Guys, I have a 69 boss 302 with a fresh engine rebuild, the builder put in an aggressive cam and I have to have the idling Rpm's around 1000-900 just so it doesn't stall. He went .40 over. Put it on a machine and only getting 12-14 on the vacuum. I had the carb redone as well. It runs great, any thoughts? I'm not sure I want to put in a new cam.

 

Fuel / air mixture?

Vacuum leaks? you might have to isolate all vacuum from the engine to eliminate the possibility.

Old gas?

Engine bored - heads shaved? Checked compression on each cylinder?

Too bad you're in Ohio - I would *love* to have a look at your Boss - I would welcome the opportunity to diagnose a legend, if you'd let me. At least I had a rare opportunity to fix a 64 1/2 on the fly a few weeks ago when it stalled across the street.

Which cam was installed exactly? You have the model number? 900-100 seems a *tad* high not to stall on an older 302, but I'm not sure about the Boss 302 build.

 

Where do you live?

 

Louisiana.

I'm surprised nobody else has a suggestion. I'm thinking cam since you said it is aggressive. Maybe throwing a line in the Boss section might get a few more hits.

If you could get the model number or cam stats, it could tell something.

 

Sounds like the carb needs some fine tuning along with some timing adjustments. The problem is finding good tuners nowadays who even know how a carburetor works.

 

Sad, but true - a real shame, too.

I can tell you convincing the younger generation to engage in the automotive arts is becoming a problem. My wife works with workforce training with (amongst many other companies) Toyota - they offer free training and a guaranteed 55K job upon completion. That tells you something.

My air spring guy (when I had a Lincoln) said he would get calls from old employers all the time because they are having real issues filling positions. He said the younger generation doesn't want to get their hands dirty. As good a living as he makes, even his kid doesn't want to get into the business.

When I was a kid, we were poor. (How poor were you?) We were so poor, me and my brother wore our dad's old work t-shirts with free iron-ons and went as "ghosts" for Halloween - true story. My 'ol man had to buy real some real pieces of work as it was all we could afford - I remember one car, a Cutlass I think, had so many replacement body parts; it was five different colors: blue, green gold, primer & rust. He was trained at GM and worked as a fleet mechanic and would spend a considerable amount of time just trying to keep them running. I was completely fascinated and could not get enough. I was a legitimate mechanic's helper by 6. By my teens, I bought dirt bikes, sometimes with the engines disassembled in a 5 gallon bucket - and would have turn them and make decent cash. I fixed all my friend's rides for nothing. I eventually worked as a small engine mechanic, then did some time at Dodge.

Somehow, life took a different turn for me, but I still miss it - a lot. With the youngest getting interested in racing, maybe we'll get into cart racing.

The adventure continues...

Sorry if I babbled - I'm fallin' asleep. Nite.

 

I grew up playing in my uncles shop. Was surrounded by cars and engines. I was showing my dad how to change his brakes when I was 12. True story. Was a mechanic after high school for about 15 years and finally got out of the business 5 years ago. I don't recommend mechanic work to kids ever. I tell mechanic students to go do something else. Not a good profession to raise a family. Lots of really good friends struggling to make ends meet as mechanics. Just doesn't pay what these guys deserve. Especially as technical as these jobs are nowadays.

 

if the engine is real fresh simply give it a bit more breakin time then start your adjusting ..