[sparten512]

Okay, so I have my carburetor problems under control. Apparently, the previous owners tore it apart and forgot to put it back together. But that's water over the dam at this point. Now onto the next issue: I have no kickdown rod, nor the bellcrank that goes along with it. For now, this is not much of an issue, as I haven't taken her out for any serious driving that requires major gear shifts. In order to make sure the car doesnt just spit out the transmission one day because its mad, I do want to install the kickdown again. My problem: none of the brackets on the engine block exist at the moment, and I can't find a kickdown rod for a 65 to save my soul. How hard would it be to use a cable setup instead? Say, if i had a Holley with the kickdown linkage directly on the carburetor? Any pictures of your setups would be even better...that is, unless the simple, easy to follow instructions come included with kickdown cable kits...
Thanks in advance!

 

[Joes72/65]

I'm not sure what brackets you are talking about, as my kickdown bellcrank assembly bolts directly to the intake manifold. I couldn't get it to work right, though, until I put on an Autolite 4100 carb. The Edelbrock carb that was on it when I bought it put the throttle rod in the wrong place to contact the bellcrank correctly. I haven't seen bellcranks or kickdown rods anywhere, either, but maybe you could see how it was done on the '66 or '67, as I believe they used a cable set-up rather than a rod.

 

[sparten512]

yeah, the more I look, the more i want to switch to the cable setup. The brackets I'm referring to are the same one(s) you mentioned, joe, the one on the intake & the spring bracket on the valve cover. I just need to find out how the 66 or 67 kickdown cables are hooked up, then I may be able to make some progress.

 

[Joes72/65]

I got a return spring bracket from National Parts Depot. I believe the correct one is actually the one labelled as an "Accellerator return spring bracket" (P/N 9741-3A) on page 123, not the bracket on page 134. This is consistant with the illustration in the 1965 Ford Shop Manual. As for the spring itself, I couldn't find one of those either, so I just used one from a generic box of springs from the local auto parts store. Good luck!

 

[jspagna1]

Yes it is a cable not a rod. Mine did'nt work for the longest time and finally when I fixed it I installed the Lokar throttle cable & kickdown. What a BIG improvement.

Lokar: Stainless Steel Hi-Tech Kickdown Kits

 

[sparten512]

Ok, so I'll go along with the Lokar cable route. Next question: can I use my current carburetor with throttle rod setup with the cable? from the looks of things, the previous owners installed a non-stock throttle link on the carb. Part of this linkage is loose, not hooked up to anything, and it looks suspiciously like the kickdown linkage on Holley carbs. I'll attach pictures that hopefully show sort of what I'm talking about.
The blue circle is the spring perch on the holley (top), and what i think is the same on mine (bottom). Orange is the throttle linkage on the Holley and mine, and red is the kickdown linkage on the holley and what i think is the kickdown on mine. Please note, to me it looks like at least one, if not both, the throttle and the kickdown (or what I think is the kickdown) linkages are backwards. Let me know what you guys think!

 

[PaulS]

The Lokar kit (and accessories) fit differently because it pulls ans the lever on your C4 is made to be pushed. I believe the kit come with instructions.

 

[Joes72/65]

I was somewhat confused by your pictures, as it bears little resemblance to either my 2100 or 4100 carbs. The throttle rod is clearly on backwards. The end that connects to the carburater has a small 90-degree bend and connects with a special clip. The adjustable end connects to the top of the rod from the gas pedal. Also, there is no kickdown linkage on the carburater itself. The kickdown from third to second is initiated by the double 90-degree bends in the throttle rod contacting the kickdown bellcrank when the accellerator is fully depressed.

 

[sparten512]

Thanks for all the help guys-
Currently I'm making due with a Fairlane kickdown setup, i.e. the kickdown rod attached directly to the carburetor levers as opposed to the bellcrank assembly. Its a little tempermental, and tends to kick at the wrong times causing shifting problems at highway speeds. I've been messing with it and think I have it straighten out (haven't gotten a chance to actually test yet, planning t do that later today)