Hi all! Hope everyone is doing well. I'm in the process of building a new motor for my little street strip car (2200lb, 2400-2800 stall, manual valve body th400, 4.11 gears and 28" tyres - hoosier slicks or Mt drag radials depending on the day) Motor specs to date: 454 4 bolt mains - std bore Gm dimple rods (7/16th bolts) 30cc dome forged pistons 119cc 990 rect port heads (somewhere between 10-11:1) Comp xe284 hyd flat tappet cam (yet to be ordered - considered 292 - but read lots suggesting it's a bit of a dog?) Big headers with cutouts for strip use. Where the real question lies is intake.. I have an edelbrock rpm air gap in hand.. and also a bow tie single plane manifold.. Either of these would receive a holley 850 dp I also have on hand.. and a single plate nitrous system shooting 150bhp But.. a friend has an old school weiand tunnel ram that he would sell me.. to which I'd look to add 2x 600-650cfm do 4150s.. and 2 nitrous plates shooting the same 150bhp.. The car is road legal- but doesn't get used for anything except the odd cruise to local hot rod events -trailered further afield - so road manners are not top priority- but I don't want a complete pig either.. Many thanks for thoughts?!?
Welcome. A friendly heads up. You might get a couple good technical answers. But just so you know, we don't speak muscle car here and therefore don't speak much tunnel ram either. 1965 and earlier stuff.
You know,,,,I’ve always wondered about the lack of affection for the tunnel rams here . They get deleted all the time,,,,,,,I think Pontiac produced one in 1963,,,,from the factory . And of course,,,the Ramchargers had one in 1959,,,,,,so in all fairness,,,,they fall within the window for being pre 65 ‘ . I understand a lot might not like them,,,,,,,but they are a lot more traditional than electronic transmissions . And they seem to really speak “hot rod”,,,,,,just by their appearance. Oh well,,,,,,it’s over my head,,,,,LoL . Tommy
The type that we are familiar with was introduced in 1968, it's really a 1970s phenomenon when you'd see them on street driven cars.
yup, first production tunnel rams were 1968 as Squirrel said, a few Pontiac prototypes and a couple of home built units surely do not make them something that was "traditionally" used prior to 65.... Tunnel rams are off topic
Your ride is light , ,the 454 will have the torque , but not enough cam or 150 shot with the tunnel , I would use Signal plane short Holley strip type intake , a trip to a Dyno will tell you .
Home made Tunnel where around before before 65 ,Not called tunnel Ram, ( long runners over 10 inches long ) But not production, ***ociated with 1st drag strip on East coast established 1951
were there enough of them to make them something that was traditionally used back then or were there just a couple ?
Most all Mags where West Coast , did not cover what was going on out side of Cal, until mid to late 50s still most West Coast, I agree about Production late 60s, I would Like for the Rodders / Racers To build & Run (experimental intakes) For Correct traditional cut off, Im guilty of running a production modern tunnel, Blowers & Turbo's .
Here is a thread where Mr. Ridgeway gives his history of racing and the fact that his manifolds went into production in 1968 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/ralph-ridgeway-debs-automotive.458837/
We need a little more info, what are the listed operating ranges of these cams ? I would favor the rpm air gap, should be good to 6500 rpm
The cam will be good to 6500 also. And the thing about nitrous is that it adds it's own air... The tunnel ram would be a lot of fun, the stupid choice usually is.
Tunnel ram will work great with more stall speed. Air gap is a good match for your generic 2400 stall. Being such a light car, your T400 is probably not needed, 1st gear too low. It will be more consistent and likely faster with a PG. Low T400 1st gear vs PG and light car will just have potential traction problems. You may need a nitrous delay to also help with traction right off the line. 2200 lbs is a pretty light car weight.
The car is a 59... and is only slightly larger than a match box.. so it doesn't fit very well into muscle car chat either Thanks for the thoughts so far.. I probably could go roller cam with that money- but as mentioned - sometimes the silly option appeals! (This car is the epitomy of silly..) Would I be right to summarise- I'd get better bang for buck putting the money into other avenues?
Nitrous is set up on a wot switch and a 3500-6000 rpm window switch at the moment as the existing 427 is done by 6000rpm - its a pretty placid motor- comp magnum 280h, 049 oval ports, duel plane Pro comp manifold, 9:1 forged/Steel bottom end. How much cam/stall would justify a tunnel ram?
Why not run that motor combo (pic) with 2,500- 2,800 converter, 3:40-3:00 maybe even 2 :- - gear with Glide -350,400 , spray with 175-250 shot ( Progressive), In 1/8 with good tune , I would think 6:30s 40s 105 ,black tracking , 1/4 around 10:50s ,( is there cage) 28 inch tire 5-6 wide not enough for 4:11 & short wheel base . Whats the rear suspension set up? I do not think I would do a 1/4 in.
Hi, yes - it's on a full ch***is.. 4 link rear, wheelie bars.. full cage. The tyres on it as it stands are 325/60/15 MT drag radials, but I've also got a set of 28x10.5 hoosier slicks to run it in local small tyre (legally arranged- airfield) no prep events. I'm hoping to get a 9.90 out of it with new motor - for bragging rights! Lol
I've just realised that the only interior picture i have of it was when I was mocking up the gas! (And yes- that it literally the only place in the car it fits.. its tubbed, and has a fuel cell in the boot)
I'm making a wish list for a 396 into a 421 stroker and the Edelbrock air-gap intake is on the list. So are about 3 Howards roller cam kits. Definitely go roller with the 454.
A mild 427-454 BB with correct gear & around 480 or so hp to wheels 9:90s 1/4. & knowing more about your ride mybe 3:90 gear with that tire size
The stall in such a light car as yours will be less than a heavier car. So I think a 3000-ish generic stall would be better. In pure racing maximizing performance, the stall should be at the torque peak rpm of the engine. But for street you can go lower, remember also that the stall converter will still transmit power at lower rpm and less throttle for street driving. Stall is the max rpm it can slip when you are standing on the brakes and giving throttle. You can test this by doing just that. Makes a lot of trans fluid heat, so don't do it a lot. Flash stall may be a bit higher intially when you first start out like at drag strip, but it will settle to the brake stall until engine rpm goes higher. A tunnel ram can work on street with tighter converter, but for best match of performance the higher stall gets it up into rpm where the tunnel ram is working better. One issue is the large plenum volume and not causing a bog when you snap the two carbs throttles open. That's where the air gap is better for lower rpms, it has less plenum volume and also has only one carb to react with helping keep air velocity up. With all of the issues with flat tappet lifter and cam problems, only made worse by higher lift and spring pressures with a performance cam, I would seriously consider a roller cam. Just for reliability and peace of mind. Plus the roller can actually give better power for same duration since it can have faster ramp rate which results in more area under the lift/duration curve.
I'm sold.. Thanks.. the gentleman with the tunnel ram also has a few sets of solid roller lifters in his garage- so I'm now cam shopping! That said - I am also going to run it over the next few months with the existing 427/th400/4.11 setup - and will take everything under consideration as I tweak the setup moving forward
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