I have a 4-barrel carb. on my car now. Can I replace the intake with the tunnel ram I got from E-BAY and use the same carb. I'm useing now ? OR do I need to get a tunnel ram carb.? Thanks John
how big is the carb? both carbs on a tunnel should be identical. if you're putting it on a 302, they should be fairly small especially if on the street. i knew a guy who ran 2 vacuum advance carbs. i knew another guy that ran 2 390 cfm carbs. there are specific tunnel ram carbs, i think the holley 660s are the ones, but really were track carbs. i ran 2 750 cfm vacuum carbs on a boss 302 years ago, but on a track only car. worked well. the other joy can be getting the linkage working properly. they look cool, but you can get close to the same performance with a victor jr. have fun.
My 302 has an Offenhauser Tunnel ram. I run 2 Holley 450 Mechanical secondary carbs. Summit and Jegs sell them for $185.99 (Jegs part #510-0-9776). I have them mounted inline (not sideways) with a Mr. Gasket inline linkage. It takes a little tuning to get them right ,but my car has very quick throttle response and good street driveability (doesnt "load up" in slow traffic ect.) One thing for sure...If you like alot of people to notice your car ,a tunnel ram set up does the trick!lol:bananaman :bananaman :bananaman
You guy's gave me lots of info, but didn't answer my question. Can I use the same carb.?:confused: The tunnel ram I bought had a two 4 top.I got a single 4 top to put on it. The carb. I'm running now is an elderbrock(spelling) don't know the size but it works great on the motor now. I guess Im asking if I can replace my intake with the tunnel ram and use my carb.,or do I need to buy a " tunnel ram carb " ? Thanks John:bananaman
I think that it would work just fine . I`d put it all together and see how it runs ...then adjust as needed. Sorry about the mis-understanding
A tunnel Ram manifold is for use in the RPM ranges above 7500 RPM. If your carb is ok on your engine now it will work with the tunnel ram manifold. However, the tunnel ram manifold may not work on your engine if it is not running 8000 RPM to get its peak horsepower. PaulS
According to Offenhauser their Tunnel rams (like mine) make power in the 3,000-7,600 rpm . According to Weiand , their Tunnel rams are from 2,500 to 7,000 RPM Edelbrock makes a so called "street "tunnel ram ( for chevys only cough cough) and its 3,500 t0 7,500
I do need to add to this that in order for a t ram set up to perform well it needs to be in a light car (MavCom) with a loose converter,pretty high final drive ratio, and with a decent flowing set of heads. In other words Yes the T-ram works well on my car. (4.11 rear,3,800 converter, Victor jr. heads ,2,860 lbs.) BUT if you took my T-ram set up and bolted it onto a LTD with a stock 302,converter,and a 3.00 gear it would be a Miserable DOG performance wise.
So what you're saying is that your cam develops horsepower in that range of RPM - an SAE duration of 235 or more? (basically a 306 to 324 duration with a .510 or higher lift) That being the case it will work fine. Any carb that was big enough for the engine before will be big enough for the engine with the tunnel rame. You may need to tune the accelerator pumps and change or drill out the squirters. You may notice that when the engine is cold it stumbles at low RPM but an engine like you are describing is not normally driven except on the track. The idle would be so high that you couldn't keep it slow enough even in first gear for a school zone and the life expectancy of an engine running at 7000 RPM is only about 22000 miles. I have seen people who ran engines like this on the street but it is a bigger hassle than building one of these things. PaulS
With all that has been said, these manifolds are usefull in the higher rpm ranges with an engine camed and headed to run in that range. Why would one expect this intake setup to work on a relitivley stock engine, any better than a good 4 barrel setup? The 302 can only use less than 500 cfm at 6000 rpm. Putting more air capacity on can't be used. The cold starting and warmup is poor with a tunnel ram because there is no heat to the carbs. If all your looking for is show, thats fine, the engine won't run any better than a well setup 4 barrel.
My engine fires up on a cold start the instant you turn the key .71gold and Kelly can vouch for this They`ve seen me do it when leaving Franks house after one of Franks mini meets. The car starts right up ...is`nt cold natured at all . It also Idles at 800 rpm in park. PaulS I did have my intake set up on a 12.8 to 1 306 that had a Solid cam (flat tappet) which had 255/266 dur, @ .050 and .576/.570 lift a few years ago. NOW I have a 9.2 to1 308 with a X-303 FMS hydrolic roller which has 224/224 dur @ .050 with .542/.542 lift. This cam makes power from 3,000 to 6,500 RPM . I do not mean to imply here that I think the Tunnel ram is THE hot ticket for a street driven car... And it certianly would not be practical on a daily driver(altho my car behaves like one) I`m only saying that mine runs as described above on my particular application,I NEVER have to fool with and adjust on the carbs (I never touch the engine other than cleaning and oil changes) and I am speaking from actual experience with a tunnel rammed car...Not from hearsay or from what the magazines say.
You are one of the lucky few to get a setup like that to run that well. Look how many can't get a single carb on a regular manifold to start run good. I to, do a lot of things that most others find hard to do. Example is super charging a speed density 5L EFI sucessfully with no drivability issues in all seasons of the year, for one. Good luck.
i have a couple of questions about your 302 you used in your maverick was it the stock 302 or crate and whould a tunnel ram work for an 86 302
