1969 f250 2wd 390 c6

After setting up the rebuilt engine and the sniper EFI throttle body, my linkage rod doesn’t seem right. I had to unscrew it nearly all of the way out, and seems to barely touch the throttle body linkage.

Anyone have this setup and have a preferred replacement linkage rod?

 

I made my own rod - 3/16 solid and threaded each end for rod ends. I had two problems initially - the width of the Sniper and I have it sitting on a Street Master 390 and 1/2" spacer so the stock stuff wouldn't work. I am still using the trapeze setup and had to make adjustments at the trapeze as well to get full throttle. The Sniper can be pretty sensitive because all four barrels open and may be touchy with a manual trans if you were to eliminate the trapeze and go direct to the throttle. In one iteration I put about a 1/2" spacer under the trapeze to clear an intake runner. I can shoot some pictures a little later if you need them.

 

Hmm, what’s this trapeze you speak of? Looks like PO left me another surprise in their ambitious goal of modifying everything poorly.

Currently i have a slightly bent rod, ball end on the throttle linkage, coming off the accelerator rod. I’m using the performer rpm intake manifold with a 1/2” spacer. I’d need something a little bit longer and a larger S- curve to avoid hitting the rear part of the throttle linkage if the engine were to flex.

I’d like to see your setup. I think I’ll need to find a full trapeze setup or come up with a different plan. Yeah in my research today i see that people have had issues with off-idle acceleration. It sounds like there’s an improved firmware and progressive throttle linkage that helps.

 

You will have to be a bit creative here.
I used a universal throttle linkage to get the two heim ends and then modified it to fit.
The stock pedal rod was too short for my taller intake so I extended the pedal rod vertically about 3"s to line up the throttle linkage more horizontally and avoid catching on anything.
Measure the amount of stroke you need for the throttle to go from closed/idle to wide open. Then lengthen the horizontal pedal rod until it has enough throw to meet that stroke...hopefully that makes sense.
Next, cut the universal linkage bar to size after subtracting the joint ends. The screw ends will allow you to have some adjustment. Then make sure you do not hit anything or catch on anything...that would be bad.
Finally, you may need to find a new kick down lever for your C6, or make one. I tried using the Lokar C6 kick down kit, but ended up cutting the thing up soooo much that it wasn't worth the money.

 

It's kind of hard to see the exact layout from the pictures and the dust leftover from the paint job. At some point Ford eliminated the trapeze and some will say that they are more trouble than they are worth. Just try to keep as much throttle pedal travel as possible to minimize the touchy throttle. Holley does offer a throttle lever extension that reduces throttle sensitivity and it may give you more room. The small rod that you see coming out the front is the TPS for the 4R70W controller. In a few weeks the Sniper is being pulled and replaced with a Terminator X MAX Stealth so I can have EFI and trans out of one box. The Sniper is being moved over to my Mustang project.

If you haven't already purchased, I strongly recommend the full Hyperspark setup for the Sniper to give you timing control. The Hyperspark distributor wasn't available when I went timing control so I got the Dual Synch distributor but the function is the same as the Hyperspark.

What are you doing for fuel supply?





The pressure gauge hides most of it now that I look at the pictures. Note that mine is a "pusher" arrangement because of the trapeze. I think your setup is probably a puller.

 

That's kinda how mine is setup except for no trapeeze. Mine is a long threaded rod with rod ends and jam nuts on each end. It goes from pedal end at firewall to the top of the Sniper throttle lever. Manual transmission isn't a problem, but sustained low speed driving with mine can be. I should note that my truck has a 2" body lift which could affect throttle linkage, and it probably isn't geared right so that might affect the sustained low speed drivability.

I can't say that you don't need the trapeeze, I can't see your setup. If you've got a clear line from the throttle pedal end to the throttle linkage, I don't think it will be necessary to add the linkage. I do not have the performer RPM, but do have a factory 68-70 428 CJ intake on my 390 which I understand to be pretty similar in design. If your engine mounts are in good shape, I don't think your engine is going to move enough to be an issue and if it does you probably need more than a Sniper.

I know you didn't ask me, but I'll try to get some pics of mine tomorrow if the weather is fitting. I'll go ahead and warn you that engine bay (and truck) isn't nearly as purdy as GPatrick's engine bay, so please try not to laugh (or shake you head in disgust) too much.

I like your plans! If my F-100 were a 2wd I might do the same. I'd really like an OD transmission behind the FE. Unfortunately, I want to keep the manual transmission, manual transfer case and am willing to forgo the overdrive to do it. I know other transmission options exist, they are just low on the priority list at the moment. If the Explorer EFI for my other project falls through I might have to go that route as well. It's a 80s Ranger with 98 Explorer 5.0 and 4R70W. I attempted to convert the EFI to standalone, but don't know if I was successful. The backup plan was Mustang Fox Body EFI swap and standalone transmission controller. Considering the price of those transmission controllers, if that Terminator can control a 4R70W it sounds like an even better option.

