Lokar Shifter Installation - Cool Shift

With the throttle cable bracketry installed at the carburetor baseplate, I could fit the kick-down cable. The outer cable was cut to length after determining how long it should be by installing it without the inner cable. Masking tape shows where it needs to be cut.

The lower end of the inner cable looks like this and was connected to the kick-down hook-up in the trans as shown, before locating the outer cable and locking down the bracket. It's recommended that a little silicone sealant be added to the O-rings to prevent leakage.

Before I could install the kick-down cable I had to run the throttle cable, which meant fitting a pedal! This black floor mount Eliminator pedal from Lokar's Midnight Series best fitted my needs, most closely resembling a stock pedal. I made sure to leave enough space for carpet beneath the pedal before drilling the mounting holes and cutting the slot for "through-the-floor" cable mounting.

Here's what the cable mounting bracket under the floor looks like. The cable itself is a "cut-to-fit" item. The small setscrew at the top of the arm is an adjustable throttle stop. There's one on each side of the arm. The cable was fitted as per the instructions, and is supplied with the necessary bracketry.

As with the fuel lines a couple of months ago, the braided cable was cut with a cut-off wheel. The masking tape prevents the ends from fraying.

To set up the kick-down cable, Lokar recommends holding the throttle to wide open and pulling the kick-down inner cable as tight as possible. The cable stop should then be tightened as shown, up against the cable slide fitting. Gearstar recommends using a geometry kit (available from Summit Racing) to install the kick-down cable. I'll see how it works as shown first.

All that was required for my transmission to go "live" now was a fluid cooler. Gearstar supplied this Hayden item with my Level 2 200-4R, but with no space to fit it under the car, at least not if I wanted to run an exhaust system, I elected to mount it up front, behind the grille, for maximum airflow.

Of course mounting the cooler at the front of the car meant I had to fabricate fluid lines to run along the inner chassis rail. My local hardware store sells steel brake/fuel lines in pre-made lengths, so a couple of these were pressed into service. One is shown already bent to fit, one as bought.