Thank you for explaining all of this, I didn't even consider this when planning to throw a 4 barrel on my 361. Just more stuff to learn!

Full throttle full movement, excellent how too videos. Really enjoying these. Thanks

I never understood how important this really is, thanks man

Had a mid 50s Dodge one time that I dropped a 440 into. Was lucky enough to find a push button 727 from a 64 Polara 383 that dropped seamlessly behind it. Adapting the push button from a powerflyte was a challenge. But once I got that somewhat dialed the kick down was the next issue. Actually I never quite got that working right. Then my sketchy handmade motor mounts failed and I went back to a 270 that bolted right in.

Great video. You are correct that the modern cable kits arent flawless for sure. But they sure beat the way we used to have to cut,weld and bend factory linkage pieces. We used to save every piece of kickdown linkage from anything we scrapped because you just never know. Now days I just keep a couple of the cheap cables hanging on the wall.

This is one of the best videos on mopar cars I’ve seen in a long time. Keep up the good work man 🤙🏽

I'm mating a gen3 hemi (wt. OCP intake) to my A518 and have not yet tackled this issue. Your clear explanation is a real help. Thank you

Good morning 🙏 🌄 Jamie Thank you so much for making these , technical guide vlogs This was very fascinating and informative I certainly do appreciate this content

Now I know why Mopar guys are always reaching for their shifter :-) I read once that a mechanic serviced a working Torque flight only to find that it worked in spite of being broken. The mechanic wasn't surprised. They're very strong.

Good video. I also agree the A-833 with manual kick down is much better.

I had to do that type mod on my '73 Dart when I put a 4bbl on it (bolt and nut mod). It would shift up into 3rd gear at like

I have been binge watching your stuff. I really appreciate what you’re doing.

Another really useful presentation! Sometimes I drop the transmission pan to check the movement kickdown function against the throttle opening- especially on the early non-part throttle kickdown units. Use Lokar or the double adjustable linkage on what automatics I have- had the best luck with them.

I've wanted to get a 2 or 4 barrel intake for my 64 Valiant slant six, but haven't due to both expense and the rod based throttle and 904 pushbutton kick down. I probably won't mess with. It seems to work OK as it is. Great information, thank you!

Super helpful man, I am putting an engine in my 69 charger soon, and will need to tackle this issue!

Managed to get mine dialed in perfectly, this video was a great help.

Dude everything I’ve needed help on you’ve literally made a video about it. Thank you so much 🙏

I was at the 32nd Street Market grocery store in LA and a kid drove into the parking lot with his Mopar and opened the hood and looked down in anguish. I think it was a 68 Coronet with a 318 or possibly a 383. I went over and talked to him. I think trans fluid was bubbling out of the dip stick tube and the trans seemed to be over heating. He told me he just bought the car a week ago and this happens every time he drives it. He said it also seems like it never goes into third and second gear was very late and a car shaking thunk. And this was just driving it in the neighborhood. He had never owned a Mopar before. I pointed out that the shift down linkage had been wired all the way backwards. I told him how the linkage works. And that wiring it to the back would cause the shifting problems. Even I was surprised about the trans over heating. He didn't have enough parts on it to make it work correctly. I think he was missing the stud and the spring. He then used the same piece of wire to lock the shift down arm in the full forward position. I warned him that this would cause a different set of problems and told him how to make it right. He said he thought the trip back to his house would be a lot easier with the arm wired up rather than down. He promised to set it right after he got home. That was the only time I saw him or the car. I can easily see how driving with the linkage wired all the way forward or backwards could burn up a transmission. It would probably take a few hours of driving. Just having a misadjustment would be less critical and would probably take thousands of miles.

Well this makes me feel a lot better. My homogenized 76 dodge truck was missing the shifter/kickdown linkage assemblies. Snagging them off of a 75 to get what i was missing. Better to have an idea of what ill be doing than none at all. Even your wiring videos have helped IMMENSELY to even understand what im looking at. Thank you so much

Thank you for that video, just helped me out at the right time

Your style of tech videos are excellent. Learned a bunch of stuff I didn't even know about kick downs. Years ago when I got into mopars someone gave me the advice if I were to change out the carb from stock to always go get the kickdown Bouchillion Performance sells and all the brackets and pieces, it was just easier. So I always have, I never realized how ridiculous this situation was. LOL Now I understand why its a common question you will see on a forum or fb group.

