Trans Kickdown Linkage Guru Sought
The biggest problem is when we take 2bbl parts and try to bend,fold,weld,lengthen,ect them to work for a 4bbl. The top kickdown rod,and the cable bracket are both different,between the two.
Many times there are guys on the site that go from a 2bbl to a 4bbl,and ask why doesn't my linkage work or line up right ? And then they show a pic of a 2bbl cable bracket on a 4bbl.
Well, at least I wasn't the first! Wanna bet that I won't be the last?
Trust me,I'm all for bending,fabricating,using my mind to make things work. That's great.But if you really want it to operate the way the factory did,you have to use the correct parts. I'm not sure what bracket you have,but if I read correctly,you bent it to get in the position it is in.
10-4, good buddy! and I understand needing the correct parts for it to operate the way the factory designed it. Those engineers drew the diagrams by hand, no C.A.D. programs for them. With all the correct parts and following the Factory Service Manual, they work. I obviously don't have the correct parts, thus the blacksmith method. At the same time, I think following the Manuals methods and diagrams as closely as possible will give the best results.
If I could give you any advice I would start on just the engine linkage....(A) 2bbl bracket holds the cable horizontal and a 4bbl holds it vertical....
(T)he difference between a 2bbl kickdown rod and a 4bbl.
The 2bbl is bent towards the intake,the 4bbl is bent towards the drivers fender. Get the correct 4bbl rod. Which I have by the way. :)
Once you get the top of the motor squared away,then we can work on the bottom. Hope this helps.
Your knowledge and experience is much appreciated. I cannot for the life of me understand how pointing the throttle cable vertically, rather than in alignment with the clevis on the throttle stud would be better. I can't see, in your pics, how that vertical position is done.
As for the upper rod, would just bending the rod I have outward, toward the drivers fender accomplish the same result as getting the correct one? It may not be exactly the correct length, but it should be within the range of adjustment, I think.
Moving on TOWARD the bottom of the motor, one challenge I face is that the intermediate rod between the bellcranks is so short that it's very difficult to get my hand down there to adjust the connector. There is also the issue of the wide upper bellcrank, though I don't know if that's a problem. The angles between the bellcranks pivot and the two arms may, or may not be the same as the angles on the narrow bellcranks like yours.
Then there's the question of how the lower bellcrank, the connecting rod and the transmission lever are configured. Whatever needs done there is gonna have to wait 'til I have a lift available, 'cause I aint working under a car in an uneven driveway. My LATE friend George did that ONCE!
Thanks again for the expertise! I'm not saying that my blacksmith method is just as good as the factory method and correct parts. I just want the kickdown to function like it's supposed to. A cable kickdown conversion eliminates all these rod lengths an arm angles, and my car is a driver, so correctness isn't an issue.
ATB
BC
