Tried starting the car today and found it reluctant to run. Had a look at the choke and found it wasn't closed which I assume being cold in the shop it should be closed. Found that the thermostat spring wasn't hooked to choke piston and found the baffle plate all rotted out, see picture.
Looks like I'll be doing some searching to find one of these baffles. All the rust from the baffle had everything stuck good inside.

Mark

 

Mark57,just saw a '57 Olds. Choke baffle plate listed on Ebay for $29.95 + $5.50 shipping.Had GM Box with part # listed.Good luck, Larry

 

Thanks Larry, I found an old bulletin with the carb parts listed so I at least had the OEM number to search with. I will be ordering this tonight.
Not sure if it will help my starting issue but at least I can get the choke together properly.

Mark

 

I put the new baffle plate in and set the choke thermostat spring up for proper tension and all is well. I had noticed some hard starts last year but thought that was mostly due to lack of use before I bought it. Started up with one pump of the pedal. The choke opened up as it warmed up and idled fine.

Mark