Autolite inline carbs

[mr bruce]

Sort of a vintage tech question for you guys.Anybody know anything about them? Did anybody on the planet ever get them to work?

[snakeeyes]

Mr. B, all I've ever heard about those things was that they were a bear to set up. I can't recall ever seeing an actual working set on a car. Of course, that just means you can distinguish yourself by being the first--how about a pair of them, on a specially-adapted "Cross-Boss" manifold? Might be the only intake manifold that was bigger than the engine it was bolted on

[Rick Parker]

It is my understanding that the Trans Am rules at the time (1970)allowed 2 4bbl carburetors on the high winding smallblocks. Webers were not permitted (4x2bbl). The inline carbs were Fords way of circumventing the intended application or standardization of using 2 Holleys, and gaining the benefits of one venturi in close proximety to each intake port. Just a liberal application of the rule book. There were manifolds for 1 or 2 of these oddball carbs to fit the Boss 302. Their availability and use was short lived.

Rick..........

[Shelboss]

I have owned my Autolite Inline and Cross Boss manifold since the mid seventies. It was my senior project in college to get it to run on the street. There are a few problems with doing this on a Cross Boss and Boss 302 engine. First off, the carburetor is too big for 302 cubes, so either stroke the motor or put smaller venturis in it. Mine is now set up to be between 750 and 780 cfm estimate. Second is there is not enough velocity in the manifold to run under 3000 rpm. It does not cruise, but man does it go when you step on it! It would not idle either, you get a rich/lean condition as the velocities and vacuum fall off. I designed a 3 piece shaft assembly that operates the two inner barrels as primaries and opens the outer two barrels with Holley vacuum diaphrams. The accelerator pump cams have set screws and slots that mechanically close the outer barrels when the throttle closes. The carburetor now idles at 800 rpm and has no bog or flat spots. Gas mileage is in the 10-12 mpg range with a modified Boss 302 with 12.5:1 compression. If you really want to run an Autolite Inline on the street, get two and put them on an independent runner manifold or be prepared for a lot of work!

[Excaliber]

Shelboss
I think I speak for the club when I say:

We would love to see some pics of that rare setup in your gallery or here!

[Tom White]

I have an 875 autolite set up for my boss 302. they run fine on the street. check out boss302.com and search for cross boss, they have a good bit of information. i'll put some pictures in my gallery.

[427 S/O]

You gotta work with them but they will run and run good........

[Shelboss]

For years I have searched for people with information on running these carbs, the last week I have found about 4 people successfully running them on the street! I'm so glad Al Gore invented the internet. Tom, are you running it on a stock Boss 302 motor? My cam is 300 deg duration and my idle screws are out 3 turns, it still leans out and wants to stall after a short duration. I am tempted to open up the idle air bleeds, but not without spares.

[Tom White]

I have a solid roller set up, after that its pretty much a stock engine. I'm going to update the distributor this winter. I'm rebuilding the car with some trans am features, period correct big brakes up front, repositioned upper arms and side exit exhaust, etc.

[Shelboss]

Some pictures of my Inline set-up. Thermostats are Mercedes 170S and air cleaner is fabricated to take a Ford oval air filter.
http://www.mustangandfords.com/mufp_...350/index.html

[Historybuff]

One of the advantages of living in SoCal is that you run into
famous personages in racing at car shows. I ran into PJ Jones
and asked him were those inline carbs any good and he said he did a lot
of testing but could only get them to run good at full throttle. I never did find out if they were legal for Trans Am racing. I think they make a good exotic looking alternative to Webers which I am a little scared of since I have seen
Webers backfire flames through the carbs at times on my boss' 351 Weber equipped Pantera. A guy named Ron Miller in LA used to have exotic Ford parts of various types, maybe you can find his business and ask if he still has them or the parts.

[mr bruce]

What's old is new again, http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...3571_-1?CT=999