Stromberg Choke Cable question

PostPost by: Rob P » Tue May 19, 2015 8:13 pm

Hoping someone can give me some advice please. The Choke on the car (Elan S4) feels really tight to pull into position so I thought I would have a look at what adjustments there might be.
When I checked the Choke cable against the Lotus Workshop manual it would appear that the set up on my car is somewhat Heath Robinson with some strange connector joining the choke cable from the pull switch in the car to two separate cable that then go off to each carb.
IMG_1384.JPG and

The manual seems to show a cable going to the Carb closest to the front of the car and a separate cable from the other Carb disappearing between the two Carbs but no where in the manual can I find a decent diagram showing where they might come together.

Any guidance on how to get it back to standard would be appreciated, whatever standard might be :D
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PostPost by: Rob P » Wed May 20, 2015 8:57 am

OK after a lot more searching I see that the original set up has the following bracket in place
Choke Cable Bracket.jpg and


The options as I see it are either fabricate this bracket and add the second cable as per the original set up, However I still can't find the cable lengths and I'm assuming there would be standard lengths so if anyone can advise on that it would be great

Or use just the one choke cable to one carb and see if that is enough to fire the car when cold as there seems to be a number of users on here doing just that without issues.

If I can't find the actual cable lengths then option 2 will be tried for a few weeks
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PostPost by: RogerFrench » Wed May 20, 2015 5:26 pm

The twin cable system you have looks to me like an adaptation of that which was fitted to some Triumphs that had twin Strombergs, and I think is less of a Heath Robinson setup than the Lotus equivalent.
I have a Europa with twin Strombergs, and made myself a bracket as illustrated, and set it up as specified. It was extremely heavy to pull, so I removed it all and went back to operating a single carburetter, as you suggest.

P.S. for potentially puzzled Americans, Heath Robinson was a close relative of Rube Goldberg, in spirit if not by genealogy.
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PostPost by: Rob P » Wed May 20, 2015 7:53 pm

Thanks Roger, the current set up is very heavy to pull and I have need of a peg to stop the choke being pulled back in which means I've taking away some of the lightness of the car carry extra bits :lol:

I have to admit having looked at the potential two cable option that uses the bracket that also seems very inefficient to me so a single choke cable test will start this weekend
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PostPost by: HampshireMush » Sat May 23, 2015 3:09 pm

I have recently renewed my choke cable and it came as one length. The outer sheath had to be cut to the right length for the connection to the forward carb and the same inner cable goes through the connector and on to the rear carb after threading the outer sheath back on and then cutting that to length as well.

I have attached a photo of the installation in my car and it would seem that it has been modified from standard with the addition of a two copper bends - top and bottom - which certainly help with making sure that the cable runs better.

I also have the same problem with the springs being too strong so I also have to hold the knob out and I have made a wedge out of some hardwood as shown in the other photo - only weighs a few grams so I'm not worried about the extra weight!! - and means I can have a progressive close on the choke.
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elan choke wedge.jpg and
elan choke.jpg and
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PostPost by: Rob P » Sat May 23, 2015 10:23 pm

Thanks John for the info, I have this afternoon reverted to a single choke for now which works fine. I will have a go at making the bracket in time and I like the wedge shape for holding the choke out as it does give a progressive option and looks far more professional than my little wooden peg :-)
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PostPost by: saildrive2001 » Fri Jun 12, 2015 3:24 pm

I have been away so only just got around to reading e-mails. I am the original owner of my car & when new the choke system that Lotus designed worked although the choke was a little stiff to operate. When the cable finally broke I tried many different cables & sleeves to try to get it to work but with no success. I finally changed the system during my rebuild to what you see in these photos. The bearing brackets for the shaft are bolted to the carbs using the same fastenings that the cable clip brackets were attached with. The brackets & shaft are all stainless steel. Because of the bends that the choke cable has to go through it still is a little stiff but much better than the standard system. I did get a Teflon lined cable & outer from a motorcycle shop.
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Choke-3.jpg and
Choke-2.jpg and
Choke.jpg and
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PostPost by: luffy » Fri Feb 24, 2017 12:12 pm

This is the best solution to the stiff operating, beautifully engineered and works perfectly. I made one myself,its great.The key to the pull is to leave a little slack in the cable to be able to get your fingers behind the knob before pulling and this allows the knob to go back to the dash.
Thanks for sharing this, you should go into production?
Still have to make the wedge.
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PostPost by: Rob P » Mon Mar 19, 2018 4:24 pm

Well finally got around to sorting out the choke on the car. Copying the system that Saildrive 2001 created I now have a car that starts easily even after a cold spell without being turned over.
I took the option of rerouting the choke cable through the same hole in the bulkhead as the heater cable so as to create less bends and take some of the sharpness of the bends away and now the choke is easy to operate and works on both Carbs.
I even added a couple of brackets to hold up the Bonnet release as that was laying on the cam cover, needs replacing as more than a little shabby looking but mechanically works a treat
engine-bay-3.jpg and

engine-bay-4.jpg and
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PostPost by: Bobzilla » Mon Jan 15, 2024 5:07 pm

I'm new here. My 1972 elan should be here this week.
It also only has one choke connected.
Could you install a Stromberg WW Carburetor Electric Choke Conversion to one of the carbs and use the cable for the second?

Not sure which kit the elan would need.
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PostPost by: The Veg » Wed Jan 17, 2024 5:27 pm

Welcome Bob, where in Alabama are you? I spent many years in Tuscaloosa and still have friends and family there and Birmingham.

Strombergs don't technically have chokes, they have an 'enricher-' but same result, richer mixture for starting. My '70 Plus 2 has an enricher only on the front carb and that works quite well. Seeing some of the other posts here, I'm curious which cars had two enrichers and why and when this changed.
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PostPost by: Bobzilla » Sun Jan 21, 2024 11:33 pm

I'm in Florence Alabama.
Got the car
Hard to start with the one choke in 18 degree weather.
The front carb has the choke
The rear has no linkage and a blanking plate.
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PostPost by: The Veg » Mon Jan 22, 2024 2:18 am

Bobzilla wrote:I'm in Florence Alabama.


I get over that way a couple of times a year to visit customers in Athens and Tuscumbia- will PM you next time I head that way!
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