I installed a tunnel ram on my Ranchero yesterday and i love it .The trouble is the hood wont shut even with the hole in the hood and the old school plexigl*** scoop thats 3 inches tall .I pulled the hood off and drove it around town all day and i like it better without the hood.Is there a way i can keep driving it daily in rain and what not without the hood ?I am afraid of the dist and carb getting wet.How can i weatherproof?
No pic yet ,i just put it on Saturday night after work.I spent all day Sunday tuning it in and driving it around town without the hood.Its an older Offy Single carb.I am only running a 600 Holley on it fight now with 72 jets all around .I am thinking of trying a 650 or so but not much bigger.I am afraid of it loading up and wetting plugs on cold mornings in the single digit temps going to work.It runs weird .If you stomp on it from an idle it feels weaker than it did with the torker on it,but if you stomp it from above 1500 its on (alot stronger and it doesnt seem to fade even at 6500 ).I am still running exactly the same amount of manifold va***e as the torker had (16.5 pounds according to the same vac. gauge) ,but i had to let the mixture screws out a tiny bit to get it back.It difenitly lost some low end torqe ,but i plan to install the 4.10 gears i bought for it this weekend ,so it should make it go from an idle better than the 3.55's do.As far as it warming up and idling good ,it runs as easy as it did with the torker,but it sounds a little different to me ,but it s proly just my imagination.It difentatly has the look i was after for my Ranchero g***er ...
It doesn't feel as strong off idle and pulls at higher RPM because you changed the power band. What is your combo? Engine/cubes, Heads, cam, stahl, gear, tires, etc. An intake can have a big affect on a cars at***ude. As far as driving it in the rain with the hood off ... I just wouldn't do that. Why won't the hood fit? Is it because of the cowl you made or something else? Maybe you can make a bigger hole ...
I have been forced to drive without a hood in the rain and it freaked me out. Not too much you can do to waterproof it, although there isn't much a motor can't take while running. I would be more afraid of parking it in the rain. In general, the heat of the motor is going to cook off the water faster than it's coming down. The cap shouldn't let any water inside, and the carb can **** in a little mist without hurting much. I wouldn't make it a daily routine, but a little isn't going to hurt much.
Its a 302 H.O. with edelbrock aluminum heads 10 to 1 compression and a mild cam with everything roller.I have 3.55's at the moment ,but i bought 4.11's to install this weekend.It runs a 4 spd. in a 2500 pound car.I drove it to work this morning at 6am and i couldnt resist airing it out to over 6500 .The tunnel ram just dont seem to ever quit.It revs so fast now that i have trouble powershifting fast enough to keep up.The hood is on it now ,but the air cleaner hits the scoop.It will close without the air cleaner on it ,but i aint running it without one.I think it looks better without the hood with the tunnel ram anyway is why i asked...
I haven't had a hood on my Model A for over 40,000 miles, including a couple trips in a monsoon and lots of rain, salt, dust and weather. The only thing I did was to make an air cleaner that pulls from the back and beneath so I don's **** water. No problems for me. Yes the distributor sometimes gets wet on the outside, but not inside Yes the alternator gets wet. Yes the headers go Psssttt when rain hits them Yes some water puddles on the valley pan. Yes I have to wipe the water spots off the chrome valve covers. Still no problems running or parking in the rain.
I got the cam and rockers and sold them locally.I thought the money would be better spent on gears.I had already agreed to buy them and sent the money to a Hamber so i bought them .I figured without lower gears the huge cam would make it slower and less drivable with the tunnel ram .Plus i really didnt want to get in to clearence issues with the pistons and valves.I have to keep telling myself that this is my daily driver, but its hard not to get carried away in the quest to go faster...
i drove my truck for almost 3 months as a daily driver with no hood. i only ever had one problem, my buddies thought it was fun to switch a couple plug wires every now and then. other than that i never had a problem, it ran a little cooler too.
Been there, done that. Get a hood if it's a daily. The weather will seriously age all the hotrod bits and wiring in the engine compartment. People will pick at your stuff when it's out of your line of sight Every time it rains, prepare for idle issues with the wet air filter Use an oiled gauze filter, paper filters are real problems when soaked The engine will always be a mess from water spray I could go on, but strangely enough, ignition problems never plagued me, though I am a faithful user of plug boot grease. Hoodless is great for a cruiser, bad choice for a true daily.
Thanks you talked me out of it, your right .I am worried about sticky fingered people in parking lots .Dont really want my MSD box or other **** jacked .I put the hood back on and it clears the existing hole for the plexi scoop but i dont clear the scoop .Its only 3 inches tall.I am gunna try to m***age the surrounding sheetmetal a bit ,so i can use my vintage scoop if i can.I am pretty good at tin work .It only needs about an inch more to clear the air cleaner.I guess i will just remove the hood for shows and drags i guess...
i have put 40 plus thousand miles on my 32. i've driven it in the rain, parked it in the rain, washed the motor with a water hose. the car has never had a hood on it. the only time it has failed to crank was when i covered the motor when it was raining. the next morning it would not crank because of condensation in the distributor. dan
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