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interesting article

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It's fascinating (ludicrous?) that the article is attempting to 'debunk myths' (that Boss 302's had more horsepower than advertised) by assessing posted times from magazine articles as compared to today's articles... Clearly the writers hadn't ever witnessed an original Boss 302 'crap out' during a drag race because of that pesky little factory rev-limiter, or thought about the implications of completing a quarter mile on polyglas ovals. It's virtually impossible to predict engine horsepower from quarter mile times, especially when making comparisons spanning over 40+ years. They obviously didn't they see the Car Craft article where they took a '69 Boss to the strip to race it against the Z28, and with decent tires dropped the Boss into the 12s (hmmm... not so far off of today's times). I don't believe they bypassed the rev limiter for that test, and if not, the times would have been even better with another modification requiring only screw-driver and a pair of wire cutters (Boss owners were all too familiar with this modification, as it is not so easy to find an OEM rev limiter because most of them ended up in the trash minutes after the new owner drove away from the dealership). Hot Rod Magazine did a dyno comparison of the original Boss 302 and Boss 351 engines with those from the Z28s (both the DZ302 version from '69 and the LT-1 from 1970), and the HP from the Boss 302 was north of 370hp (all factory specs except for the headers used for the dyno and a Holley 750 carb - versus the 780cfm carb of the factory Boss). It should also be noted that the HP was achieved at 6800 rpm, which is slightly north of the factory rev limiter. I am not a dyno expert, but it seems unlikely that my '69 engine will develop 80+ additional horses (from 290 to 372) between 6200 and 6800 rpm. To me, that makes the HP up 'near 400', at least in comparison to the advertised 290.

I must say that back when my '69 had decent tires on her and the rev limiter was removed (she's all back to original now...), the acceleration it achieved from 30 to 90mph is one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever felt in a car! Raw, visceral and relentless! About the only thing that compares to it is what I experience in the new Boss (minus the vintage engine smells and the addition of creature comforts like A/C, etc.). The folks at Hagerty should recognize that cars don't become 'legendary' if they perform 'less than advertised' (really, 240hp? Think about the changes to tire technology over the last 50 years!). The Boss is legendary because it always achieved better than advertised.
 

mikebxb

2012 BOSS 302 0782 no mods yet
60
0
Texas
interesting response to article

I like your take on this.
I was there back in the day. I never knew they had rev limiters. but it explains a few encounters with the seemingly anemic orange grabber in our little town.
 
CEO_five-0 said:
I must say that back when my '69 had decent tires on her and the rev limiter was removed (she's all back to original now...), the acceleration it achieved from 30 to 90mph is one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever felt in a car! Raw, visceral and relentless! About the only thing that compares to it is what I experience in the new Boss (minus the vintage engine smells and the addition of creature comforts like A/C, etc.). The folks at Hagerty should recognize that cars don't become 'legendary' if they perform 'less than advertised' (really, 240hp? Think about the changes to tire technology over the last 50 years!). The Boss is legendary because it always achieved better than advertised.

A car dealer let me drive a 1970 Boss 302 back in the early 80's. I remember the power band in 2nd gear was unbelievable.
I probabally shifted to 3rd around 90mph. He kept telling me to buy the car and keep it for 20 years. He was sure it would keep up with inflation. He was right. I didn't buy it.
 

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