So I just bought this 74 swinger. Low miles n' all the good stuff. Nice car. I think it's the 904A transmission.

Runs & drives smooth, just wondering about the shift intervals; they seem a little long. Right now, under normal acceleration, it shifts 1-2 at 20 mph, 2-3 at around 30 mph. If aggressively accelerating, those intervals change 1-2 around 23mph or so, 2-3 around 35mph.

It's mostly the first gear that feels a little long. Plus the car frequently downshifts at lower speeds when accelerating even normally. My 64 Dart practially never downshifts. But since the 74 is a new car to me with probably different gear ratios in the tranny, i want to know from others if these shift intervals are normal.

thanks!

Thats right about where mine shifts at. Personally, I like the transmission to hold the gears longer. The reason your '64 dosn't downshift much is because it dosn't have a part-throttle kick-down feature like the '67 and up /6 904's. Frequent down-shifting is good....lets face it, stock slants don't make a ton of power and it helps in maintaining speed.

Sounds like your road speeds are appropriate for the shifts. Drive and enjoy...and do change the fluids in that low-miles car!

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Remember the 1974 will have 2.76 gears in the rear whereas the 64 will probably have 2.94's...also the 1974 is a heavy car compared to the fairly light 1964 models (they'd be "even" if you put 2 adult lumberjacks in the 1964, and ran the 1974 with no cargo/spare tire/ 5 gallons of gas in the tank).


-D.Idiot

Feels quite a bit heavier to drive, though certainly less "European feel-the-road" style, and much more "floaty-boat" comfort & luxury!

where's all that extra weight going? Those 2 doors are mighty long and heavy when I open them!

Crash Bars in the doors
Bumper Shocks instead of "brackets"
Bumper reinforcements are like 1/4" plate molded to fit behind the chome skin...
The hoods have more metal in them than the pre-72's...

-D.Idiot

...windshield header panel significantly reinforced to meet roof crush requirements, seat belt anchorages and B-pillar reinforcements for the shoulder belts, heavier cylinder head (w/passages for air injection), emission control equipment, extra soundproofing...

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

You can ajust the kickdown and change that if you wish. Just move it a little. But if the trans gets To soft shifting it want be good for it so be carfull in with ajustments. If you go full throttle will the trans shift at a rpm that is not winding the guts out of the engine. That is one sign of a TV linkage being ajusted to tight it dont want to shift when it is full throttle. It can also keep the throttle from reaching full throttle sometimes when ajusted to tight. But it dont really sound like it is that tight, just setup to be a little snappy which will help the tranny live if all the other things are right (like it will shift at full throttle and not hold the throttle from going wide open).


Jess