Adjusting the kickdown linkage has always seemed pretty straightforward to me, but nothing about this RC build is going as planned.
It's a A518 mated to me '82 360 with a thermoquad.
I got everything hooked up and went to adjust the kickdown linkage, and now I am a bit unsure. There is surprisingly little information about this adjustment online considering how critical it is.
The shop manual and online sources say to adjust the linkage so that the lever on the transmission is fully forward so that it starts to move as soon as you get on the throttle.
I have also read other people saying to adjust so that full throttle = full travel on the trans lever.
The problem I am facing, is that I cant have both. I have it set per the factory right now, and it shift smoothly enough, and around the correct range, but it will not kick down under WOT.
If I set it the WOT method, then my 1-2 shift is delayed, and it barely gets to 3rd, if at all.

When I started, there wasnt enough adjustment in the rod to get it anywhere near the base position. I had to drill another hole in the slider linkage in order to to get 3rd gear back.

Not sure if I need to change the style of linkage to get more throw? Or if I just need to find a happy middle ground between the 2 settings. Hoping to get a second opinion before I get to messing with it too much.

Thanks.

 

Start with the factory setting, and then adjust a bit at a time, till you get the shift points you are looking for.

 

if you need more adjustment throw a bolt in the slider under the hood. worked on my 81. you are best to start out with the kickdown lever forward and slowly adjust backwards till you get to shift and kickdown like you like. i probably got it adjusted the other way for my 89 but it has no 2nd gear so it needs to be able to hold gears longer and shift later under load.

 

Perfect thanks... I did as suggested starting at factory setup. I ended up making one adjustment to get it to shift a little firmer and hopefully get a better kickdown response. This thing is not road legal, so I am testing within 200 meters between our farms, so I cant get it much above 60 kph. But It's good enough for now. I like that bolt idea though, I will likely try that out once I get this thing on the road. Adjusting by moving the hole doesnt provide much adjustment before the rod hits the valve cover... so that is a good solution.
I also confirmed my choke isnt working, going to be slapping a mechanical choke on it shortly. Was a nice sounds when I wired the choke open and finally got those secondaries coming in! (after the carbon cleared)
Thanks for the advice gents.

 

as long as the kick down is hooked up to some degree it is better than nothing. you should feel how early these things shift when it is not hooked up. i can't really take credit for the bolt in the slider. it was like that when i bought it. i have adjusted it since it is easier to adjust it than adjust the linkage under the truck lol. it really does the same job essentially.

what carb do you have? the electric chokes on holley carbs are decent but the factory style thermo chokes suck. takes at least 20 minutes to fully open. i know that is the most annoying thing about the elcamino. part of the reason i am thinking about swinging the fitech off my 81 onto the elcamino.

 

My carb is a thermoquad... which prevents the secondaries from coming in until the choke is off. I assume the choke resistor is shot, but I would much rather be able to just tell it when to turn off until having to wait for some old resistor to say I am allowed to open it up.

I have also had issues with hot starts... fires instantly when cold, but as soon as it has been running it wont start so well... need to hold it to the floor or pump the gas to get it to fire eventually. I thought choke stuck one was causing it, but no better even with the choke wired open. Idle mixture screws are also not very responsive, so thinking there must be some air leaking air into the intake somewhere. Which is weird because it idles fine, drives fine, and doenst stall into gear... meanwhile I cant for the life of me get the idle vacuum to come above 15... even while tweaking the timing.

Those fitech or sniper systems are looking better and better... but just a bit pricey.



Those ElCaminos... weren’t those made by Chevy.... ??

 

have you tried powering the choke directly if it is electric? i know there is a lot of crappy factory wiring needed to make the factory electric choke work.

never had that issue with a holley. on a sunny day i could let my truck sit for 10 hours and have it start like i just left it. i have heard those thermoquads can be finicky. yes fitech or sniper can be expensive definitely helps drivablity issues that carbs sometimes have. if you got the 91-93 ramcharger fuel tank you would be ahead of most fuel injection wise. the fuel pump is where it can get expensive but they already make pumps for that sending unit that put out the pressure required. i picked the fitech 31003 setup for $1200 plus tax which was $130 off but it was the system with the inline pump. the basic 30003 system is $1160 but if it goes on sale it could likely be found for less. i figure a new carb is about $3-400 so a bit more and you got fuel injection.

lol i got a good deal on it and it is still worth twice what i am into it. it use to be a show car so it has lot of cool to it even tho it can be a pain in the **** sometimes.

 

My tank is a '93, so I could make the swap. But I figured guys have been running TQ's forever, and they work. (for them)
Putting 12 volts directly to the choke had no impact within a minute or two... easy enough to add a pull cable to it and not have to worry about it anymore.
I think there is still something goofy going on though... 15 mm vacuum seems low for a stock motor. If you increase RPM and let go, then vacuum spikes up... so I dont think worn engine. But that compounded with idle mixture screws being useless, there has to be something going on.
One thing I still have to do is get it fully heated up, shut it down and look into the back bores of the carb and see if fuel is leaking down into the throat of it... that would explain my hot flooding issue.

I have a few dumb little things left to do, connect a couple of wires, etc... then body work begins. Woke up to a winter wonderland yesterday... so body work might take awhile.

I'll let that Chevy slip... my yard as a few off-breads too... should really update my signature... but then I might get judged haha.

 

having the right fuel tank helps since that is one of the places most people have issues when switching to fuel injection. i know i am thinking about trying the inline fuel pump again when i try to fuel inject the elecamino even tho it failed on the 81.

15in-hg is a bit on the low side ideally you want to be seeing 17-21 somewhere while idling. hopefully it will increase once you get it tuned in and are using it a bit more.

haha we had the same here yesterday. i am lucky there i really don't have much outside work to do.

lol. 3 out of 4 of my vehicles are dodge. i know more about dodge than chevy even tho i do got a factory service manual for 78 that my dad gave me that i think was leftover from when he use to work at a gm dealer 30 or so years ago.

 

I think before I buy an EFI system I will try rebuilding the TQ if it comes down to it. I am trying to keep my costs down for now. Otherwise I wouldnt have wasted my time fixing up this POS body and buy something decent to start with.

Really hoping the vacuum comes up... I am pretty sure it must be an intake related issue... But the engine was from the D350 which I got when my uncle passed away. He was a poor farmer who loved his truck, but didnt put much into it. I bet he had been driving it with faulty choke for years, meaning he is stuck with 2 micro ports of the spread bore... I bet there is lots of carbon in there that needs burning up. Hope like you said some driving will help.

Let me see if I can remember what's outside... complete cars only...
1982 W350 Crew Cab Long Box - 1993 Cummins driveline. (two trucks became one, was a D350 with the 360 from my RC)
1993 Ramcharger 4x4 - 360
2011 RAM 1500 Big Horn
1976 Triumph TR6
1971 Triumph TR6 hotrod - Ford 5.0L HO V8 swap.
1967 Triumph TR4A
... I dont really want to talk about the mini van and the station wagon... haha
All licence and insured other than the RC... planning to build a new barn this spring... need more storage.