Re: {Chrysler 300} Choke question

On Thu, Jan 29, 2026 at 5:23 AM John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

hi ,
I wanted to correct a false assumption I made !
Bob tells me long rams are open to exhaust gas . Which I had always presumed before this J reset me .
Years catching me , I must have had it right when I did the cups .
So both things are true , J K cup hole is sealed ( the learning ) FG are not . “ Relearning” counts too !
jkg

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bob Merritt <Bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: January 28, 2026 at 3:15:40 PM EST
To: John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: {Chrysler 300} Choke question

Long ram choke wells are open to exhaust

and need your choke well cup.

Bob

On 1/28/2026 2:47 PM, John Grady wrote:

More on a related thing; I am (hopefully) still learning ....I have one half of a J ram on bench ( thank you Don Cole ) , it had some weld repairs , including someone welded over (with aluminum ),the hole and bolt holes for choke pot can,--- and something might have went on in reworking plenum floor too. J should never overheat or melt plenum floor , unlike F or G with stuck heat riser, as they totally got rid of thermal exhaust valves in 63/64 in head pipe as you know.(They were still learning too, in 62 (like, no rams for 62, forget all that hassle ) ----as that 60-61 warm up system had ,er, problems) . Like not working right.

Whatever, J repair was good. J uses constant heat, but not forced flow,so a lot less heat . And we restrict it by .25 hole washers (YES!!)

So about the learning----- since late 60's , 55 years now, I thought choke well opened into exhaust plenum,/ warm up heat. , why the little can (which I reproduced) and gaskets. I was totally wrong. But guy who welded it over apparently thought the same thing....gotta close it.

However,looking at J , that can hole IS totally closed , even if you left it open nothing comes out! A wall is cast in under it over exhaust passages and a wall is cast between it and plenum too . I don't know about long rams, but probably the same ?

So why the can? And it does not matter if there is a rust hole in the bottom ? Should work fine with no can at all?

I assume J ram I have is for passenger side head , carb driver side ---as it has the big vacuum tapping, I believe goes in back? I often wondered if same R and L casting fits .(Does it,?never tried flipping it) .

Part of next build , looking for other half, or a pair.

But new information to me after all this time , about choke heat hole....

fyi, John

On Wed, Jan 28, 2026 at 10:11 AM dave mason <forwardlook300@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Agree; I would ensure that your choke link/rod is the right length and approximate shape first. We had gotten an F years ago that didn’t have the thermostatic chokes- someone had hard wired the chokes to be wide open all the time.
Not having access to replacement cross ram chokes, I made rods from fence clips. The left and right carb rods are slightly different from one another. I simply tried to match the length and shapes from another car which you can see here in a side-by-side comparison. Used a hack saw to create the groove for the clip.

Sheep fence clip from Tractor Supply:

Cutting the clip groove:

Comparison (original in red):

One of the homemade rods by itself, painted:

They give the clips free at tractor supply when you buy fencing but might sell or just give you a few if it saves time; just let us know. Or we can mail some.

D&K

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 28, 2026, at 09:20, John Grady <jkg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

hi just a comment , that adjustment is supposedly not to vary rod fit , but rather to center or phase angle of choke “ change rate with temp . “ That involves how fast the spiral unwinds vs angle of arm on choke axle

There were warnings in later moper FSM “ do not adjust , factory set of spiral “

I admit to having done so , chasing warm up stalls, before I knew that

That warning might have been in 67 dart FSM . it has a very long rod that works at an angle ( slant six)

if rod is not quite right on ram bending is way to go . All this sets rate it opens which in turn sets fast idle

All carter heat spirals are most likely the same ( mho) but rate is and zero position at room temp is calibrated at factory .

I have used others by extending rod using solder and elecrical non insulated barrel crimp splice or small tubing like brake or copper

Ymmv , just info .

On Jan 27, 2026, at 6:10 PM, 'Jay Williamson' via Chrysler 300 Club International <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I thing you guys may be onto something. The rod on the new part looks like it could be shorter than the original. I adjusted the spring to take some of the slack (free travel) off of the spring. Now the butterfly is closed

Thank you

Jay

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 27, 2026, at 5:22 PM, Jay Williamson <letterpressman@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Oh, I see that now. So it would make sense to turn it to the rich side to close the butterfly? Here is a picture of the one that I replaced

Jay Williamson
317-223-1379

<image0.jpeg>

On Jan 27, 2026, at 5:15 PM, Jay Williamson <letterpressman@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello,

I don’t recall where I ordered it, but here is the box it came in. Guess there is a possibility that the part may not go with the box though. It matches up perfectly with the one I took off the car

<image0.jpeg>

Jay Williamson
317-223-1379

On Jan 27, 2026, at 4:45 PM, Marshall Larson <granitledge@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

There are normally two ways to adjust the cold start choke setting. First, the choke bimetal spring in the unit that sits in the manifold should be adjustable via the screwdriver slot in the axle of the spring. Usually there are markings on the disk for rich and lean. The second method is to bend the linkage rod so that it is more or less straight to change it's length. Hope this helps.

On Tue, Jan 27, 2026 at 2:07 PM 'Jay Williamson' via Chrysler 300 Club International <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have a 300 F that has always been a hard starter. I noticed that my choke is wide open, so I purchased a new choke mechanism and removed the thick carb base gasket. This is a picture with no base gasket and the choke butterfly closed. Notice the difference I still need to insert the choke rod into the choke. Any ideas on how to correct this? Thanks

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Jay Williamson
317-223-1379

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