I have finally gotten my 65 stud ready to drive except for the kick down switch on the transmission. I had to put a throttle cable on the car instead of the linkage and can’t find a place to mount it. The car has a 283 sbc with a 500 cfm Edelbrock carb. My understanding is the switch acts two ways. 1. Kicks it out of od when you push the accelerator to the floor acting kind of like a passing gear and 2 kicks the od off when you go below 28 mph approximately. Is this right? If so could I mount the switch on the dashboard and press it when I want the number 1 function. Also does the number 2 function happen automatically and doesn’t relay on pressing the switch. I don’t want to worry about damaging the transmission Thanks
The kick down switch is a momentary switch which grounds the points long enough to cause the ignition to pause and allow the OD to disengage. This must be done while under power, so the reason for the switch to be mounted on the carb linkage. Some automakers put them under the gas pedal, so that might work for you. The switch is not needed to "shift" out of overdrive once the car speed is below 28 mph, this will happen automatically. Mounting on the dash would also work, or make up something a little more pleasing to the eye.
The governor controls the speed part. The kickdown switch opens the circuit so the solenoid turns off and also interrupts the points so the o/d can disengage (with load off of the trans). Yes you can put a switch on the dash but it needs to be the right switch (or wire it up differently then stock).
First thing I did on every OD equipped outfit - move the kickdown so I can run it without flooring it.
In the Edsel, I had a KD switch hanging from the column shift lever, and it worked ok, although I think it didn't short the ignition, so I had to let up on the throttle when I used it. The Hudson had the original KD switch on the pedal, it worked great, and got lots of use. I suggest you do what you have to to get it set up like original, it makes driving the car more pleasant.
The kickdown switch is only to disconnect the overdrive when you want extra acceleration when passing. It works like the kickdown on an automatic. Like 57 Heap said, it interrupts the ignition momentarily to provide torque freedom so the spring in the OD solenoid can pull the pawl out and go back to direct drive. When you let the throttle back up, the trans will shift back into overdrive.
^^^^ What Squirrel said…. One issue with having the OD switch independent is if you screw up and don't have the trans unloaded when shifting or 'miss the interval' you can damage the pawl in the OD unit. The OEM wiring has fail-safes built in to prevent that. And some guys like to have 'six speeds' but if you do the gear ratio math you'll find that 1st OD is very nearly the same as 2nd standard, the same for 2nd OD and high standard. I should also note that if you're running some sort of electronic ignition, some don't like being grounded to interrupt power. Check with the manufacturer on that.
. First off thanks for the help. My car is wired as crazy Steve told me to in a previous thread. It works great and thanks again The switch will work on the dash. I just want to understand how I could damage the transmission by not using the switch. In my head I can only figure to do damage if I press the switch while I am pushing down on the accelerator. Am I right? Also I would only need to use it while I want to accelerate, like in a passing situation. Is this also correct?
As long as the switch is wired to interrupt the ignition as per the OEM wiring, how/when you press the switch won't matter. If it's not interrupting the ignition, then you either need to fully release the throttle or push in the clutch before activating the switch.
Thanks. Yes if I depress the switch power to the distributor is cut off. I am finally going to drive my car soon. Thanks to everybody who helped me on my various threads
Attached is some interesting reading: R10 basics and how to turn it into a six speed. I did this on my truck. I used a little different dash interface; I put fog light and backup light switches and indicators there also. don
That seems overly complicated with marginal benefit. If I was going to run anything aftermarket I'd just run the T handle lockout and a simple push/pull switch to power the solenoid and skip the kickdown switch under the pedal. It can then easily be engaged and disengaged at will.
You are probably correct, however, I'm German (Air Force vet and American citizen now) and making simple things complicated appeals to me. There is a saying "if Germans invented the paper clip, it would have moving parts." don
Thanks again for the replies. I just took the kick down switch and mounted it on the dash. I dressed it up a bit with a chrome ring. This way it is hooked up like Crazy Steve showed me in the prior post. I can just press the button when I need too. Thanks again for all of the advice
Been running overdrives from day one.....never depended on a kick down or switch to do the job - if the feeling was there to pass - I took it out manually.....and shoved in as needed....manually....just my one cent worth.
You can just go with a relay, toggle, solenoid and the cable. Bypassing the governor and kickdown switch is fine, having owned both (stock and modified) I like the flexibility of the modified version.
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