Installing new choke cable and fabricating bracket

Ever since I can remember the choke cable on this tractor did not work. It was no big deal to me. All we had to do was; un latch the hood, open it a little, and then prop it open with the air filter cover. Then we had “easy” access to the choke lever.  After you got it started you would simply lower the hood and re-latch it on both sides. 

Well, after doing this for 25 years I decided that it would be nice to fix it properly.  The problem was I had no idea how the original choke cable was laid out and frankly, it must have not been done very well because it did not last long.  So this is what I came up with to fix the choke cable.

First of all I was very fortunate to have a good friend, Chuck, who is as big of a pack rat as me.  (He also drives a train, which is a very cool thing to say you do for a living.) He gave me a choke cable that he just happened to have laying around.  I cut it to length after I got it to where I thought it looked good. 


After I had it all hooked up I realized that there was nothing to fasten it to.  Nothing even close to where I needed to mount it. I busted out a scrap piece of 1/8” thick steel plate that I had laying in my scrap steel box and started laying out a bracket.  I used my Dewalt portable metal cutting band saw and my 19 volt Craftsman chordless drill and this is what I came up with. 
 

I put it on last night to test it out.  I still need to remove it and paint it before it becomes permanent. 

It works great! I can’t wait to start it up for the first time using my new choke cable. 





You may have noticed that I installed my freshly painted PTO.  I do not think it is on all of the way but I did not have a long enough jack bolt to take it back off.  That will be something I will look at again this weekend.