Very helpful, thank you

Here is a common challenge: When replacing a two barrel for a four barrel on a 62-74 V8 Mopar, the two barrel carb linkage and trans linkage are no longer going to fit. The two barrel is far narrower than even the narrow four barrels like Holley 4160s (which had super wide linkages as OEM Mopar carbs to make them as wide as AFB's and other Carters). You need to either go into the Classic industries catalog and start searching for parts, hope you have access to a parts car, or be ready to cut and weld back together your old parts to make them fit. As shown in the video, the taller the intake and carb spacer the more difficult it is going to be.

Dude! Great vid! It explains a lot, thank you. Had a friend with a 68 charger, it didn't shift right, a transmission shop told her it needs to be rebuilt. I took it for a test drive with her in it and manually shifted it. She screamed when I put the pedal down, smoking the tires! The kickdown linkage wasn't connected.

Those one piece kick downs are a pain! Back in the 80's (when I was young and broke, now I'm old and broke), I worked on a friend's Dodge, can't remember the car, just the "lesson", that kick down looked like a warped spring when I was done! But it worked 😂😂😂

Great video

The slot in the rod lets the throttle close in the weird event that the arm on the transmission cannot return to the forward position. It prevents the throttle from being stuck wide open I guess. And everything you said here is true. This thing is weird and a pain in the but if you have an aftermarket carb and/or intake. With a little work though, it can be made to function correctly.

Yes! The Mopar variation frustration , and key info @13:30. Thank you. Good stuff. Kudos to the "artist" 😂

Yessss! Finally! 👏🏻

This is helpful for the confusing mess that is my 318 1991 d150

I believe I have been relatively lucky with the kickdown linkage. I have a mostly stock 69 Dart 340 with all the stock parts and it seems to work like it should. I also have a slightly modified 73 Roadrunner 340 with the stock kickdown rod and it also seems to work right. But, I had a 69 D100 once that someone removed the kickdown rod from, and it basically grenaded the entire clutch pack after much hard use and many years with no kickdown rod. So, I learned the hard way that you must at least have the kickdown rod hooked up even it it's not perfect.

Excelant video !

Hi, i wished you posted this 40 years earlier ...... I had a 340 / 727 / 4bbl ( very rare in australia ) so when the 727 died due to burnouts or rev 4k and hit Drive i could not afford to have it fixed So it sat and sat and my friends eventually grew sick of giving me a lift everywhere So i done what any else would do, go the the wreckers and grab another box, except all we had was 273/318 904's - being 20 year old and not working, the $30 used box was the best i could afford - that was also 2 weeks fuel, but since i had not driven the car 4 to 6 weeks i had it saved up. The box fitted but the tail shaft did not - great i have a one of 500 short wheel based Australian chargers with a 727 box .... the local chrysler dealer said - i cant help Luckily the wrecker i first visited and saw later said he is picking up a ex police V8 charger next week - i told him my problem and he wrote a note and said he will place it on the dash I saw him a week later and he said it was a 318/904 and he has the tailshaft Wow now i could drive it But the kickdown was all wrong - or did it hold second i dot recall - it gets worse Anyway it worked fine using the selector manually when needed - all the cool 20yo do that anyway so no big deal A few months pass and the carter thermoquad is playing up, i take it of and go to the only sydney carter repair shop / distributor i the state - when they see it they all say " it looks wrong" they show me what they have and they are all Australian spec ford cleveland 4bbl police style ... they had no the gasket / rebuild kit, they had very little that was suitable So i took the bus back home and it sat on the garage shelf, so i ended up with a holley square bore 600 and a adapter to spread bore manifold - why it was cheaper and the seller said they are just as good .... So after stuffing around with adapters and fart arsing around with accelerator cable i had t reroute it in front of the dizzy and it did not really fit, back to the wreckers for a longer 6cyl cable, of cource it was to long so i had to s-bend it out of the firewall, then to the rear then to the carby Now i have a non oem auto, old 727 kickdown linkages on inlet manifold and nothing on the auto, and now a mis matched accelerator cable Did the kick down cable work or anything NO So after 2 or 3 months, i ended up with a Nissan, and the charger became a weekend car. Eventually my new mechanic and his friend sorted it out with mix and match, it was about 80-90% ok and quite driveable - not OEM or perfect but fine Years later with camaros, the 76 350/350 has issue and i purchased a lokar cable, i think it was $130 in 2005 it came with some add on brackets to suit, the cable was fine, but later i had a issue with headers, it actually burned the outer plastic of the cable and scorched a bit the inner cable but water and road grit had gotten in, another cable later and some , carefull positioning and the use or a strap of the bell hosing to hold the kickdown - oh i got rid of the headers and went to simply Tri y pipes and got 8 to10 years trouble free motoring So yes i learnt the hard way about throttle position and relationship to kick down cable, the same issue occur with doing up australian chrysler 6's as most run a borg warner 35 auto with cable kickdown, you can get 727/904 autos but they are very rare limited to police / emergency and the factory offered heavy duty packs - some years a taxi pack would give you either more clutch packs in the BW35 or a 904 ( and a V8 radiator )

