Evening all,
I have a 1982 T3 Cali.
Is the choke supposed to stay up on it’s own when you start it or do you have to physically hold it until the engine has warmed up sufficiently? (as I have to)
Cheers
Tony
Presume you mean the plastic lever on the twin-pull choke cable thingy - I think they do when they’re new, but the corners wear down with age so they don’t stay up.
A bit of carefull work with a file and you should be able to restore usual function. As Mike says, they wear with use.
Whilst you have it apart, run a bit of oil down the cables, if they are like mine were, they hadn’t seen any oil since they left Mandello in 1978.
Or even then! 
as I had trouble on my lemon with the choke sticking on I tended to give the throttle a couple of squirts and leave the choke alone.
But I do live in the warm temperate climes of Oxfordshire.
As mentioned above i just filed mine back to square, jobs a good un 
These linked choke levers are well known for this and can also be the cause of poor running. There is an alternative available that does away with the cable altogether and puts a seperate lever on each carb. Very reasonable in price and easy to fit. Ok the lever on the right hand carb is tricky to reach as its under the tank due to the carbs orientation, but i find i only need the one on the left to get a good start, and you have the knowledge that when you shut it off, it is OFF.
It is a choke lever assembly and costs £15 each. I got mine from Gutzibits, but any Dell Orto supplier will have them.
This is what I eventually did on my lemon.
As you say I only used the lhs one on the rare event I needed a choke.
Yeah - ditto on this one. And I went the other way; swapped out the flip tops on each carb for the twin cable and remote lever approach.
I ended up going to the individual flip tops too. Don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier tbh. Main attraction mechanically much simpler.
The flip top type did not fit my VHB carbs properly on my old T3 Cali (did not close fully) so I reverted to the cable operated type but bought new pistons and cables. Worked fine afterwards.
I believe there are 2 different lengths for the flip top type chokes and obviously they are not interchangeable.
Yes. Have to make sure to get the right one. 
Thanks for a good response.
Filed flat and works perfectly.
Cheers
Tony