Topic: Choke Shield

[78w72]

This was part of a topic in the "Photos" sub-forum, and I thought it would get better exposure in this sub-forum.

Quote from jrb56: "Thanks for the heads up on the choke shield - are these reproduced?"

And my reply: "I too have been looking for a choke shield for a couple of years, no luck.  That would be great to find someone who repro's it, or maybe one of you "lucky" guys who have one could take some measurements/tracings and make a blueprint drawing of it, and I could make my own.  Any volunteers?"

There must be plenty of us who would like to have a choke shield -- hopefully someone can come up with a drawing and dimensions for us DIY'ers.

[Rick]

It wouldn't be hard to figure out -- I worked out how to fit a later hot air choke onto a pre-73 intake that wasn't machined to accept that loop.

http://www.78ta.com/smf/index.php?topic=9830.0

[78w72]

I read what you did -- great job!
I know I could fab something up that would work, but I want an original looking shield for my '78 400.

[ta78w72]

I'll be taking mine off in a couple of weeks.  I could take some measurements.  It wouldn't be hard to make.  I don't think they used the shield for many years.  I don't think it was in use in 1977.  But it definitely was in 1978.  Luckily, my car still has it.  Eagle 1 found one on ebay about a year ago.  I think it was a Pontiac 400 item only.

[78w72]

ta78w72: Hey, thanks for the offer!  And, would a few close-up photos of the shield mounted on the manifold be possible? Since I don't have one available to actually look at, the more info the better.
Thanks.

[ta78w72]

ta78w72: Hey, thanks for the offer!  And, would a few close-up photos of the shield mounted on the manifold be possible? Since I don't have one available to actually look at, the more info the better.
Thanks.

I do have pictures but their too large to post here.  Send me your email address and I'll send them to you.

[jrb56]

Can you send them to me too?  I sent Email in PM...

Joe

[Hitman]

You guys talking about this thing?

[jrb56]

yessir, thats the one - seen one loose lately?

Joe

[ta78w72]

Yes, that's it.  It one of those things that get tossed.  It doesn't appear to serve any purpose but Eagle1 pointed out that it probably shields the choke from wind in order for it to register correctly.  I'm not sure how many years they used those for.  I know the 78's with a 400 had them, at least the W72 engine anyway.  I'm not sure about 79, but I would venture to guess they were used on the W72 cars.

Edit:  It looks like the engine above is not a W72, so I guess it came on all 400's in 1978.  They seem to be hard to find, but I haven't really looked for one.

[Hitman]

Yeah, that is my L78 Pontiac 400.  If you guys need measurements I can take them since I am removing it anyway to rebuild my carb.  Maybe over the winter I can send it out and have them made.

[ta78w72]

Gee, I never thought of removing the vacuum switch from the air cleaner base.  I always disconnect the hoses and then try to figure out how they reconnect.  I'm going to remember that trick!

[78w72]

Darn -- now that I see a good pic of the shield, I'm not sure I could make a duplicate at home.   It's more complex than I thought it was, especially those 2 stiffening ribs.
Brett, if you think there is enough demand for a repro, done "right", and at a decent price, I would rather buy one from you.  Or, if you don't want yours...  

[Rick]

If you look closely, you'll see they actually have 4 ribs formed into the piece.  Those are a challenge to form with simple tools, but if you practice a bit with a torch and can make some tooling you could probably get pretty close.

[78w72]

Yes, I just noticed the 2 small ribs at the top bend.  Definitely not a DIY project, at least not for me. For what it is/does, GM way over-engineered it!   Hopefully Brett can come to the rescue -- there has to be thousands of '78 400's that are missing the shield.