weak once into second gear

[red cuda]

my 65 freshly built 318 with 904 idles well, and has great response in park, but once I put it into gear, it seems weak as soon as it shifts, then very little power afterwards. acts like its shifting too fast. has a holley 390 four barrel. Im thinking the kickdown may need to have a spring at the carb, to keep it pulled tight. im gonna try that once I get home. timing is 10 degrees before TDC at dizzy. any suggestions?

 

[67Dart273]

Well the easy way to find out if it's kick down is to start with the shifter in 1, rev it up to "the nuts" and manually shift to 2, and do the same thing.

Hard to say, could be a LOT of things

poor general engine condition

worn cam or poor choice of cam, or "not enough" cam

inadequate exhaust, or something wrong, IE plugged exhaust

carb linkage not opening carb all the way

timing. Not just timing, but timing and the advance curve. Could distributor has a bad choice (smogger) curve, or is rusty and stuck or other problems

These are just a few. There are many others