Ever think of auctioning off your priceless artwork for fans to hang up in their garages? Could make enough for an ice coffee, or a mid-tier cider, perhaps. 😊 Great and informative video. If you get a chance to do a shift kit (B&M, etc.) to talk about the operation, pros/cons, that’d be sweet. It’s not your normal thing, but could help some of us.

DaVinci would be jealous. 😂 You just reminded me I have to get all that stuff for my 73 charger .😢 Oh boy.

I just noticed a 68 300 in the video with the 73 Charger roars to life. It was right before you commented on the Blues Brother car. I look forward to seeing a video on that.

Still wayyyyy better than dealing with countless sensors, solenoids, inhibitors, ect. A good reliable design you only have to learn once .

Thanks for the video as I'm one of the people who requested it. My '68 Fury VIP has the early three piece linkage and I followed the FSM directions for setting it. It isn't just the length of the rod from the carburetor, but also the vertical rod going down has an adjustment for length. It seems like on a stock 2 barrel, there should be a sweet spot for both rods that makes it work and it would have been nice if the FSM said something like for a 318 2bbl/727 equipped measure the rods for a specific number of turns or a measurable length in inches and then assemble. The kickdown worked on the original BBD, then I switched for a couple of years to a Motorcraft 2150 with adapter plate and got the kickdown to work fine. Ditched the Motorcraft when the throttle shaft needed bushing, and went with a Holley 2280 which was a replacement for the BBD on a lot of late 70's 318s. Dimensionally, everything about it seems to be the same as the BBD, but I can't get the kickdown right. The one time I could get it to kickdown on demand, the rest of my shifts ran too long. Where I have it now, it shifts fine driving but won't kick down.

Great Video!, Lots of folks don't know this about the Torqflight and the RE/RH Tranney's, I didn't know myself way back when until the one on my 1st Car "1970 Chrysler Newport" got the wrong Arm put on the Tranny when it got rebuilt, It got fixed with the Bolt and nut till a different Carb was put on then it was fixed right! The 45RFE behind the 4.7 in my 2001 Dakota is all Electronic controled and has no Cable at all!, Think it's a much better Tranny!, 250+K on it and still works perfect!

Always enjoyed the tire chirp I would get on kickdown.

DDG you're the best!

904 transmission... in addition to setting the kickdown linkage correctly, you can do what the Direct Connection shift kit did. I got mine in the mail (years ago) and it had four things in the box. A new trans pan gasket, a new filter, a piece of electrical conduit (3/4" dia?), and a xerox of a xerox of a xerox of a xerox of instructions. Basically, you dropped the pan, spilling Dextron all over you. Then you removed a few screws to remove the valve body. There is a piston with a spring behind it not unlike a valve spring. Toss the spring, and substitute the piece of conduit which blocks the piston in the downward position. Sorry, I don't remember how long the conduit should be, I had it written down long ago. You can probably do this with a little guess work. Then you find the line pressure screw on the side of the valve body and screw it all the way in. Put it all back together with the new gasket and filter. Top off the transmission fluid. Now you have the perfect shift for a street rod. Nice and firm without being too harsh.

Why do I like that Barracuda with the Dart nose??? Because it actually looks cool!!

Ford uses a vacuum module, a governor on the back by the tail and a kickdown rod at least for the C6. Neat

Well from my experience with late 60's to early 80's Ford C4 and C6, 3 spd automatic transmissions, they were actuated via a Vacuum cannister on the trans controlled by a vacuum line to the back of the intake or carb pollution spacer, and passing gear was actuated via a rod running from the carb down to a linkage on the trans so that when you floored the throttle the trans would down shift into second gear for passing slower traffic.

