Tunnel Ram intake
- Thread starter ChrisK
- Start date
one finger john
Active Member
AHHHH, AHHHH, AHHHHH ....... I think I'm going to cut my throat !!!
Chris, refer to search and read ALL the entries. You will be introduced to Mike Ermel and his opinions on the matter. You will endure the infamous OINO. You will learn how to spend tons of money on a manifold system that is intended for RACE use only trying to be converted for street use only. Questions like "Why wont it idle?" or "Why is there frost on the manifold in the morning?" or " Why is my fuel economy so sh..y? "
The description of what you have is also sorely lacking. What cam? What heads? What converter? What rear end ratio?
There are as many ways to set a tunnel ram up as there are to skin a cat.
It is not easy, simple or (in the end) fun. You will eventually revert back to a single four barrel or if you want the two carb look, buy a low rise, dual carb manifold from Edelbrock. An Air Gap. You already have the recommended carbs.
If you are going to ask for opinions from previous owners and experts, follow their advice. Anything else is just wasting everyone's time.
John
Ron, there really should be a sticky on this.
Chris, refer to search and read ALL the entries. You will be introduced to Mike Ermel and his opinions on the matter. You will endure the infamous OINO. You will learn how to spend tons of money on a manifold system that is intended for RACE use only trying to be converted for street use only. Questions like "Why wont it idle?" or "Why is there frost on the manifold in the morning?" or " Why is my fuel economy so sh..y? "
The description of what you have is also sorely lacking. What cam? What heads? What converter? What rear end ratio?
There are as many ways to set a tunnel ram up as there are to skin a cat.
It is not easy, simple or (in the end) fun. You will eventually revert back to a single four barrel or if you want the two carb look, buy a low rise, dual carb manifold from Edelbrock. An Air Gap. You already have the recommended carbs.
If you are going to ask for opinions from previous owners and experts, follow their advice. Anything else is just wasting everyone's time.
John
Ron, there really should be a sticky on this.
Last edited:
choppedtop
Well-Known Member
It may have gotten deleted because of the *(@$#%&^!&* it was stirring up.
Lee
Lee
Martin72
Member
one finger john
Active Member
Chris, it's been 'bout a year now that Mike left us. Greatly appreciated for his honesty and rapier wit. And don't ask him the same question twice if you didn't want to hear the same answer once and only once. He did not suffer fools. Or wise asses.
I don't consider myself on his level of the retort. But having contributed to a lot of the more "intense" Q&As, I have to say that 99% of the give and take around here is friendly jousting. If you are going to participate be smart & be sharp. And don't be a "victim".
And like my last post, I'm not doggin' on ya, jest lettin' ya know where I'm coming from.
Ron should be able to tell us what has happened to to the search area of the forum. It seems rather small now a days.
Everybody should be able to ask questions. But for gawds sake use the search function and a little intelligence. We are all here to help.
It would be really boring if we didn't have that variety.
After all, it's just the internet.
John
I don't consider myself on his level of the retort. But having contributed to a lot of the more "intense" Q&As, I have to say that 99% of the give and take around here is friendly jousting. If you are going to participate be smart & be sharp. And don't be a "victim".
And like my last post, I'm not doggin' on ya, jest lettin' ya know where I'm coming from.
Ron should be able to tell us what has happened to to the search area of the forum. It seems rather small now a days.
Everybody should be able to ask questions. But for gawds sake use the search function and a little intelligence. We are all here to help.
It would be really boring if we didn't have that variety.
After all, it's just the internet.
John
Just putting this out there... just food for thought... Real Street Ram B.S. or...
one finger john
Active Member
If you expect an "install and go" situation (with either Holleys or Carters [Edelbrocks]) then you are sadly mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong (I know you will) but are there any specialty carb manufacturers or modifiers that have a specific carb for street tunnel ram use. A carb that you can bolt on and go. Other than the "Street Ram" people (who redesigned the plenums), none that I know of.
Chris, ask the people who run the tunnel rams, what are the tuning particulars(CFM, jets, etc.).
Bet you get lots of different responses.
John
Chris, ask the people who run the tunnel rams, what are the tuning particulars(CFM, jets, etc.).
Bet you get lots of different responses.
John
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
I will comment because I have one on my car. I bought the car that way. It has a pair of matched carbs that are supposed to run on it per say. I haven't had the car on the street yet, other than a tire blazing initial test drive, to tell how it will work out, but I know that tunnels are designed for high rpm use. Like a high lift, long duration cam. I would likely not choose one if I were starting from scratch. You can run single or dual carbs. From what I have learned, the better money would be spent on a blower. Jmo. I do love the look of both.
one finger john
Active Member
Could you give us a description of the set up on both 327s ?
one finger john
Active Member
Old Weiand tunnel ram , 2 600 cfm Holleys, single feed, vacuum secondarys, 350 chev, mounted in Toyota Land Cruiser. .500 lift cam, advertised 300 degree duration, believe it was a Sig Erson. When it wasn't running well, just put your foot into it and suddenly it was running great!
