Triumph Repair: 80 spitfire 1500, coolant leak, combustion chamber

Question
I suspect the automatic choke (water heated) is not working right resulting in rough idling and black smoke making the car undrivable. Can the choke be deactivated so as to drive car to a repair shop without removing ?

Answer
Hi James,
Remove the three screws holding the coolant unit to the choke assembly (not the large bolt in the center) This will allow you to pull the coolant unit away from the choke without causing a coolant leak. You then can see a small arm sticking out. With the engine running move the arm to see if you can stop the car from blowing black smoke. If you can then use a piece of wire to tie it so the engine does not smoke. If it will not stop smoking in either direction you either have a flooding float chamber or the needle in the choke is not sealing off the gas and the unit needs to be rebuilt. Also there is a possible damaged diaphragm in the top pot.
You should not drive the car with it blowing black smoke as you can damage the rings and pistons due to the excess fuel in the combustion chamber. It will also foul the plugs but that is a minor problem compared to the piston and ring damage.
Howard