TOP CHOKE TIP

Rather than use miles of control cable to operate the chokes on the twin carbs on a VW bus engine, I’ve hit upon an alternative. It involves servo or ‘stepper’ motors that rotate through small angles in ‘steps’ and are widely used in printers and radio controlled cars. The servo motors are mounted on brackets attached to the the carbs and operate the choke mechanism via a home-made linkage. I bought the motors from a model shop, along with a servo tester fitted under the dash. Parts for the linkage came from the same source. The servo tester has a knob that, when turned, makes the servos turn through a corresponding angle, giving accurate control of the choke.

I also adapted computer cables to run from the control module to the motors. Total cost was £60. Graham Orpet, Norfolk