Agreed on the Hyperspark even if I don't know how to tune it right. I understand how, just don't have the skill to do it right now or the time to learn. I'll probably end up hiring out for tuning, it'll be worth it for me in the end. I was in the same boat of going Dual Sync distributor because the Hyperspark wasn't available. If you take your time it's easy to install and setup to run at least as well as old distributor, with some studying and patience it can run even better.

Correct, if he's connecting to the end of the gas pedal rod it'll be a puller configuration.

 

Thanks. yeah i can see how that trapeze arrangement seems to add more complexity than it's worth. I'm not sure how I'm going to lengthen the accelerator rod. I'm doing some research and it sounds like late 70's models might have had a longer rod from the factory. They also may have used a cable instead of a rod.

I have a new stock single-vaccuum distributor but i'm probably going to go to timing control later. I'm dealing with a lot of other issues from PO neglect. Stock column shifter is hacked off and floor shifter hacked in backwards, all the wiring was shredded so that's getting replaced, exhaust, etc. I keep hearing about a kickdown but i don't have that on mine at all, so that might also be missing completely.

Re: Fuel delivery - I eventually want to re-install the aux fuel tank, and I couldn't find much info on how people kept dual fuel tanks, tank selector, etc. So i'm going to keep the stock fuel delivery past my new stock fuel pump, into a fuel commander II or whatever came with the kit. Fuel return is going to get piped back to just prior to the fuel tank selector T. Just need to make sure the tanks have vented caps I think. If it doesn't work then I'll either stick with a single tank with a normal return setup or pull apart a modern dual tank set up.

 

Lengthening the accelerator rod shouldn't be too tough. It comes out of the firewall with just a couple of screws. Weld on an extension, or just make an extension out of aluminum or angle iron. Just needs a hole at the end for the link.

Timing is going to be fairly important to get the fuel injection dialed in. I have an Edelbrock fuel injection, so it is direct port and comes with a distributor that handles timing etc... Without this part, the truck would be tough to get running right.

Fuel delivery is another tough issue. Most tank caps vent only one direction, to avoid vacuum. When you pipe a fuel return, and on warm days, the tank will become pressurized and mess with your fuel injection. So you may need a tank vent to avoid this.

On the kickdown lever, you don't "need" this like other transmissions. However, the truck will drive much better with it. Just keep in mind that you will need another cable/rod for this in the future when you setup your throttle. The lever is on your C6 (or should be) where your shift lever attaches. The lever just sits there and has a short sweep with a spring return that comes from the valve body inside. When you engage the throttle far enough, the kickdown lever compresses the valve body piston and then will down shift if in range. Fairly fun if you have alot of torque and like to punch it!!! You may need to check your C6 thou, if the floor shifter is backwards, then you may have a car C6 because the trucks are opposite shifting. So you can check the shift order and kickdown lever at the same time.

Good luck

 

I finally collected all the parts as listed from the fordmuscle.com article and am once again at a loss.

The pedal arm hole is smaller than the bolts listed. (Thanks ford for changing this).
When designed straight, the threaded rod hits the threaded rod coming out of the throttle body. This was expected.
When bent to go over the top, the threaded rod could flop around if the nuts loosen at all, which results in the rod binding against the throttle body/carb.
When bent to go under, the threaded rod again hits the rod coming out fo the throttle body.

At this point I’m done screwing with it.

Don’t buy the fitech Go EFI. There’s a rod that is by design going to interfere with the throttle rod unless your pedal arm is extended.

I’m ordering the lokar cable operated pedal assembly tonight. I’ve already invested a lot in time and shipping just getting a trapeze, different parts that i can’t get locally, and am tired of trying one thing, not getting it to work, then having to wait a week before trying something else as i gather the parts.

EDIT: Photos

 

Sorry to hear it still isn't connecting right. It looks like you have the parts, just need to fabricate a few items. You can use some washers or a second nut to space out the balljoint (I assume that is what is out of frame on the picture). Then bend the rod to clear the secondary bolt.

Unfortunately, I do not think you got to the real difficult part, making sure the pedal throw and return is correct for driving. Too sensitive makes driving a pain, and too much throw and you will never get to WOT.

 

Thanks. Yeah I’ll try spacing it with washers today but it just feels like it’s eventually going to cause issues.

I played around with placement and if I use the farthest hole on the throttle then the pedal doesn’t travel enough to fully open. Closer holes do allow for full throttle movement. I think the real fix is to extend the pedal rod or replace the pedal.