carb/choke problem?

[DABOOTH49]

I'm Doug in North Carolina. I have a 1951 Farmall Cub that I use mainly for scraping my road and dragging large items like tree parts.
Sometimes it sits for a month or two between uses. The last time I used it, or tried to use it, it would start every time with the choke on,
but would die as soon as I opened the choke even a small amount. It would also die if I tried to put it into gear while choked. But it will
always start easily with the choke closed. It sounds like a fuel problem to me, or maybe carburetor, but I could use some advice.
I did disconnect the plug on the bottom of the carb and gas came dripping out, if that is any help.
I should mention that when it was working 'normally', I never had to slide the choke control in more than about half an inch in order to
get the best operation. It was a bit touchy, but useable.

Thanks for any advice...
Doug in NC

[Bob McCarty]

If you only had gas dripping out of the drain, you have a fuel blockage upstream. It could be the float and needle valve, the gas inlet screen clogged, the sediment bowl screen clogged, or even rust/debris in the gas tank. First, disconnect the gas line from the carb and see if you have a steady constant gas stream. That will help you determine which direction to go to find the blockage.

[Gary Dotson]

Bob offers good advice. When the plug was removed from the carb, you should have gotten a nice steady stream of fuel flow. Follow bob’s advice, to find the blockage. Also, you mentioned that previously, it ran it’s best with the choke partially applied. It should run it’s best with the choke fully open (no choke at all). This symptom also points to the previously mentioned flow restriction. One other thing to check, remove the main jet (brass hex on the side of the carb) and clean it with a small copper wire and carb cleaner. Blockage there causes very lean performance.