Tunnel Ram setup for the street

[volquartsen]

Hello everyone, new guy hear...Looking to build a street motor with a dual tunnel ram..Basically what I have now is just a 350 block with 186 heads..My build is a Chevy Vega with mostly 70's correct parts(Motion Build)..
I really want to run a tunnel ram this will be strictly a street car...

So here are some of my questions, looking for some suggestions on what tunnel ram to use, carbs, and any other
components such as cam, and compression to make this work on the street...

From what I have read Holley 390cfm carps work the best for this setup..Great but cannot find any 390 carps from the 70's that will not break the bank..Found some on CL but not really sure what I'm looking for, are all the 390 carbs setup for running on a tunnel ram setup? Guess I'm kinda lost here..Any help or correct part numbers would be great...Thanks in advance...

[bbbentley]

From experience....I like and I recommend the Edelbrock TR1X. It is vintage correct=important. It has smaller and longer runners=important to working on a street ride. 3rd, it is the most common=affordable and easy to find (somewhat). Good luck. advice on carbs would be the same=smaller the better, but knowing the cost and availability, I have run 1850 Holleys (600cfm) and they worked well. With that light a car, I think this will be OK...it is not as if you are racing, you just are into the "eye-candy" and the jaw dropping effect of seeing a Vega with a ram? I assume. 64cc Castings with a 350 are always a good choice of old school iron. Flat tops would be a plus and a cam with a lobe centerline of 112 or 110 and around .480-.520 lift Hydr. or solid. ( I am living in the past on cams though and really cannot recommend a grind, but know a roller is preffered if bucks hold out).

[Plowman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: volquartsen</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hello everyone, new guy hear...Looking to build a street motor with a dual tunnel ram..Basically what I have now is just a 350 block with 186 heads..My build is a Chevy Vega with mostly 70's correct parts(Motion Build)..
I really want to run a tunnel ram this will be strictly a street car...

So here are some of my questions, looking for some suggestions on what tunnel ram to use, carbs, and any other
components such as cam, and compression to make this work on the street...

From what I have read Holley 390cfm carps work the best for this setup..Great but cannot ***I sL but not really sure what I'm looking for, are all the 390 carbs setup for running on a tunnel ram setup? Guess I'm kinda lost here..Any help or correct part numbers would be great...Thanks in advance...
</div></div>***Sent you a pm.

[Plowman]

390's carbs won't work much.

[volquartsen]

Thanks guys,

Thanks for the input bbbentley I will run a search for the Edelbrock tunnel..Yea basically just looking for some eye candy plus I love the looks of a tunnel ram as this is just a street build..Have quiet a collection of 70's parts for the build so hoping the tunnel ram setup can top it off...The cam, was reading an old topic here and it was said that you should run a mild cam so this will create lots of vacuum to pull the air/fuel down that long intake at low rpms, what are your thoughts on this?

[bbbentley]

I would call a reputable cam manufacturer, give them some parameters like what trans, gear ratio, tires, purpose (street)weight etc... and they should give you an idea of what cam to run. Study the grind specs and then you can go with what they recommend or find similar grinds that fall under the same category recommended. Yes, keeping up velocities is important, but the T-ram was made for RPMs, the opposite of low RPM cruising, that is why the old school intakes are better for a street set up with smaller runners. The 600s will hurt a little on low end, but with jetting and perhaps a larger Accelerator pump9s) to overcome the lag off idle you will find it is not that hard to make the set up work. I would run carbs out of the box (stock) and experiment from there giving you a baseline for performance and noting what improves streetability as you try mods. along with acc. pumps there are several different shooters (discharge nozzles) that give more fuel shot. Of course, fine adjustment of acc. pumps that start just off idle is critical to keep from a lean condition.

[PxTx]

Here are 2 related threads, if you want to read more.



http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&amp;Number=116262&amp;page=all




http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&amp;Number=438142&amp;page=all

[ds1]

I used 2 450 Holleys I reworked. I picked a circle track solid lifter cam with high lift but mid range power designed for a 350 2 bbl http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13800-12285-im000149.jpg
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13800-12286-im000137.jpg
http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13800-12287-im000150.jpg

[volquartsen]

Very nice build!!(ds1) thanks all for the info...

Ok do you think I should go after a pair of 1850 600cfm holley carbs and have them rebuilt to the original manufacturer specs, and go from there? Also, how about the choke mechanical or electric choke, maybe not a concern? I see some 1850's marked as 1850-2 -3 whats the diff?

Even though I am trying to stay in the 70's or around that time, would it be a better option to go with a newer Holley carb setup?

Tunnel ram, would the older Weiand tunnels be considered? I see lots of them around, less of the Edelbrock TR1X
as of right now...

Thanks for the help, much appreciated....

