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.



https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...2&amp;page=all




https://www.yenko.net/ubbthreads/ubbt...2&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

[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.