycles might have them too, since they still use carbs,
although most I have seen in the last 30 years or so actually had
enrichment circuits and not real chokes.

"B. Peg" <bent_peg@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
newsFKYg.286174$QM6.100135@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
>> news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
>> Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true,
>> about a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very
>> poorly, kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
>> The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
>> her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
>> She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
>> 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
>> and I'll show you."
>> Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
>> entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung
>> her purse strap on it.
>> It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse
>> on the dash like that ?"
>> "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang
>> my purse on, so it's out of the way."
>>
>> "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.
>
> What's a knob for a choke?

Oh, my, I just knew I'd have to explain this to younger readers. Until
about 35 or 40 years ago (I told you the story was 50 years old) automobile
engines had a butterfly valve atop the carburetor which decreased the air
flow into the engine, thus INcreasing the ratio of gasoline vapor to air,
enriching the mixture. It allowed the engine to be started more easily and
quickly. Then automatic chokes (all in the engine compartment) and fuel
injection rendered manual chokes obsolete. I'd guess the "choke" came from
"choking off the air supply" to the engine.

As another reader pointed out, they still often have manual chokes on gas
lawnmowers.

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:11:15 +0000, B. Peg wrote:

>> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
>> news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
>> Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true, about
>> a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very poorly,
>> kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
>> The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
>> her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
>> She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
>> 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
>> and I'll show you."
>> Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
>> entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung her
>> purse strap on it.
>> It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your purse
>> on the dash like that ?"
>> "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to hang
>> my purse on, so it's out of the way."
>>
>> "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.
>
> What's a knob for a choke?


Oh, Cr@p, now I feel old!

My first car, and BRAND NEW Corolla 1200 in 1974 had a choke knob.

It came in real handy when it rained, cause then you could keep the engine
running! (Toyotas were notorious for stalling when it rained!)

"mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:12j7l6q2uvqci44@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "B. Peg" <bent_peg@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
> newsFKYg.286174$QM6.100135@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>> "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com> wrote in message
>>> news:12j65vfc08o6mc3@corp.supernews.com...
>>> Just thought of a story about 50 years old or more, supposedly true,
>>> about a lady who brought her car into a garage, saying that it ran very
>>> poorly, kept stalling and could hardly get out of its own way.
>>> The mechanic took it for a test run, and it seemed to run fine. He gave
>>> her the car keys back, saying "It seems fine to me, no charge."
>>> She got in and drove away but was back in five minutes.
>>> 'It's still running just awful. Would you ride with me around the block
>>> and I'll show you."
>>> Quizzically, the mechanic got in the front seat beside her and she too
>>> entered the car. Then she pulled out a knob on the dashboard and hung
>>> her purse strap on it.
>>> It caught the mechanic's eye, and he asked "Do you always hang your
>>> purse on the dash like that ?"
>>> "Just the last few days...I found it's a really handy little hook to
>>> hang my purse on, so it's out of the way."
>>>
>>> "Lady, that knob pulls out the choke" he muttered.
>>
>> What's a knob for a choke?
>
> Oh, my, I just knew I'd have to explain this to younger readers. Until
> about 35 or 40 years ago (I told you the story was 50 years old)
> automobile engines had a butterfly valve atop the carburetor which
> decreased the air flow into the engine, thus INcreasing the ratio of
> gasoline vapor to air, enriching the mixture. It allowed the engine to be
> started more easily and quickly. Then automatic chokes (all in the engine
> compartment) and fuel injection rendered manual chokes obsolete. I'd
> guess the "choke" came from "choking off the air supply" to the engine.
>
> As another reader pointed out, they still often have manual chokes on gas
> lawnmowers.

And my snowblower (which is a good 10 years old) has one. But I don't
remember them on cars - I started driving in the mid-60's.

Cathy

"Hachiroku" <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote in message
news:k8SYg.1994$9z6.365@trndny03...
> On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 12:11:15 +0000, B. Peg wrote:
>>
>
> Oh, Cr@p, now I feel old!
>
> My first car, and BRAND NEW Corolla 1200 in 1974 had a choke knob.
>
> It came in real handy when it rained, cause then you could keep the engine
> running! (Toyotas were notorious for stalling when it rained!)
>

Hell, Hachi, if you feel old, how do you think I feel?
My first car was a 1935 Chevy business coupe, followed by a 1938 Buick
convertible and several others including a 1948 Pontiac which got 10 miles
to the gallon whether it was going UP or going DOWN Pike's peak (with the
engine turned off). Odd, that I remember only the '35 Chevy having a manual
choke, but then, Ol' Man Alzheimer probably has something to do with that.

(Speaking of Alzheimer's, do you know what benefit there is to having it?
You can hide your own Easter Eggs.)

On Mon, 16 Oct 2006 18:15:14 -0700, "mack" <mackerel@dslextreme.com>
wrote:
>"Hachiroku" <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote in message
>news:k8SYg.1994$9z6.365@trndny03...

>> Oh, Cr@p, now I feel old!
>>
>> My first car, and BRAND NEW Corolla 1200 in 1974 had a choke knob.
>>
>> It came in real handy when it rained, cause then you could keep the engine
>> running! (Toyotas were notorious for stalling when it rained!)
>
>Hell, Hachi, if you feel old, how do you think I feel?
>My first car was a 1935 Chevy business coupe, followed by a 1938 Buick
>convertible and several others including a 1948 Pontiac which got 10 miles
>to the gallon whether it was going UP or going DOWN Pike's peak (with the
>engine turned off). Odd, that I remember only the '35 Chevy having a manual
>choke, but then, Ol' Man Alzheimer probably has something to do with that.
>
>(Speaking of Alzheimer's, do you know what benefit there is to having it?
>You can hide your own Easter Eggs.)

I can't beat you in the being old category, but I've got you whipped
in the 'feeling old' category...

My first car has a manual choke, though it was one of the last cars
to have one. The kicker is, if you want I can walk outside and take a
picture of it for you.

Should dig out the UniSyn, go through the carbs and get it running -
but then I'll have to pull the top shroud and change the blower
bearing that was getting lumpy...

--<< Bruce >>--