[GaryC]

Bentley, love that look with the velocity stacks, sweet. This pic of my Nova I was running a Edlebroch highrise, same as the Z28 intake with a 750 Holley and gold velocity stack, 30-30 cam, same as a stock fuelie 327 engine in 87-88. You can just see the stack thru the front opening. Love that look when I popped the hood. Always wanted to do a tunnel ram set up but I was thinking of just using a single carb for the street. I heard tuning was a bit tricky with 2 carbs. Did you have the covers that were available? I used one, kind of like the bug eye breather type.

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13756-12288-full_13756_5195_66nova.jpg

[ds1]

The 600 carbs are cheap to buy. I pay $30 to $40 each for them. The 450,s I bought off Ebay for $225 them milled the chokes off and reshaped the body down inside the carbs. Next I tapped and plugged the transfer tube for fuel ground the rear fuel bowl pulled the plug out and tapped the rear bowl so both carbs had fuel lines running to them. Last I made the fuel block with one 1/2 inch line coming in and 4 3/8 lines coming out. I am using the Holley intake because it is short and I wanted to keep everything under the hood. The Holly intake is not so much a street intake. That is why I am using the big circle track cam. The Weiand intake is good for the street. The package Summit sells works well. Hot Rod or Car Craft did an article on the weiand set up within the last two years and showed they can work well for the street. Personally I like to keep my carbs as small as possible to save on fuel costs. You can also use a pair of Carter Competition carbs. They make a 500 cfm. I use Carters on my street cars that I want a fair mix of performance and economy. Holleys are gas hogs. To answer your choke question. My rear carb has the mechanical choke parts on it for start up I use it for the fast idle only. This makes it easier to get the engine up to temperature without stalling several times. I can say that a tunnel ram is not as hard to work on and use as they look. This car starts easy and works well. The longer runner intakes work better on the street but will stick up through the hood. Do not know if that is a concern or what you are looking for. As far a the 1850-2 that is just a later model with some changes made to the original design. Try to stay with a matched pair. As for cam I agree with Bentley call a cam maker and get their recommendation. So much information goes into picking a cam, they will steer you in the right direction.

[bbbentley]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ds1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The 600 carbs are cheap to buy.I pay $30 to $40 each for them.The 450,s I bought off Ebay for $225 them milled the chokes off and reshaped the body down inside the carbs....The Weiand intake is good for the street....(carbs) Try to stay with a matched pair. </div></div>

There is one mod I recall if running vac. secondaries: and that is to run a tube to each diaphram to ensure they are opening at the same time (synchronized). With multi carbs, everything should be synchronized and balanced with ports and certain aspects having a common source or connection. These are really fine points for optimizing a system. For limited street use (car shows-cruising) a lot of this can be skipped for awhile as you can put up with a few things when you are not driving a car everyday. My suggestion of 600, 1850 Holleys was based on the cost and availability...as pointed out by ds1, only $30-$40 is a cheap setup, not best, but cheap and workable. Any intake brand is OK. I just point out that taller longer runners, like found on the early rams from inception (60's) to 70's I always understood as prefferable to the pro-stock type of later years. If I remember, there was a street ram made around the time of the pro street craze of the 80-90's, but since you are making a period correct piece, I still feel the old rams look and work best on that vintage of car.

[bbbentley]

GaryC wrote:&quot;I heard tuning was a bit tricky with 2 carbs. Did you have the covers that were available? I used one, kind of like the bug eye breather type.&quot;
Gary, I have screens similar to the &quot;fly-eye&quot; A-cleaners. Tuning a bit tricky with 2 carbs??? Look what I mess with these days...8 94 Holleys!!

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13059-12289-hotrod3.jpg

[Plowman]

Sent you a pm.

[volquartsen]

Thanks everyone for the info...Good stuff..Much appreciated..
Bentley, wow bada** coupe!! love the 28-31 coupes..

Bentley you wrote:My suggestion of 600, 1850 Holleys was based on the cost and availability...as pointed out by ds1, only $30-$40 is a cheap setup, not best, but cheap and workable...

Any suggestions on a better carb then the 600? Just curious on your thoughts...Thanks

[bbbentley]

No, been out of &quot;it&quot; too long and do not keep up on technology. I am living in the past and old school is all I know and want to know. A real tunnel ram carb though, is the 660 center squirter by Holley. Thanks.

[GaryC]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: bbbentley</div><div class="ubbcode-body">GaryC wrote:&quot;I heard tuning was a bit tricky with 2 carbs. Did you have the covers that were available? I used one, kind of like the bug eye breather type.&quot;
Gary, I have screens similar to the &quot;fly-eye&quot; A-cleaners. Tuning a bit tricky with 2 carbs??? Look what I mess with these days...8 94 Holleys!!

http://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/pics/usergals/2014/05/full-13059-12289-hotrod3.jpg
</div></div>


My first exposure where the hotrods from the 50's when I was at pre-teen in the early 60's. Always wanted to build one myself until I saw what it takes to do it and the money that goes into a build like that. I bet that car in your pic Bentley is a handful to tune. Would love to go for a ride in that.