what controls the shifting in a 86 escort?

[getdanwilkinson]

Hello i have a 86 ford escort and i just got it. was told it was not run hard by one owner and never got over 45-55 so it was sluggish i
thought the fillter in tranny wrong made it worse im looking 4 what makes a 86 shift i checked and there is no madulator part store said that would be it but they dont show one. would the tach gauge being out somehow be conected?

[UnexplodedCow]

Those are fully mechanical auto trannies, man. There is no controller for those years. And those cars with an auto in them will always be sluggish. It's the design of 'em. They're just simple 3 speed auto. But, you can change the shift time of the thing. First off, is your car CFI, or EFI? It shouldn't matter much, just different hardware. But look around where your intake butterfly. You should see linkage going down to the tranny, and if you adjust how far up or down it is, then you can change the shift points, but it will affect power/economy/driveability. Just don't expect anything faster than sluggish out of an auto.