[69_307]

Greetings,

First time doing this so excuse my ignorance:

I finally pulled the original intake and 2bbl carb off my Camaro and am having a hard time finding the correct parts/modifications needed to get the throttle linkage and TH350 transmission kickdown connected properly on the new stuff (Edelbrock Performer EPS intake #2701 and #1406 carb).

I'm thinking I could make this adjustable linkage from jegs work for the throttle side of things: Adjustable Throttle Linkage Rod - JEGS High Performance.

But the transmission kickdown cable is where I'm going down the rabbit hole. Thought I found one here, but after careful reading, it sounds like it won't work without modification on the intake I've installed. Lokar KD-2350U TH350 Kickdown Kit (speedwaymotors.com)

To add to my confusion, some places, like heartbeatcity, don't even say whether their trans kickdown is for a 2bbl or 4bbl (I would have thought that distinction was fairly important, no?): 1967-1974 Camaro Turbo 350 Automatic Kick Down Cable Assy GM - 1967, 1968, 1969 Camaro Parts - NOS, Rare, Reproduction Camaro Parts for your Restoration (heartbeatcitycamaro.com)

Anyone out there done a similar swap on a TH350/2bbl Camaro and can point me in the right direction? I searched the forum and the couple of threads I found made it sound like it's maybe possible to just buy the OEM style components for a factory 4bbl but I wanted to directly ask about that and get suggestions before running off and buying stuff that won't work.

Thanks in advance

 

[SoCal805]

yes, went from 2 brl to 4 brl using a 1406 then doing a TH350

You need the 4 brl rod for accelerator (longer). I got mine from Ricks so assume the other Camaro part vendors have them

I bought the small fitting that goes on carb linkage to directly hook up TH350 kick down from Summit. The cable from trans mounts on adapter that uses the rear 2 DS intake manifold bolts

accelerator rod on top, kickdown on bottom where you need to buy that fitting to go in the slot end of kickdown cable

 

[X-77 keith]

Take a picture of what you have. If you have the kickdown already on the car from the 2 bbl, it will work. What kind of throttle do you have? If it's a cable that can be re used as well. Show us what you're working with and we will help get you back on the road. 👍

 

[69_307]

Take a picture of what you have. If you have the kickdown already on the car from the 2 bbl, it will work. What kind of throttle do you have? If it's a cable that can be re used as well. Show us what you're working with and we will help get you back on the road. 👍

Thanks guys, here's what I'm looking at (carb is not attached just sitting on the intake for now). 307 th350 coupe, was 100% original until just a few months ago. Throttle linkage is too short/bent to work and the kickdown.. well I'm not even entirely sure what it does so I'm not sure what it needs to work.

 

[69_307]

I bought the small fitting that goes on carb linkage to directly hook up TH350 kick down from Summit. The cable from trans mounts on adapter that uses the rear 2 DS intake manifold bolts

I'm not trying to be a helpless moron, but I am not finding that anywhere. Here's the closest two results I've found and I already know that neither are right. Similarly close but wrong results at jegs, etc.

Summit Racing SUM-700203 Summit Racing™ Transmission Kickdown Brackets | Summit Racing

Trans-Dapt Performance Products 9757 Trans-Dapt Performance Transmission Kickdown Brackets | Summit Racing

 

[SoCal805]

you have the kickdown cable mounting clamp already on the intake manifold. You just need the one small stud, pictured lower left in Summit link (and sold separately for a few $), to attach to the lower hole of your carb linkage like mine shown in my post.

The accelerator rod attaches to the upper part of that same carb part (see my pic) with a C clip. If that rod is from your 2 brl, you need to buy the longer 4 brl one typically sold at Camaro part suppliers like Rick's, NPD, etc.

There is also another adjustment for length of the kick down cable right where it attaches to that bracket on your manifold. You want the length adjusted to where the end of the slot is about 1/4" further on the stud you need to buy to attach it to the carb. My TH350 came from a 1970 GM van and the cable was already set for the length I needed. IDK if various years of the TH350 kickdown cables differ in how they adjust otherwise

 

[69_307]

you have the kickdown cable mounting clamp already on the intake manifold. You just need the one small stud, pictured lower left in Summit link (and sold separately for a few $), to attach to the lower hole of your carb linkage like mine shown in my post.