The thing is, no car is run at 100% all the time. Have to be able to be driven. Have to be able to start. Helped a friend with his 1920 dodge roadster, 327, Edelbrock cam, 350 trans, 3:70 rear gears. Had an Edelbrock Street tunnel Ram with dual 500 cfm Edelbrock carbs. Had to play with that one for two, three weeks, before we got it right. Had to change jets, metering rods, fuel pressure, etc.
Also, the man that owned the car would change things without telling me and the next time I would see him (while we were dicking with the tune) he would up and say, in the middle of things, "Oh, I changed a few things while you were gone, didn't I tell you?". No he hadn't.
Finally convinced him to change over to an Edelbrock dual plane, dual carb, Air Gap manifold. And it was a completely different car. No burping, no popping, no banging, good, not great gas mileage. Haven't seen him in a while, but the car drove very well.
Also an MSD cd ignition is a must. Good, accurate spark control that was not available for the Toyota.
Toyota had points and a "hot" coil.
As the saying goes, "If I knew then what I know now, things would be different!"
John
The thing is, no car is run at 100% all the time. Have to be able to be driven. Have to be able to start. Helped a friend with his 1920 dodge roadster, 327, Edelbrock cam, 350 trans, 3:70 rear gears. Had an Edelbrock Street tunnel Ram with dual 500 cfm Edelbrock carbs. Had to play with that one for two, three weeks, before we got it right. Had to change jets, metering rods, fuel pressure, etc.
Also, the man that owned the car would change things without telling me and the next time I would see him (while we were dicking with the tune) he would up and say, in the middle of things, "Oh, I changed a few things while you were gone, didn't I tell you?". No he hadn't.
Finally convinced him to change over to an Edelbrock dual plane, dual carb, Air Gap manifold. And it was a completely different car. No burping, no popping, no banging, good, not great gas mileage. Haven't seen him in a while, but the car drove very well.
Also an MSD cd ignition is a must. Good, accurate spark control that was not available for the Toyota.
Toyota had points and a "hot" coil.
As the saying goes, "If I knew then what I know now, things would be different!"
John
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
If you are designing a engine, you should pay attention to what you expect it to do, what rpm, etc, then buy parts that will match. You can't build a low rpm cruiser and expect a big thumpy cam and a single plane high rise intake to work out. They are designed for specific rpm and power ranges, not cool looks and sound. Also you will have to jet and tune. There are no out of the box high performance kits that I have ever seen that just work. They are much better now than they have ever been if you buy a kit or matched parts, but troubleshooting and tuning is part of the deal. No offense intended, just my opinion based on experience.
one finger john
Active Member
Dave, they worked as well as we could tune them at the time. In this day and age of instant gratification, if a part or component doesn't bolt on and work to perfection instantly then it is labeled a bad part or something else is wrong or the designers designed it wrong. People are used to, no, they demand that everything works properly first time out of the gate. Lots of people are "parts changers" not mechanics. I'm 66 years old and consider myself a mechanic. If things need to be adapted or changed to be able to fit a purpose then I can either adapt, change, or take said part or piece and I know how to communicate to a machinist what needs to be done.
This is just my opinion, but a vast majority of the car owners, enthusiasts are parts changers, not mechanics. If they can not bolt a part on to a car and have it work satisfactorily, they are lost. No plan "B" for them. "I put the part on and it still doesn't work. What now ???" Take the car to a competent mechanic.
Now a days people want the cars to start instantly, idle perfectly (hot or cold), have superior drivability (hot or cold), great gas mileage, blah, blah, blah.
Throw in the CSOB factor "I got the carbs at the swap meet for next nothing, can you help me rebuild them? I don't have any money. Can you be a buddy?" No, I can't.
What it comes down to is how much will an enthusiast pay to get the proper installation of a tunnel ram that will start, run, and perform up to his expectations. "Its just a manifold change". "The guy I bought it from says it's a one day job". "It's just a carb change".
"It's just, It's just, It's just. Ad Infinitum.
So what would be an acceptable state of tune to people 30, 40 years ago is not acceptable today.
Experience and speed cost money, How much are you willing to pay?
John
This is just my opinion, but a vast majority of the car owners, enthusiasts are parts changers, not mechanics. If they can not bolt a part on to a car and have it work satisfactorily, they are lost. No plan "B" for them. "I put the part on and it still doesn't work. What now ???" Take the car to a competent mechanic.
Now a days people want the cars to start instantly, idle perfectly (hot or cold), have superior drivability (hot or cold), great gas mileage, blah, blah, blah.
Throw in the CSOB factor "I got the carbs at the swap meet for next nothing, can you help me rebuild them? I don't have any money. Can you be a buddy?" No, I can't.
What it comes down to is how much will an enthusiast pay to get the proper installation of a tunnel ram that will start, run, and perform up to his expectations. "Its just a manifold change". "The guy I bought it from says it's a one day job". "It's just a carb change".
"It's just, It's just, It's just. Ad Infinitum.
So what would be an acceptable state of tune to people 30, 40 years ago is not acceptable today.
Experience and speed cost money, How much are you willing to pay?
John
Similar threads
