Bruzilla
Well-Known Member
I finally got rid of the kickdown lever that was causing me issues. At first, all I heard about was the Lokar system. I priced it out and found you have to buy the cable kit and carb bracket, which together cost about $109. After finding out there are other vendors, I did some checking and found some on ebay. I bought a kit from an auto parts place in CA. Their kit looked identical to the Lokar kit. I mean identical, and includes the carb bracket so you don't have to pay $39 for it. Their ad said I should also use their throttle arm spring kit, which I also bought. Price was $35.99 shipped for the kickdown kit and $10.99 shipped for the carb kit, so $46.98 total.
I got the kits in, and there was no instructions for the kickdown, so I contacted the vendor and they sent me a link to the Lokar site and I downloaded a PDF set of instructions, and the only difference between my kit and the Lokar one was mine didn't have a set screw for keeping the carb bracket straight. I don't know if it was missing, or not included, but I thought it wasn't needed anyway.
The first thing I did was install the carb spring kit. This was pretty easy except the small hole in the bracket, that accepts a bolt that goes into the carb base, was too small for the bolt. The right-size bolt was there, but the hole was too small. Weird. So I enlarged the hole and everything else went in fine. The kit comes with two sets of springs and I opted for the heavier set.
Next came the kickdown, and the fun began.
First, I found out you need to remove the inner cable from the housing, and to help with that the folks who build these kits tighten down the cable lock on one end, but not the other... as I learned when I took the cable out of the bag and little parts slid off everywhere! The loose cable stop rolled into the valley pan and it took me about 30 minutes to fish it out, so remove the cable carefully and in an open area.
I wasn't going with a Lokar throttle cable, and was keeping the OEM setup. I quickly found out the Chrysler throttle lever extension on the Holley won't work with a cable setup. I had to remove it and make a new stud that I passed through the end of the OEM cable, through the throttle arm, and bolt it in.
Another issue is the carb bracket. It's a skosh too long to fit flush against the Holley, so I used a cutting wheel to trim about 1/8" inch of the rear of it and angle the top of it a bit. This allowed for the bracket to fit snug against the carb and eliminated the need for using that missing set screw. Another issue is the bracket comes set up for a Lokar throttle cable, which leaves a hole at the top that needs something in it to attach it to the kickdown bracket, so I just put an old bolt and nut through the hole and tightened it down. This made the bracket work and I can always add the throttle cable later.
The rest of the assembly went without issue, and I just followed the Lokar instructions. The only issue I've found is I adjusted the kickdown as per Lokar instructions and when I took my initial test drive the car shifted into second just fine but I found it wouldn't go into third unless I went over about 45 MPH and took my foot off the gas, so I think the cable is too tight and engaging the kickdown when it shouldn't. I got rained out after that, so this afternoon I'm going to start putting some play into the cable and I think that will fix the problem.
So for less that $50, and about two hours time, I got rid of the OEM carb return spring and bracket, got rid of the kickdown lever that was only working about half the time (the other half it would strike the firewall and stop), and have better pedal feel.
I got the kits in, and there was no instructions for the kickdown, so I contacted the vendor and they sent me a link to the Lokar site and I downloaded a PDF set of instructions, and the only difference between my kit and the Lokar one was mine didn't have a set screw for keeping the carb bracket straight. I don't know if it was missing, or not included, but I thought it wasn't needed anyway.
The first thing I did was install the carb spring kit. This was pretty easy except the small hole in the bracket, that accepts a bolt that goes into the carb base, was too small for the bolt. The right-size bolt was there, but the hole was too small. Weird. So I enlarged the hole and everything else went in fine. The kit comes with two sets of springs and I opted for the heavier set.
Next came the kickdown, and the fun began.
First, I found out you need to remove the inner cable from the housing, and to help with that the folks who build these kits tighten down the cable lock on one end, but not the other... as I learned when I took the cable out of the bag and little parts slid off everywhere! The loose cable stop rolled into the valley pan and it took me about 30 minutes to fish it out, so remove the cable carefully and in an open area. I wasn't going with a Lokar throttle cable, and was keeping the OEM setup. I quickly found out the Chrysler throttle lever extension on the Holley won't work with a cable setup. I had to remove it and make a new stud that I passed through the end of the OEM cable, through the throttle arm, and bolt it in.
Another issue is the carb bracket. It's a skosh too long to fit flush against the Holley, so I used a cutting wheel to trim about 1/8" inch of the rear of it and angle the top of it a bit. This allowed for the bracket to fit snug against the carb and eliminated the need for using that missing set screw. Another issue is the bracket comes set up for a Lokar throttle cable, which leaves a hole at the top that needs something in it to attach it to the kickdown bracket, so I just put an old bolt and nut through the hole and tightened it down. This made the bracket work and I can always add the throttle cable later.
The rest of the assembly went without issue, and I just followed the Lokar instructions. The only issue I've found is I adjusted the kickdown as per Lokar instructions and when I took my initial test drive the car shifted into second just fine but I found it wouldn't go into third unless I went over about 45 MPH and took my foot off the gas, so I think the cable is too tight and engaging the kickdown when it shouldn't. I got rained out after that, so this afternoon I'm going to start putting some play into the cable and I think that will fix the problem.
So for less that $50, and about two hours time, I got rid of the OEM carb return spring and bracket, got rid of the kickdown lever that was only working about half the time (the other half it would strike the firewall and stop), and have better pedal feel.
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