Just finished up installing a Lokar throttle and kickdown cable setup on my '83 Imperial. Following their instructions, I set the cable up so that at max throttle, I have max kickdown movement, and when throttle is released, kickdown is returned to original position. Travel at the kickdown and at the throttle has been verified as good. On the test drive, however, the car didn't want to find third gear. I ran it up to 50 MPH, shifted it manually and let it shift automatically...it wasn't trying to hit 3rd gear by 50 MPH, and since I'm dumping straight out of the exhaust manifolds, I didn't want to push my luck with the neighbors any.

With a rear gear ratio of 2.94, I expected the car to be in third at least by 50 MPH. With the kickdown disconnected, I got third gear just fine. So do I back the kickdown off a little or is there anything else you would check first?

Here's my often repeated Lokar rant:

The problem with the Lokar is that it's generic even when advertised to fit a Mopar because of the different lengths of the transmission lever.

If the generic Lokar instructions are followed and the cable adjusted so that the trans lever is full back at carb WOT you can see (simple math) that the first portion of the lever travel is already used up at idle and there's no spring to pull the lever forward.

It's not unusual to see these Lokar installations have light throttle 1-2 shifts at 25+ mph and 2-3 at 40+ mph or even higher and, possibly, no 2-3 upshift at all. If the cable is adjusted for correct light throttle shift points there is insufficient TP at WOT and no forced downshifts. Potential damage.

So, as I've repeatedly ranted, the Lokar works OK if the installer ignores the Lokar adjustment procedure and knows to match the total travel of the cable attach points and installs a spring.

You need to measure the full travel of the carb lever where the cable attaches and then measure the full travel of the transmission lever where the cable attaches; it usually won't be the same so you need to drill a new hole in the transmission lever so that the full travel of both levers is the same. Also, there should be a spring pulling the transmission lever forward.

It isn't necessary for the trans lever to be full back at WOT but be sure that WOT under the hood is the same as WOT at the pedal...misadjusted throttle linkage will prevent the carb from going wide open when the pedal is matted and that, in turn, will prevent the trans lever from going back enough to provide kickdown.

Remove the cable from the carb and measure how far the hole in the throttle lever moves from idle to WOT. Then measure how far the hole in the trans lever moves from full forward to full back. The movement of the trans lever will likely be more than the carb lever so find the spot on the trans lever that matches the travel of the carb lever and drill there.

It's unlikely that the trans lever will return to the full forward position without a spring assist.

^^^^^^^^
This.

Following John's advice posted previously squared my junk away. Beware too, the Lokar cable will stretch and you'll need to tighten it up 2-3 times before it's done. I'd hold off on doing anything fancy with the cable terminations until the stretching is done. I removed the cable from the housing and trimmed and tinned the ends after the initial install as my inner A&P demanded, only to have to do it again on one end after a year or so.

If you'd rather swap parts than do fab work, Bouchillon will sell you their kickdown lever, spring and related hardware from their cable kit separately. When I got a look at the price though, I got the setup sorted out with hardware from my copious stash, a drill and a few trips to Home Depot for springs to trial and error until I got a tension that didn't increase the pressure needed to operate the throttle. I can't imagine using the Bouchillon pieces would have saved me any time, except with the spring(s), or which I ended up buying 4 or 5 before I found one I liked.

i have stated my dislike for the lokar setup for a long time now, and totally agree with mr. kunkle's assessment !
also, i have found their bracketry to be on the thin side for what the items are designed to do.
the brackets have a tendency to bend over time, and the cable is undersized for it's job as well, seeming to be nothing more than cheap bicycle brake cable.
bouchillon or factory linkage is the only way [in MY opinion] to get the throttle pressure to correctly work.

this coming from over a dozen lokar installs i have converted back to the factory setup, or changed to the bouchillon kit.

I have to agree, if I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Bouchillon setup.

That said, the Lokar setup works quite tidily with my AR Engineering tall throttle bracket. The Bouchillon setup is not quite so elegant, but is far more robust. My setup works quite well as customized.

I've used a few Lokar cable setups and have always been happy with them. First thing I do is throw the instructions away and do it like I want.

It appears that the Lokar kit isn't so much my problem at this point.

Prior to putting the Lokar kit on, I could get all three forward gears to happen. On my first run with the Lokar installed, I had no third gear. During testing, we're talking less than quarter throttle, gentle driving, max 55 MPH. No shift. I tightened the kickdown adjustment, I completely disengaged the cable. No third gear. This, from a transmission that just came out from the shop.

If it's not one thing it's another with this car.

A833 swap

If the parts from my old Diplomat hadn't been stolen, I would in half a second...though, admittedly, I'd go for a six-speed and deeper rear gears this time.

Warhammer?

You disconnected the cable but did you ensure that the trans lever was full forward?