Good evening all:

I recently purchased a 92 RS TBI as a father son project.

Had a question on the 700R4 (what's normal)...
When on the highway (let's say 65 mph), if I stomp the gas pedal, the motor will tach all the way to 4500+, and really not accelerate very fast--I assume this is a kickdown issue?

Trans runs and shifts great all the way around, exxcept for this one anomaly...seems to "kickdown" fine if I accelrate smoothly--the problem only pops up if I really pash the throttle hard!

 

A 395 TBI makes ABSOLUTELY NO POWER WHATSOEVER at 4500 RPM. It's way too choked up by its exhaust, cam, and heads. Can't breathe. Which of course is why it doesn't accelerate.

TBI itself isn't so much the problem; it's that the engine that it got installed on, was about the most non-performance (read: non-high-RPM capable) of its day, by design. The factory wanted the best gas mileage, lowest emissions thing they could create, and in such overwhelming volume that they didn't have to deal with the gas-guzzler tax or any of the rest of that sort of thing. Think of the VAST numbers of 6-cyl and TBI cars as the "sacrificial lambs" to CAFE and the EPA, and you'll understand a bit better what you've got.

Your description doesn't really seem like there's anything wrong with the car, other than it just being what it is.