Not quite, unfortunately. with the current mounting location on the intake, the kickdown is like 1.5" too far inward (center of vehicle) to reach the lower hole on the carb bracket. It's not possible to pull it out far enough to mate up to the carb bracket.

The accelerator rod attaches to the upper part of that same carb part (see my pic) with a C clip. If that rod is from your 2 brl, you need to buy the longer 4 brl one typically sold at Camaro part suppliers like Rick's, NPD, etc.

This is the part I think I understood to be the case from previous search results; It sounds like I can just order any OEM throttle linkage for an original 4bbl carb to work. Is that correct?


Still not sure what I need to do for the kickdown to work. None of the search results I've found have looked to be correct.

 

[SoCal805]

You should be able to lengthen the kick down cable. Google how to adjust TH350 kickdown. There is a clip on cable you pop up and with someone holding accelerator pedal down you pull cable end towards front of car till it is about 1/8" further than the stud you need to put on carb.

You need to have throttle arm connected properly so you get full carb blades open first before messing with kickdown cable adjust

 

[X-77 keith]

You could use that transdap part. It goes under the carb bolt. The factory kind is preferred though. The stud I circled in your picture is all you need for the carb end of the cable. There are specific ones, but that will work. Just use a washer on the cotter pin side.

 

[X-77 keith]

Either of these would work. I prefer the first one though. As far as the gas pedal linkage you could use a simple piece of all thread from the hardware store. Just make sure it is the same thread as you have now. It but the aftermarket one from a restoration supplier.

 

[69_307]

I appreciate the suggestions, however the kickdown cable literally will not bend out enough to reach the existing carb linkage, even with a stud to clip it onto. It's about 1.5" of horizontal offset that this needs to move to touch it and that would probably break the plastic that it's made out of. If you look at the photo I included, the kickdown is mounted onto the intake with the original bolt holes and the carb is much wider than original hence the difference. I don't know if you have some sort of additional bracket/mount on yours or what the difference is but the OEM kickdown as is will definitely need more than just a stud on the carb linkage to reach.

 

[X-77 keith]

There are many options. Sounds like you need something that you can modify . Cut / weld to make it work eBay has one made by Edelbrock , but they want crazy money for it. Or you could get one off of a mid 70's car or truck and modify it. There is a cheap option on eBay as well. I would think the Edelbrock one would bolt right on, but is like $90.00. I would probably just make one myself. I have seen these used too.

 

[69_307]

There are many options.

I would love to see one!

I think we're on different pages here. Not sure if the base model coupes were just different than what you guys are used to or what but

I've seen what you're referring to before and those are also not applicable since

1. My original transmission kickdown/mount is/appears to be all one unit/one piece so what you're looking at must be designed for some other type of kickdown and
2. it appears to be for use with a throttle cable type of setup, not the linkage type.

The throttle linkage I'm not as worried about since it seems easy enough to find an adjustable or universal one out there.

But I'm really confused as to why the kickdown side of my issue seems to be completely different than what's available out there. Most, well ALL, of the things I see out there appear to have been designed for the "some other type of kickdown".

Maybe some more pictures will help illustrate my situation better:

As far as I can tell, my OEM original kickdown cable/mount is all one piece. And the end sticking out forward that goes to the carb is plastic. Is this what yours looks like?

See below (top-down view of kickdown mounted on intake, note the bottom is forward, distributor is just visible [with cap revmoved] on the left):

Here it is from the front. Since the part sticking out front of the kickdown is plastic and the mount is.. mounted in place using the two bolts where it belongs, there's no lateral movement available. I circled the end of the kickdown in red to show how far inward it is compared to the carb bracket.

I realize it would not be impossible to fabricate some sort of bracket to relocate the kickdown forward and to the right, but I'm not a fabricator and I came here to ask thinking surely someone has dealt with this before..

...especially considering this is arguably the most popular muscle car of all time and the components involved are some of the most popular of all time as well (TH350, Edelbrock performer carburetor, etc).

