Barry Peterson Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 I have this switch that I got in a mixed lot of vintage car parts. I am guessing it is very old because carburetor is misspelt. But, despite this item appearing so easily identifiable and distinct, I have been unable to find it anywhere or what it once went to. Has anyone seen this or something like it before? -Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Layden B Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Probably not misspelled but in French. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 11 minutes ago, Layden B said: Probably not misspelled but in French. British English spelling, "starting" is in English. RRs had "Starting Carburetters." 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 British English derived from "burette"- a device used in chemistry labs to measure and dispense precise amounts of liquid. Ergo, car burette. Does this thing have any indication it was used to operate an electrical switch? because it looks more to me like it would have operated a quarter-turn shutoff valve in the carburetter's gasoline supply line. Looking at the word "starting" may have also been used to actuate a primer or a choke mechanism. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Glenn - THANK YOU! I had never connected the car and the burette before! It makes perfect sense to combine the two (which makes me wonder why the English did it ) The later R-R models bought a perfectly great carburetor from Stromberg, and added enough linkage to mess it up! I don't think it had a starting carburetor. From memory, I believe Jaguar XK-120's with twin S.U.'s had a starting carburetor. Jon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 Well- you're welcome.☺️ My powerplant operator job included lab duties so, combined with high school chemistry class, I knew what a burette was. I think we can all agree that British and German engineering philosophy is based on making simple processes as complicated as possible. There's a reason multiple features in timepieces and automata are called "complications"! The British were at the forefront of that, but the Swiss did a better job of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted January 25, 2023 Share Posted January 25, 2023 I love linguistics and etymology! Always learning something I didn't know before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Peterson Posted January 26, 2023 Author Share Posted January 26, 2023 Glenn & Jon, Thank you for your help and sharing your knowledge! I agree that it does look more to be a shut off valve or something of that sort. Looking at the backside of it, it doesn't appear to connect to anything electrical. If you think of anything else I could look into to identify this piece, I'd appreciate it. For now I will look into that Jag that Jon suggested and see if I can figure out what kind of valve it used. Thank you both! -Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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