63 Galaxie Kick Down Linkage

I have a 63 Galaxie 500 with a 352 cruise-o-matic and 4 bbl autolite 4100 carb. I just bought the car about a month ago. One thing I noticed is that the kick down linkage on the carburetor is being held up with a twist tie. Obviously this is not supposed to be like this (maybe). Everything I have read about the kick down on these cars says that they should only be tied up if it's a manual, but this is an auto. Does anyone know why the previous owner would have done this? And would it hurt anything to remove the twist tie?

This is off of my 62. I believe they are the same. Does it look like this?

Here is a photo of what I am talking about. Maybe what I thought is the kick down linkage is not actually that. It is the piece that is actually part of the throttle linkage on the carburetor. If I take the twist tie off it just flops around. I'm just trying to find out if something is missing that I need to go get at the auto parts store, or why the thing is even on there in the first place.

That looks like the adjuster bolt for fine tuning the soft closing of the throttle. The round thing to left of the wire tie is a dash pot that is there to dampen, or slow the throttle plate closing when you take you foot of the accelerator peddle. It would not have come tied up with wire originally. I don't see anything that looks link a transmission kickdown linkage in the picture.

Maybe that was their way to adjust when it contacts or how hard it contacts the dashpot? Or that's "adjusting" the idle?

I'd probably remove the twist tie and see what it does. Then you might figure out what it's purpose was, like something broke there that we don't see in the pic or something. I havent' had a working or properly adjusted dashpot ever and now don't even have one actually.

Might be that it only needs the rod adjusted and that's to take up slack or something or needs a stronger spring to hold the throttle closed.

Mine is dif and since this pic was taken i have put my kickdown back on and i don't have a dashpot.

Something just doesn't look right with the connections or something. It's dark and i have to uncover the car to look at mine to refresh my memory. I actually have a spring off the back side of that "boomerang" on the bell crank that goes down and hooks to the piece on the firewall though. That doesn't have anything to do with the part you are showing though. Maybe it's just that the rod is on the inside and mine pokes in towards the carb.

that is the deceleration valve or dashpot, that doesnt affect the kickdown at all its there so that your car wont die when you decelerate fast. totally different than the kickdown linkage.

Originally Posted by gentz

that is the deceleration valve or dashpot, that doesnt affect the kickdown at all its there so that your car wont die when you decelerate fast. totally different than the kickdown linkage.

The other thing is that in the 1963 year model, I never saw a 352 engine that came with other than a two barrel carby when connected to the autotrany. Not a four barrel one.

May be a manifold off of a 390 then.

Wm.

I can see the tag on the top of your carb in the pic, what are the numbers on it?

Originally Posted by coosbaylumber

The other thing is that in the 1963 year model, I never saw a 352 engine that came with other than a two barrel carby when connected to the autotrany. Not a four barrel one.

May be a manifold off of a 390 then.

Wm.

Even so it doesn't mean that one couldn't of been put on there at some point and no different than a 390 with a 4v and kickdown. Doesn't explain what that wire is for though unless because it's in there the opposite direction from maybe normal maybe it hangs up when stepping on the gas and they did that to keep it raised up off of there or something. Who knows i guess.

The metal tag on top of the carb says "C6AF F"

Then it has four smaller digits under that say "C5LD"

I looked up what the code means and found out that it came off of a 66 Galaxie 390-428. So coosbaylumber was right. I guess this isn't the original carb for this car. When I remove the twist tie that piece just flops up and down. Doesn't really seem like it's serving any particular purpose.