Throttle Cable

-
carfreak6970

carfreak6970

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2014
Messages
544
Reaction score
195
Location
Pittsburgh
I am not to sure I am posting this in the right section, but since this car is a slant six I figured I would start here.

The car is my 68 Dart with the slant six. It originally had the single barrel holley on it that never really ran right. Well about a year or so ago I found a place that had a NOS carter BBS that I installed. I dont have the numbers with me but I think it was for either a 67 or 68 170 slant six. Though it is a little small Slant Six Dan said it would still be my best bet. The car has never ran smoother.

So after doing some winter maintenance and doing my wake up from hibernation ride I noticed a lack of umph while going up a steep hill. So I had my fiancé sit in the car while it was shut off and floor the accelerator and noticed the throttle blades were not fully opening while looking down the carb.

When I tried to adjust the throttle cable to allow the accelerator to open the throttle blades fully I noticed the cable was already fully taut. So it is almost like the current throttle cable in the car doesnt have enough travel to let the throttle blades go from fully closed to wide open.

Was there a different throttle cable between BBS and holley equipped cars? Is there another cable I could use that would not interfere the fully closed/fully open positions of the throttle blades?

Though in normal leisure driving this could be over looked, in my current location it can not. This car gets driven during rush hour in Pittsburgh. Which has terribly designed roads/highways all over hills and mountains. I need all the power I have to safely keep up and merge with traffic.

thanks
 
carfreak6970 said:
I am not to sure I am posting this in the right section, but since this car is a slant six I figured I would start here.

The car is my 68 Dart with the slant six. It originally had the single barrel holley on it that never really ran right. Well about a year or so ago I found a place that had a NOS carter BBS that I installed. I dont have the numbers with me but I think it was for either a 67 or 68 170 slant six. Though it is a little small Slant Six Dan said it would still be my best bet. The car has never ran smoother.

So after doing some winter maintenance and doing my wake up from hibernation ride I noticed a lack of umph while going up a steep hill. So I had my fiancé sit in the car while it was shut off and floor the accelerator and noticed the throttle blades were not fully opening while looking down the carb.

When I tried to adjust the throttle cable to allow the accelerator to open the throttle blades fully I noticed the cable was already fully taut. So it is almost like the current throttle cable in the car doesnt have enough travel to let the throttle blades go from fully closed to wide open.

Was there a different throttle cable between BBS and holley equipped cars? Is there another cable I could use that would not interfere the fully closed/fully open positions of the throttle blades?

Though in normal leisure driving this could be over looked, in my current location it can not. This car gets driven during rush hour in Pittsburgh. Which has terribly designed roads/highways all over hills and mountains. I need all the power I have to safely keep up and merge with traffic.

thanks
Click to expand...
You did not say if the car was manual or auto. If auto, likely the kickdown linkage is out of whack as well. I would contact Lokar to see what size cable would work for you. The throttle/kickdown cable is a great fix for any changes made to OE setups.
 
I've always pondered the cable length. Mine is stock and there isn't anything "tight" about it. Although, I'm sure it isn't supposed to be tight as hell by any means, but certainly moreso than it is now. Keep us posted on your progress. I'll certainly tune in.
 
The Holley 1920 and the Carter BBS used all the same throttle and kickdown linkage parts. If your throttle won't open all the way, it's because of one or more of the following:

• Your kickdown linkage is hitting the exhaust pipe or some other obstacle

• Your kickdown linkage is not adjusted properly (too long)

• Your carburetor-to-intake gasket is too thin (carb sitting too low, effectively making the kickdown linkage too long)

There's nothing the matter with the factory-type kickdown linkage (though the '69-up setup is safer, because if something snags the kickdown linkage it won't pull the throttle open as on the '68-down setup). If yours is faulty or missing pieces, I don't recommend futzing with Lokar. See this thread for kickdown options.
 
slantsixdan said:
The Holley 1920 and the Carter BBS used all the same throttle and kickdown linkage parts. If your throttle won't open all the way, it's because of one or more of the following:

• Your kickdown linkage is hitting the exhaust pipe or some other obstacle

• Your kickdown linkage is not adjusted properly (too long)

• Your carburetor-to-intake gasket is too thin (carb sitting too low, effectively making the kickdown linkage too long)

There's nothing the matter with the factory-type kickdown linkage (though the '69-up setup is safer, because if something snags the kickdown linkage it won't pull the throttle open as on the '68-down setup). If yours is faulty or missing pieces, I don't recommend futzing with Lokar. See this thread for kickdown options.
Click to expand...

I will check to see if my linkage is hitting the exhaust.

So what direction is "too long"? As I sit here at work I do not have the car in front of me to look at if it is long. I do believe I have the pressure "turned up" so it would shift at the appropriate speeds according to the FSM. ( I have 3.23's in the rear)

I dont believe my carb gasket is to small since I do have a spacer underneath it. what thickness are you suggesting I use?

I reviewed that thread and the throttle cable option at Bouchillon Performance Engineering, but their part number 3350 explicitly states it will not work with a single barrel carb, which I am running. is there another one they offer for a single barrel?
 
"Too long" = later upshifts (and earlier downshifts when you floor the accelerator).

The carb gasket should be approx 5/16" thick, not the thin 1/16" or 1/8" item.

That's interesting Bouchillon say their kit won't work with a 225/1bbl setup. I'd want to have more detailed info from them; "225/1bbl" is not a single setup, it's multiple different carburetors, multiple different kickdown levers on the trans, etc. Without knowing what they have in mind, I'm having difficulty guessing what the incompatibility might (or might not) be.
 
slantsixdan said:
"Too long" = later upshifts (and earlier downshifts when you floor the accelerator).

The carb gasket should be approx 5/16" thick, not the thin 1/16" or 1/8" item.

That's interesting Bouchillon say their kit won't work with a 225/1bbl setup. I'd want to have more detailed info from them; "225/1bbl" is not a single setup, it's multiple different carburetors, multiple different kickdown levers on the trans, etc. Without knowing what they have in mind, I'm having difficulty guessing what the incompatibility might (or might not) be.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that information.

I was kind of confused on how the kickdown linkage would interfere with the throttle opening, but after looking at it last night I understand how it would. But I was able to verify that with the carb linkage at WOT the kickdown linkage still had about 1/16" of travel before it maxed out its travel. I also verified that the linkage was not hitting the exhaust pipe or trans lines.

I also measured my carb gasket and it is around .25"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top