Have 69 GS and got original motor rebuilt using the TA 212 cam. Everything else is stock right down to the points except I have a 750 edelbrock carb. 1. I am getting 12" vacuum out of the thing and have the idle set at 800 rpm in Park. Is this normal for this cam? The vacuum reading is steady and I made sure to seal the intake gasket when I put the intake on. 2. When I bring the thing into gear the rpm drops way down to around 600. Is this normal? I am using a stock converter. Should I be using a higher stall with this cam? 3. The car accelerates and idles good but at part throttle cruising it seems to surge, run like its missing, whatever you want to call it. Does anyone know if this is the carb and how to get rid of it? Oh, I am running 12deg initial timing and a stock points distributor. Thanks, Dan
I've built a mild 462, with the TA Performance RV12 cam. I idle at about 750 in park and around 650 in drive, it pulls 18" Hg steady. If I recall, the cam you put in is a much more performance oriented cam than my stock Riviera cam. You should expect a little less vacuum, and I don't think that 600 rpm in drive is all that low, but perhaps the stock idle setting does not apply with that cam? Contacting TA will put you on track with that one. perhaps you're on the right track with the converter, as well. Buicks engines, particularly large ones, like big carbs. My feeling is that your primary jets are insufficient, or maybe you need to reset your float height. I've never had this problem with the Edelbrock Performer 800 I run now, or the 750 I had three years ago, with the same engine I have now, but that is my best guess. Hard to diagnose over the ether! I'm sure other members will have additional thoughts. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
