Bruzilla
Well-Known Member
I'm tired of dealing with kickdown issues, and want to go to a Lokar system. Drivetrain is a 440, with a Holley 850, and a 727 trans. What all do I need to make the swap?
I looked at the Lokar system but prefered and installed the Bouchillon system. Why, because the cable comes straight on towards the tranny lever and the mounting bracket down there is a gem. In the event of band adjustment etc. you merely remove two bolts, pop the cable off and you can access the entire side of the tranny. They all work the same but cost differently and I liked the method of adjustability with the Bouchillon and didn't have to cut any cables. Each to his own.I'm tired of dealing with kickdown issues, and want to go to a Lokar system. Drivetrain is a 440, with a Holley 850, and a 727 trans. What all do I need to make the swap?
the Bouchillion kit comes with the correct length arm for the transmission. and if you read their instructions you will see why it matters.I had no idea there are so many of these systems out there. I always thought Lokar was the only one. Time to do some shopping around.
I found the less expensive cable to be great quality and a superb value. I am very satisfied with it's fit and operation. Whichever you decide is obviously up to you, but I do recommend using Lokar's instruction manual for installation. It can be found here: https://static.summitracing.com/global/images/instructions/LOK-INS0046-ChryslerKickdown.pdf
Amazing how quickly a simple, inexpensive, upgrade can turn into a trip to the bank for a second mortgage.
What I'm wondering about is some of these setups have a return spring attached to the kickdown and some don't. If I understand the system correctly, as the throttle lever moves rearward, the bottom, attached to the cable, moves forward, which pulls the kickdown lever rearward, then when the throttle lever moves forward the cable is pushed back, which then pushes the kickdown lever back into place. I can see where a spring would assist to make sure the kickdown disengages, but that seems like it would also be pulling against the throttle lever, making the pedal harder.
I can see that for the one kit, but looking at the Lokar systems, they use a bracket that connects to the front of the carb and uses two small springs to replace the one long spring and stock spring bracket, so two smaller springs replace the one big one, but there is no spring on the kickdown lever like there is with the Bouchillon set up. There are also no springs on the lever with any of the other systems I've looked at.You understand correctly. You need a throttle return spring for any carb. The kit just integrates it into the new kickdown brackets. By pulling reward on the bottom (kickdown side) it eliminates the long return spring that would normal be pulling forward on the throttle arm. Cleans up the installation a little.