I have not driven my recently purchased 69 much as it has needed some work to pass safety inspection, and my own "safe enough to drive threshold." Since I got the car, the accelerator has been "mushy", and occasionally sticks. I cannot get much of a clue from looking under the dash, but the accelerator connection on the carb looks weird to me (though this is the first carburetor vehicle I have owned since 1990).

here is a picture kindly sent by Duke94 of the linkage of a 71



And here is a picture of my carb set up:


Note on my set up, the return spring is on the left side, and is pulling in the opposite direction. Does anyone have a picture of a 69 with a roughly factory carb and linkage set up. Based on my research, i do not think that the idle solenoid was a factory item until 71.

Thanks, Richard

 

It looks to me as if your linkage is not alligned properly. Meaning not all parrallel with the carb. If you want to keep it stock this will have to be looked into. Hardly anything on my car IS stock so if I had your prob I would go with this...
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
And this...http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
Or something similar. You will not go wrong with Lokar.
Check uot summit for your correct application.

 

The alignment is way off which would cause the binding. See if the support bracket is bent. Or get a longer stud on the carb side. You want the cable inline with the linkage on the carb. Not saying that there mabe issues withe the cable.

 

Have you checked the return spring which goes from the carb linkage to the throttle linkage. If it has lost its tension, that could be your problem. BTW, most come with 2 springs.

 

I don't see any return springs at all.

BTW either your throttle primary plates are not closed or your curb idle screw is not adjusted properly.

 

So, based on the responses, I have taken a couple of other pictures
here is the top view of the carb and linkage


You can see the alignment is off.

here is a better picture of the side view


notice the return spring is on the opposite from from the picture in the top post. also note that there is no provision on the throttle cable brackte on the carb for a return spring on the right side. Could it be that the throttle cable mount is incorrect, and I need the correct one to get the alignment right?

 

Do these pictures jog anyones memory on what I might try to get the linkage aligned? The cable holder does not appear to have been bent, but it looks to be the wrong one, based on the lack of provision for a carb return spring on the right side. I have tried a couple of places looking for a replacement, but I cannot seem to find one. I am open to suggestions and looking for help.

Richard

 

All I get are small thumbs for pics.

 

Have you considered the parts in post # 2?

 

I'd replace the spring first. It would be the quickest and easiest way to start trouble shooting. IMHO, I don't think the cable is out of alignment far enough to cause the throttle to be "mushy". Bad alignment would cause the cable to bind or stick making the pedal hard to push and not return when you backed off. A spring that has lost it's tension will make it easy to push all the way to the floor and super slow to return and probably not return to proper idle...

 

Sorry about the pictures, i need to fins the originals and re-size them again. I have looked at the part in response #2. The trouble is that i think the carb return spring set up is wrong, so if i get a new cable set up, it may still have alignment issues, since I am not sure what kind of set up is on the car, it is definitely not stock (at least from pictures.

I will try to get re-sized pictures up soon.
Richard

 

Okay, i have taken a couple of new pictures (made sure to resize them properly this time) and waited for them to get approval on the web site.

The first one is a better view of the side of the carb. note the location of the return spring on the left (as opposed to the right side like the picture from Duke94)



The next picture is a better view of where the accelerator cable is held to the carb. note there is no provision on this bracket to hold a return spring (as in the picture above) leading me to believe this bracket is from some other application, and will not allow correct alignment of the linkage



The last picture is a better top view showing that the alignment is off.



If someone has a 69 small block with a stock carb linkage set up, a picture of what it looks like would be very helpful in troubleshooting. (I am under the assumption that there is little difference from the picture of the 71 I have been given above).

Second, if the basic 69 and 71 setups are the same, then any ideas on where I could get the correct bracket that bolts to the left rear carb stud and holds the accelerator cable would be great. That would allow me to use the stock return spring, instead of the much longer one I have. I cannot find such an item at any of the usual places (DR rebuild, ecklers, etc), so any help would be an improvement.

Third. Best I can tell, the accelerator pedal assembly is fine, though the AIM has little detail. if anyone has taken their out and has a picture, that would also be helpful.

