Fordomatic late shifting ('57 thunderbird)

[yblock57]

Daves55Sedan —

I should've been more clear in my original post. This setup had linkage issues due to the throttle valve being installed wrong in the valve body which limited the movement of the throttle rod. Dad drove the car before we realized what was going on and inadvertently floored the accelerator to get the trans to kick-down. This caused the throttle to become stuck in the wide-open position (or close to wide-open). He had to turn the key off. Luckily no damage to the engine or car, but it bent the threaded end of the throttle rod and unbeknown to us, the 'double-L' piece on the firewall.

Once I ascertained all my pieces were correct for a '57 D model (measured a friend's correct setup), I pulled the 'double-L' piece out of the car and proceeded to carefully bend it in the direction if needed to go. The ease at which it bent left no doubt in my mind that this was the key to all this linkage mess.

Once it went back in, the shop manual procedures were followed and this time everything went exactly as outlined.

Appreciate everyone's input here. I should be putting it all back together sometime next week and will post my results. Fingers crossed!