Am I off in no-man's land and stuck with a weird transmission kickdown that wasn't used on other Camaro variants or am I just totally missing something obvious here? Because I don't see how, for example, the last one you linked above would even work with what I have going on. And I'm confident that what I have going on is original to the car.

And I hope you don't think I'm being a jackass or something, I appreciate anyone taking time out of their day to offer suggestions. You in particular saved my *** with the brake metering valve/distribution block routing just a couple months ago. I appreciate any and all help.

 

[X-77 keith]

I have been working on Chevys for almost 40 years , but am not familiar with that cable. I know I haven't seen everything. The cable that everyone else is talking about is in my pictures below. Some have the plastic shield, and some don't. Here is a 69 bracket too. All are on eBay. Hope this helps some.

 

[duskbluecpe]

the kickdown cable you have is Type 1, it was used in 1968 and early 1969, mostly on 2bbl. It bolts to the bracket. Type 2 is the picture X-77 Keith showed above (3973000). It uses a cable that snaps into the bracket. It moves the cable out to better align with the carb. my suggestion would be to buy the type 2 bracket and a matching 4 bbl cable.

 

[SoCal805]

OP

your pics now show us wtf you have. IDK what year donor TH350 you have but mine is from a 70 vehicle (GM van). I use the bracket that bolts to the rear 2 DS intake bolts shown as pic #1 in Keiths post. My kickdown cable though which came with trans and appears to be original to it looks different than the pics shown but like the pics it does have a "clip" you lift to pull the cable (slotted rod end part) out to a position of WOT then push clip back in. My cable does have a coiled spring though as part of it and mine appears to be adjusted full out but works perfect.

I think you need to abandon the bracket and cable you have and get what Keith shows. IIRC you need to drop the pan to install a new kickdown cable, not sure if valve body also needs to come out

The accelerator rod you can just buy or make one if you want but the $ was not much to buy the 4 brl one which then made it plug & play

I suspect 1000's, like me, have done the 2 brl 327/PG car to Edelbrock 1406/TH350 swap and with the right connecting parts it is all good

 

[69_307]

the kickdown cable you have is Type 1, it was used in 1968 and early 1969, mostly on 2bbl. It bolts to the bracket. Type 2 is the picture X-77 Keith showed above (3973000). It uses a cable that snaps into the bracket. It moves the cable out to better align with the carb. my suggestion would be to buy the type 2 bracket and a matching 4 bbl cable.

MYSTERY SOLVED! I was indeed in "no-man's land" after all. I was wondering why the F@CK everything looked like it was for "some other type" of kickdown. Now I know and I'm not just crazy. THANK YOU.

EDIT: I should add for documentation purposes that my car was born in mid-late '69 so I must've got stuck with some of the last inventory of the type 1 cables..

 

[69_307]

IDK what year donor TH350 you have

your pics now show us wtf you have.

As I mentioned before, my car is(/was) 100% original. Numbers matching. Base coupe 307/TH350. I wasn't lying or wrong or just being dumb, although I won't ever rule out being dumb as the sole cause of my problems.

Also, if you look you'll see that my very first pic shows the entirety of my kickdown cable from firewall to carb. The newer pictures are merely closeups of the same thing.

But the mystery is now solved. See duskbluecpe's comment above; I have an early "type 1" kickdown cable which was evidently short-lived and which explains why nothing available for sale looks remotely correct. Because they're not. I need to buy the new style kickdown cable and then those brackets will work.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions/help.

 

[KevinW]

So I have seen the 1st design cable (looks normal to me!) and looked at this pics of this issue. Can you try something for me?

Take out the bolt holding the cable. Hook the cable up to the carb where you want it. Push the trans side cable over to the pass side. Then try to mount the cable mount back on the bracket and see where the bolt lines up.

Keep in mind, the rest of the cable going to the trans will be a little stiff and might be hitting the trans tunnel on the drivers side causing this strangeness. When it was new it had more flexibility to make a smooth "S" curve over the top of the trans.

 

[1969RSCAMARO]

I just went through this.