Lastly, I am always open to suggestions as this is turning out to be more of a puzzler than i expected when I bought the car.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
Richard

 

You can use a spring in front of the carb, as long as it is attached above the shaft. You do however need a shorter spring. The spring you have is almost all the way retracted and you are not near the idle stop.
I have 2 springs on my car and one pulls forward and the other pulls backward so that I don't wear out the bushing in the carb body. Also so if one snaps, I have one in reserve

 

Thanks Sly, it sounds like we are on to something. Could I take this spring to a parts store (O'reilly, Autozone etc) and try to get a few of various lengths to find the one that works best? Can you buy assortments somewhere? (I honestly have not had time to look) I had thoughts that the return spring was not strong enough (too long) but was concentrating on getting the correct cable bracket, but it sounds like that is not the only possible remedy.

 

I'm looking at the last picture you posted and I'm wondering if, when you give it full throttle, does the steel cable line completely slide into the black plastic tube on further back on the cable? Judging from the above picture, if it were to be retracted completely into the black plastic tube, the "head" of the steel line would bind in the tube. I'm speaking of the crimped end the cable attaches to at the carb connection. You should be able to find the reason of the bind with someone stepping on the accelerator pedal while you watch it. Unless of course it's binding on your air cleaner, which you have removed.

Something worth mentioning is I have a bto tv cable corrector setup for use with my 700r4 and mighty demon carb. With everything adjusted to its extremities, I have a slightly offset cable like I see in your pic. Mine doesn't bind but it concerns me that it's a little off. I have a new replacement on the way from mid america right now to take the place of the one currently on the car. I can't get my secondaries opened all the way cause the cable is old and stretched out.

 

Yes, there is some binding. I have not driven the car hardly because the throttle sticks, kind of mushy, etc. I definitely need adjust the position etc, but I need to fix the whole return spring thing first.

 

Sorry, only picture handy.
Looks at the following pic.


The throttle lever (plate where the cables connect) is for a TH 350 tranny that uses a throttle kickdown cable, such as is on your car. The top pin is for the throttle and the bottom for the kickdown and you can see it is rivited on. Yours is removeable and has been added.
I may be wrong, but I believe the 69's etc came with TH400 which had elec pedal kickdown switches.
So you will not find a oem setup that will work properly. You will have to manufacture something.
The hole with the nylon part in it is for the rear mounted dual return springs.
The kickdown cable mount is perfectly lined up with the throttle lever in an oem install.

1-It looks as if you could install the return spring as oem and as in Duke94 picture and revamp the kickdown cable mount (not in pic) out further to align.
2-Or you can reverse the kickdown pin so it faces the carb and get a little straighter.
3-Or you can disconnect the kickdown cable from the carb all toegether temporarily as long as it is not in the extended position. You can drive normally and just not have kickdown capability.

I would try 1 and use a dual spring for safety.

BTW
It may be easier and be able to post immediately if you open a Photobucket account (free) and post your pics from there. Big pics will be automatically resized.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will open a photobucket account to reduce lag (and make up for some moron resizing mistakes).

I would prefer option 1, by installing a return spring on the right side. But, as you can see in the picture, the bracket holding the throttle cable does not have a provision to attach one. I was hoping to find a correct one, but that does not seem possible. I will likely need to fab something up. I will also try seeing if a shorter return spring on the left side would work, at least well enough to drive it safely to get it to someone who could help sort it out.

 

I borrowed a pic from another post
It shows the double spring you need.



Looks like the same throttle lever as yours. Springs are available at any auto parts store.
The cable mounts and kickdown mounts are on all period correct gm products and not just Corvettes. Try a junk yard. Try drilling a hole in your existing mount.
You should be able to make/find something that will work and look like it was meant to be there.

 

Thanks. I have purchased the correct spring. I just need to figure out a way to mount it so it will function. previous junk yard crawls in my are have turned up little in the wafer of 60's-70's GM stuff. I can occasionally find an old truck here and there. I will keep trying.

Richard