This is very informative. I've had a automatic 74 charger since I was 14. So 20 years. Haven't driven it much but I but a edelbrock 600 on a medium rise wiend intake on it when I got it. Never hooked the kick down back up. Now that I'm divorced it's time to get back to work on it lol. If you or anyone has had experience with that particular carb and intake hight with the 318 3 speed automatic it would be much appreciated

Great video, another way around it is a full manual valvebody. You would have to shift as if it was a manual transmission but no clutch.

Great video man! Still rather row my gears lol 😅

For future reference Jamie, those pivots are called bellcranks.

When adjusting the THROTTLE PRESSURE LINKAGE (not called a "kick-down"), remember the old phrase "better late than never". Better to hold a gear longer than to have short shifts.

TransGo TF-3 kit, FTW!! lol

Hey Jamie, i hope you read this im in desperate need for help! I’ve tried every possible adjustment on the rod linkage at the carb after doing an intake swap and carb swap from a 2bbl to 4bbl. Its a eddy 500cfm and eddy performer rpm. Its also a van. Im going to try as pero your recomendation on this video to shorten the ratio on the libkage lever on the transmission. Is there any advise before drilling holes on the lever, or i should find itmout myself by try and error? Thanks man you are always saving our mopar butts!

I like the "artists" rendering 😜

I have a 69 Charger with a Holley Sniper EFI, a carb spacer to keep the sensors from being barbecued on the Torker single plane intake and aluminum heads with headers. All this means that the average person needs a Lokar throttle cable ( had to find that out myself) and a Lokar kickdown cable . I used a Demon TVS cable bracket as the Lokar cable bracket was priced ridiculously. It actually works well. The chances of this happening again is about the same chance of hitting a powerball lottery twice. So yes I get it . I have heard that Bouchillon uses a copy of the A-518 cable style but I went Lokar. Again, I think that's a big minus for the Sniper setup.

Didn't mean to get you wound up at the last live stream. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. The '57 D-100 has a '69 Fury front clip, so engine set back into firewall is a little extreme. Add to the fact later replaced the 318, with a '68 340, that kinda grenaded the Fury 727. So even back in the 80's we tried modifying the linkage, had to build a doghouse because the engine was so recessed. Went from 2 bbl 318, to 4 bbl 340. For me get rid of the old B/M street and strip shift kit, and go full manual. And yes it cuts corners, but It's a 57 D100, with a 60's drivetrain, daily. not race car. And yes my 16 month old German Shepard still annoys me when I watch videos.

The slot in the lockdown linkage is there so the throttle can return to idle if the trans linkage gets stuck in the full rearward position. Otherwise you could get stuck at full throttle if the trans linkage got stuck.

I believe the slot in the transmission kickdown lever is so that, in case the carburetor gets jammed at WOT the transmission is not jammed also. Or vice versa, it allows the carburetor to return to curb idle. Not fun for the very VERY early style 3 piece linkage where it has a ball joint attachment, makes the transmission & carburetor as one. Still, you could press the neutral button... (push button automatic on my end) to "deactivate" the transmission I suppose. I was looking for kickdown adjustments, but the kickdown is adjusted, as per manual and various sources. anywho, here's my question: The transmission: A727 button shift variant with the 3 piece style linkage. Problem: On WOT in first gear, the gas pedal gradually drops to the floor even though I go from heavy foot pressure to light pressure the same problem occurs, there is no binding that I can see. Once I'm up to 2nd gear @20MPH, the gas pedal drops to the floor like normal on WOT. It sounds strange but the gas pedal feels like it RESISTS WOT, @1st gear but no binding is seen, ratio screwed up as you say? To me it sounds like a governor issue but honestly I'm grasping at straws at this point.

The purpose of the slot in the kickdown/TV rod is to prevent the throttle from getting pinned wide open should the kickdown rod become jammed at full travel.

So, should the lever on the trans be pushed all the way to its stopping point at full throttle to show its properly set up? I have an Edel + spacer + linkage adaptor and am working to make it straight up top on a 318 4 bbl ‘74 charger. Up top, I’m almost done, but wasn’t sure how aggressive to bend the one piece bar to push the lower linkage on the trans. Thanks for these videos and the info!!

"Not so fast there tiger" 😂

My understanding is the slot was to ensure the kickdown linkage doesnt cause a hung throttle situation should the linkage get hung up on something.

Drive a manual 😀. But I love the T /Fight 👍🏻🇦🇺💯⛽️.

