is difficult cold idle for old carb engines normal

[1971 911T]

hi

my 1971 stock 911t, with whatever orginal carbs it has, is real pain to drive when cold. i mean the idle. it cannot hold idle and the engine stalls. the only way i keep the idle going is by feathering the throttle at all times until the engine fully warms up, which takes at least 5 minutes or so, after which the engine can then hold the idle. even the little lever next to the park brake to raise idle, only works together with feathering the throttle. just lifting the lever does not raise throttle, but will do so with a some feathering.

which makes it a pain to drive in traffic. because you have to manage the clutch and the feathering of the throttle.

you can tell i'm not much of a mechanic. but this has been the condition of the car since i got it. it's got new chain tensioners and carb tune-ups since i've owned it, and once it's warmed up, drives very nicely

is this just part of the package? or am i the only one in the world driving such a troublesome carb/idle debacle?

thanks

[BoxsterGT]

Without a choke or other enrichment device, this is normal.

Once its warm it should be fine. If it ran well in the hot weather, don't mess with it.

Of course, every carb'd engine eventually goes out of adjustment.

This is part of the character of the older Porsches.

Len

[C4 Pazzo]

It sounds like you need to adjust the set screw for the hand throttle or that the plastic piece that transfers the pressure from the hand throttle to the cable has
broken. You can check by removing the shifter housing and looking in the tunnel. Once you get the hand throttle set up properly you won't need to feather the throttle, since the hand throttle will do it for you.

[C4 Pazzo]

Just a further clarification: the hand throttle is acting on the same cable as the foot pedal. It sounds like yours is not working at all. It is not uncommon for the set screw to work loose and be hiding in the tunnel. It also is not uncommon for the rubbery/plastic piece to break. Since these carbs don't have chokes, it really helps to get the hand throttle set up right.
P.S. If the plastic piece is broken, you can use Crazy Glue to put it back together.