What Did I Buy?! (photo Heavy...sorry!)

Excuse my slow brain.
timgr has a point. Most Holley (and Autolite/Motorcraft) carbs have an integrated choke pull off that requires that vacuum leak to operate. In order for it to work, there has to be vacuum (pressure differential) between the carb side of the piston and the rest of the housing. With the tube blocked off, that pressure differential won't exist, rendering the pull off inoperative. If you aren't going to run the hot air loop, then the copper line needs to be shortened and connected directly to the air horn nipple.

 

I've never seen a Holley that used both the hot air tube and an electric choke. As far as I know no Truck Avenger carb came with the vaccum heat tube setup. It would have either been a manual or electric choke from the factory. The Truck Avenger manual makes no mention of hooking any heat tubes up. The casting probably isn't even drilled through where the pipe connects. I'm guessing a previous owner was confused and tried to match the original carb.

Manual: https://documents.holley.com/199r10268-4rev2.pdf

 

But do we even know if the carb is a TA? What do the bowl vents look like? Went back through the photos and the bowl vents do look TA.

 

Looks like a TA to me. AFAIK TAs are the only Holleys with that raised bowl vent.

Holley sells an electric choke kit, that is said to replace manual or "automatic electric" chokes on Holley carburetors. What's that about? Looking at the document that Fireball points to, there is no discussion of the fitting that the hot air tube is connected to that I can see. Maybe there is something in the text that I missed. If not for hot air, then for what?

If you look at the Holley site, there were quite a few OEM Holleys that used a hot air tube.
example: https://www.holley.com/products/fuel_systems/carburetor_components/choke_and_vacuum_secondary_components/choke_components/parts/MCT011ponents/choke_components/parts/MCT004

 

Yes, Holley made LOTS of OEM carbs with the vacuum heat tube and bimetal spring for the choke. I was just saying I've never that type of choke and their universal artermarket carburetors. Those always seem to be manual or electric. Those are the two options for the truck avenger.

I've also never seen a Holley that uses a heat tube with an electric choke. It's one or the other. Looking at the manual for the Truck Avenger, it looks like the choke housing casting is the same for an electric or heat tube choke and still has a place for the unused fitting on the electric version. I'm guessing the vacuum passage is blocked internally on the electric ones.

I was postulating the a prior owner didn't read the manual about only needing to hook up the electrical connections and also tried to hook up the heat tube mimicing the OEM carburetor they were replacing (even though it would do nothing). If that's the case, just pull the tube off and toss it because it's not doing anything.

...but that's just speculation.

 

Most aftermarket Holleys use a setup like this for the electric choke. Instead of a tube, there's a fine brass screen inside the nut which acts as a filter for the tiny amount of air that's drawn through the choke housing. Alternatively, use a short piece of metal tube like in the picture in post 41, and a short piece of vacuum hose to loop around to the fresh air port on top of the carb. However the TA carbs dont have that fresh air port, so that wont work.

 

Aha. Good info. Heat is not needed then, just some air.

 

check the shackles they are up against frame not good good find by the way

 

I may be late on this thread.

Front axle is custom made.

From what i see the front is a dana 44. Look like a wagonneer one. They may have the driver side axle and tube shortered and have a custom axle shaft built (check width from mounting to mounting).
They seem to have use the knuckle from the wagonneer, hub from ford (5 bolt ford, 6 bolt wagonneer) and they use a Jeep cj brake caliper. Also the "C" knukkle that is weld on the axle housing has been grinded down, they have change the angle of the pignon (seem messed up to me since they gave it too much angle). When filling the axle with oil make you put more oil than normal.

One thing i really dont like is the passenger side knuckle they cut the steering arm and weld it on the knuckle. Is cast iron and it not easy to weld on that.

As for the rear, it look like a 8.8 ford axle. They seem to have use the front caliper from the wagonneer axle.