[stanjr41]

I have a 1965 Rambler wagon with a 350 chevy engine and a 350 turbo trans. My problem is that I can't raise the shift point at full throttle .Currently, the 1>2 shift point is around 3,800 r.p.m. and the 2>3 shift point is around 4,000 r.p.m. The trans has a shift kit in it and an adjustabable vacuum modulator iand I don't know which way to turn the screw to raise the shift point.

[Jmark]

You can try turning the screw clockwise (in) 1/2 turn at a time. Most likely it won't help much. What you can do is get heavier springs for the governor to raise the shift rpm. Some places sell governor kits that include springs and even different weights. Its very easy to do. The governor is under a domed looking cover on the side of the trans. Snap off the big clip that goes over the cover, pop off the cover and pull out the governor. You'll see the springs once you get it out.

Mark

[stanjr41]

Thanks Jmark for the info. Just what is the purpose of the kick-down cable? Does it set the throttle position for kick-down or what? Right now I have it set so that at full throttle the cable is also pulled out as far as it will go. The car is geared pretty low right now (60 mph=3000 rpm). When I leave a stoplight, by the time I reach the opposing crosswalk I'm already in third gear., and this is while driving normal with no hot rodding just medium throttle. any other ideas? Thanks, Stan

[Jmark]

Well, hopefully some of the trans experts will jump in and offer some help.

I'm just offering from my own experience on my 350. When I rebuilt it last year, I used the "truck" governor springs that came in the kit. Normal shift point with those springs was about 10mph for 1-2 and 20 for 2-3. Really sucked unless I was full into it and even then it was way too low. I found my old springs and put them in and was back up to 1-2 at 45 and 2-3 about 65, both a WOT. Like I said, the modulator will help some, but often times its not enough. Changing the gov springs is very simple.

It sounds like you have the kick down cable set correctly. I just pull the carb back to WOT and make sure the kickdown cable is pulled to the end. It can even be a little long too. If you crank it too tight, you can break things.
As far as the kickdown goes, it will allow a down shift at WOT providing everything else is in order. But once you get to a certain point, the trans just won't drop a gear. If it did, you'd most likely blow the engine if it did a 3-2 shift at 100!

Mark

[scholman]

Stanjr41,

The kickdown cable on the 350 is used to shift the trans to the next lowest gear. So if you are in third then it will go into second. This helps for passing slower cars quickly. The engine revs up and the trans shifts down and away you go.

What it sounds like is happening with your trans is called "stack-shifting". The trans just shifts one-two-three and you never get to hear it REV UP. The governor is the answer. With the shift kit the line pressures are too high and the trans just shifts right through all the gears. The only problem is finding the springs you need.

What I have done in the past is grind off some of the weights of the governor so they swing out later which causes the shift points to change too. I just grind a little off each weight and then take it for a test run.

Good Luck
Scholman

[steve t]

you can shift by hand, that what i do at wot,i have a b m shifter

[Jmark]

If you don't feel like doing some weight grinding, Summit sells a B&M gov. kit for 30 bucks.
Take a look here. Fits the 350/400/700 trans.