Well thats a minefield , having faffed about with trying to get throttle response and feel right adding a gearchange in the mix has fried me bonce

Does the 904 auto adjust the same way as the 727 or is there a difference? Thanks for your quick response keep it mopar

mind,has a 727, can you use the stick to shift it out or do I need a cable?

Sorry I'm late, Doing motorcycle And road runner things

i've been fiddling with my kickdown (cable) ever since watching this. i still have a burning question: is it okay to have a bit of tension on the kickdown at ZERO% throttle? should there be none? or if there is some how much is too much? I think this was loosely mentioned without specific details. Thanks man. Excellent real-world vid-eeaz

Talk to us about what to do when you replace the carb with an Edelbrock

Im at the end of my shift ⚙️

I have a 96 ram 1500 4wd with the 360. The transmission has never shifted properly. I have spent hours adjusting the cable. Watching several videos from transmission shops and other mechanics. I have tried so many different ways of adjusting. I just live with it now. Playing with the gas petal and different speeds to get it to shift into the final gear and overdrive. Otherwise it just won’t shift past second gear. Very frustrating to say the least.

All i do is get a manual valve body and shift when I want to shift that way the headache of the kick down is no more. I do have my truck that uses the kick down and everything with a factory carb the rest are manual valve bodied.

Geometry is hard! 😮

Could you do a second one with just the stock adjustment procedure Like one of the dodge trucks with a 2 barrel?

Literally had my truck go backwards in park because the lokar kickdown cable i put in wasnt adjusted right and i also didnt have the idle set right at the time so it literally floored it in park going backwards, scared the shit out of me and now I'm trying everything to make it actually shift in gear but NOT MOVE in park, wish i tried more with the linkages at this point before spending so much

Years ago a mechanic with a radio show tried to tell me if I didn't have an electric kickdown solenoid, I needed to restore it. In a 1972 Charger, 318 and TQ 904. He would not listen to anything about a mechanical kickdown, lol.

Can you run the linkage to stay open at all times for a race application

🍺

The slot is to keep the throttle from being stuck open if the transmission lever is stuck back.

I fixed mine with a manual valve body.

My '82 Mirada's getting the kickdown linkage delete.

I found the fix! Coan manual valvebody

I shifted a beer between hands does that count?

any one know how to set this up for a 2x4bbl???

Oh my wow! You are making me feel guilty! I vaguely recall telling you that you saved my life with your videos, when I found your channel. I say vaguely recall, because I banged my head many times in the course of my crazy life. I used to build huge ramps and jump my bicycle Evel Knievel style! I easily crashed more times than he did! (ugh) When I got older, I jumped a Harley motorcycle so far and so high, that it broke in two when I landed! When other kids were indoors playing Pac Man, and Space Invaders, I was flying over their houses! I have continued my dangerous ways even today at the age of 64. In fact, I have almost been killed three times since last November. Anyway, I'll stop there, so I don't create my own KZfaq channel within yours. Hah! Soooo, why do I feel guilty? It's because, since I told you that you saved my life, you have been cranking out videos everyday! Wow! Thanks! I'm touched, but please don't work yourself to death. I NEED YOU!!!!

all i heard was install 3 pedal and pistol handle through hole in floor!

And for all of these reasons and more, I go with a FWD Manual shift valve body... Hahahahaha... ;)

The good old days

There is another kickdown delete mod.. ....a manual valve body for the Torqueflite.

The artist is being paid way too much ...or not enough, maybe lol. You didn't mention the other option after mentioning the third pedal option, which is the best ...but The other option would be a manual vavle body

Where is this 1964 Galaxie???!!!

Yet another reason to have a clutch lol

1978 B200 327 727 391rear Holley 600 4 barrel aluminum intake. EMINEM HOSPITAL DR DRE ORIGINAL INTERIOR 1.98 int 1.60 exh 😊

Honestly, you do not need a kick down for a Torqueflite transmission. It’s only 3 gears that are so far apart in ratio that if you are going to down shift 99% of the time it will be in high gear and you will just downshift into 2nd gear. That you will naturally do anyway. I have owned Mopars with Torqueflites for over 25 year and currently own two Dodges that have a Torqueflite and I never use the kick down. It’s much better to downshift manually. You have total control of when the trans downshifts and his better for your engine and trans because it won’t overrev the engine and it is easier on your clutches. Just my experience with Torque flites. Hopefully this helps one of your viewers. It may save them an engine or trans

I must correct you, it's a throttle valve not a kick down.