Robbaker

Well, here's what I have going on...In my '73 Challenger with the 318, I decided to get rid of the stock 2 barrel, intake and the distributer(since I had to take it off, might as well replace it, right?) Anyway, I ordered all my parts from Summit, they showed up and today I went to the garage to start my install. The parts list that I got was: Summit stage 3 intake (Air Gap), Summit 4bl 600cfm carb, and went with the Summit Distributer pack as well.
Here's the problems I've run into so far. My stock thermostat housing doesn't match up with the manifold, easy fix though, a chevy style neck bolted right up. I'm also short a couple pipe plugs, need to find a water pipe (old one froze into the manifold) and with the new carb in place, the orginal throttle linkage and stuff is having a hard time lining up. The new carb is a lot wider than the old, so I'm going to have to try and mod the brackets a little...
Hopefully I can get the parts I need tomorrow and get it finished up. Once it's complete, I'll post a couple pic's.
Any advice on the carb is greatly appreciated! I haven't worked on a carb in years, so it's kicking my butt a little.

lear4406

Make sure if your car is automatic that you adjust the kickdown rod correctly. Just make sure it has tension. Then when you drive it make sure the shifts are firm and at the same MPH as before. If it holds too long then you will need to back off the tension. If the shifts are too soon then add tension. And you should be able to floor it in third and automatically gear down. As far as the Carb is concerned, what exactly is it doing. You should have no problem with the accelerator cable, but the bracket might need some tweaking. Let me know what symtoms you have and I'll try and help. Good luck.

Robbaker

Thanks Lear...due to the size of the new carb vs. the old carter 2bbl, the kickdown linkage didn't fit. Easy enough fix, all I had to do on that was mount it on the opposite side of the rod, and it mounted right up, no binding or anything. The only problem I had was trying to get the throttle cable connected; when I fired the car up, it was WOT. not sure if the cable is just sticking, or if I had it mounted in the wrong spot or what. With it disconnected, the car fired up, and sounded great, though I have to set the timing on it yet. Unfortunately, the garage is closed on Monday's, so I'll have to wait until Tuesday morning to try and get it fixed. Also, I have to run the new wiring harness that came with the distributor to the electronic ignition. Hopefully it won't take very long. Unfortunately, someone in the past 35 years of my car's life has done some serious Jerry Rigging, so I'm having to "derig" some of that. So it's making it interesting, to say the least.
I'll keep you posted of my progress!

Robbaker

Got my carb, intake and distributor installed!!! Amazing the difference going from stock to this slight upgrade. I have to back off the tension on my kickdown rod, shifting a little higher than it should. Also, I think I need a new throttle return spring, my accelerator is a little spongy coming back up. I guess 35 year old springs can cause that, right?
My project for next month is a getting started on a new suspension.

Robbaker

needing help. After getting the carb and everything installed, was running pretty good, though shifting a little high mph wise (1-2nd @ 25mph, 2-3rd @ close to 50mph). Driving today, and started bucking a little, then lost all forward power. It was like I was in neutral. Finally got back in gear, but something is DEFINATELY wrong. I'm having a hard time getting in gear, setting at a stop sign and go to accelerate, again, it's like I'm in neutral, then it'll catch enough to move. Finally made it back home, though I was coasting up my driveway. Any ideas???

epegasus

Fluid level?

Hey, put a manual in it.

Robbaker

Fluid level is good, and looks very clean.

6SPDHEMI

I had the exact same problem with my 73 as soon as I dumped a ton of money into it! The trans needed rebuilding but I found a decent 904 with a shift kit at a swap meet for $200. I threw that in the car and was going to rebuild the original but the brand spanking 'used' one did the job fine. I had some similar work done to my 318. I had a high rise dual plane manifold with a 650, electronic ignition and the purple shaft .486 cam. I also added a set of 360 'J' heads that I had cut down .040 for upping the compression and the thin gaskets and a set of Dynatech headers. That engine purred like a kitten and certainly had a lot of power out of it. I took it to the track and the best ET was 15.0 @ 102mph. All that engine work is great but the stock drivetrain kills it. I installed a 4.10 posi but the car was stolen before I had a chance to run it again.

Robbaker

Sounds like a sweet setup, sorry to hear about it getting jacked!! I'm hoping I'm not going to have to rebuild the tranny yet in mine. I'm going to try and go with a Lokar kickdown cable, and get rid of the rod setup, see if that helps. I've been doing some research, and the stock kickdown rods sometimes cause troubles after doing a swap like this, due to fitment. The cable sounds like a good fix to start with.

6SPDHEMI

The kickdown cable should have nothing to do with the car "neutraling out" Either you have a shift linkage problem or you have an internal trans problem. If you've been driving around and the shift points are that much higher you may have put some strain on the trans. My advice would be to lose the kickdown all together and shift manually for a bit. See how the trans reacts. If it is the same without the kickdown, you ll probably need some trans work.