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Hello all, i was driving around the other day and my 69 coronet 318 904 stopped shifting properly. It shifts the first but won't come out of 2nd. I was looking at it and the linkage came apart.

I put it back on see blue arrow and still did not work so I been experimenting with the adjustment rod green arrow and it still won't shift. Any recommendations?




To my eye...you have a lot going on here all, working against you. I can't quite tell from the picture, but you should have a washer and clip holding the kickdown slotted lever in place so it doesn't slide to the side on the and hang up, looks like you have it. Also, your kickdown spring should be running parallel with the lever in order to get the right geometry, meaning hooked on top of the bell crank by the firewall.

To adjust...get under the car and hold the kickdown lever all the way forward at the transmission (a small bungy cord or a bent wire tied off somewhere is good for this). With the lever all the way forward at the trans, get your head back under the hood and adjust the vertical threaded rod so the bell crank lines up correctly with the bracket (on top, rear of the motor, by the firewall). If you have the right brackets, you should be able to stick a drill bit through the small hole in the bracket and the two small holes in the bell crank. There should be no pressure on the vertical piece, just nicely lined up. If you have a mismatched bracket to bell crank so there holes aren't even close, just eyeball what would look like a neutral adjustment. Let loose your kickdown lever underneath at the trans. Now adjust the slider arm (the one with the long slot) so it doesn't stop you from going to full open throttle and more importantly, so it just touches the back of the slot on the throttle pin with the car idling as normal. In other words, with the slotted rod all the way forward the inside back of the slot just touches the throttle lever pin. Then hook up your kickdown spring and return spring. If your car is shifting too early, lengthen the slotted rod a turn or two, do not mess with the threaded rod anymore. Should work!

'69 Hemi Charger 500, ‘70 U code Challenger R/T
(These and a bunch others at www.dkowal426.com)

P.J. O'Rouke: "The old car ran perfectly, right up until it didn't."