The kickdown is aptly named because it tell the tranny to down shift into a lower gear. If you do not have a kick down, you can manually downshift your car when you need a lower gear, but that can get old.
You dont have to have it. its just a little steel braided cord that attaches to your gas pedal rod. When you stomp on the gas....it will drop your transmission down a gear to hel you accelerate more quickly. Most cars nowadays have it controlled by a computer.
What year is your car? I think i have a brand new one laying around in a plastic package that im not going to use.
My car is a 67.. 289 2V.. I dont think my car has one. There is nothing attached to the accelerator linkage except the clip that holds the rod into the carburetor.
Im trying to restore it myself..Just needed some help to see if I need to purchase one or not.