Re: The Duchess Project: 1940 Super 8 Convertible Sedan

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2018/5/30 13:48:07

From my limited mechanical knowledge their purpose is to smooth out the carburation when you lift your foot completely off the throttle.

Yup, it's to minimize stalling on rapid stops by changing the rate of closure of the throttle valve from near-instantaneous to a more leisurely, controlled-rate closure. Dashpots were for a time very important with automatic transmissions where, on rapid closure of the throttle, the inertia of the torque converter had a tendency to stall the engine.