TUNNEL RAM CHOICE

[Speedbump]

572 cid BBC 4 1/4 x 4 5/8 .400 long rod if it matters, pump gas 10.5 compression mostly street engine using Dart pro1 325 heads w/2.250 intakes. Cam to be decided 6,500 or so rpm peak. I have access to an older Weiand tunnel ram, 4150's top and an Edelbrock Victor Ram, same top. Would there be any decent advantage for one over the other on this engine? I will only radius the plenum entries and match/clean up the ports on either manifold. How much technology improvement, if any, has there been in cast tunnel ram manifolds in the span of years between these examples? Planning on this being a throttle body(2) EFI engine.

[Newold1]

From your specs. it does not seem like a high rpm or power EFI engine. I don't know your cam obviously but I don't think you are going to need or want the big CFMs of a big tunnel ram. With some of the great single TALL spider intake manifolds and a nice single 1200cfm to 1500 cfm billet throttle body would be a better choice for the street and occasional strip blasts. I know sometimes big tunnel rams look awesome but I would rather have an EFI engine that ran awesome on the street than one that just looked awesome but did not perform well. JMHO

[F-BIRD'88]

Either of those 2 tunnel rams will outperform a single intake.
Which one will be best on your motor may well be a toss up.
You don't give enough information. But they will BOTH work very well.
If you really want to know you will need to test both.
Interesting project.


Roughly by physical dimensions one might conclude than the Weiand intake would have a better broader torque range and might "drive" a little better
where the larger port full race Victor ram should make more top end horsepower
if the camshaft is big enough to "play along". The bigger the cam the more power advantage the VicTor Ram will ( should) have over the Weiand .
What is most important? What cam and how will it be used?
Are you willing t test a few cams out to find the sweetest for that intake and your purpose.

[steve316]

Newold1 X2

[Speedbump]

I appreciate the posts but this WILL be a tunnel ram engine. I run two of them, one on my 55 Chevy and one on my 27 T roadster. With a little work, they perform really well on the street and they look great on hot rods. What I want is info like F bird gave. The ports and intake valves on the Dart heads are maybe a little small for that many cubic inches but I have them and I will use them. Question is whether either manifold might make a difference because of the heads and cubic inches. I don't have a cam so I am flexible there except it will be a hyd roller with limited travel lifters. I don't have the intake but can buy, used, either of the ones I mentioned. I am not inclined to try a bunch of cams. I'd rather spend a little more with Mike or other and do it once. So, again, where has tunnel ram design gone in the thirty years between these manifolds?

[statsystems]

I appreciate the posts but this WILL be a tunnel ram engine. I run two of them, one on my 55 Chevy and one on my 27 T roadster. With a little work, they perform really well on the street and they look great on hot rods. What I want is info like F bird gave. The ports and intake valves on the Dart heads are maybe a little small for that many cubic inches but I have them and I will use them. Question is whether either manifold might make a difference because of the heads and cubic inches. I don't have a cam so I am flexible there except it will be a hyd roller with limited travel lifters. I don't have the intake but can buy, used, either of the ones I mentioned. I am not inclined to try a bunch of cams. I'd rather spend a little more with Mike or other and do it once. So, again, where has tunnel ram design gone in the thirty years between these manifolds?

You'll be fine with either manifold. There isn't 10 HP difference anywhere between them. Both of them have enough runner length that they will make great power down low and humble a single 4.

[prairiehotrodder]

I just installed the Weiand on a 540 BBC. I'd say its biggest drawback is the bolts holding the two halves together are inside and could come loose and fall into the engine. Also it has the bolt holes between the runners that a lot of aftermarket heads don't have. I tapped the holes to 7/16 or 1/2" and made steel plugs which I JB welded into place otherwise the ports are nearly into that bolt hole and would likely be a vacuum leak. I bought my intake used and it was port matched to a pretty big head so that may not be a problem with yours. I like the look of the Weiand a lot more than the Edelbrock. Also the Weiand doesn't require adapters to turn the carbs sideways.
Brian

[Newold1]

If I read your post correctly you said this would be an EFI setup I believe. I realize that tunnel rams are cool looking and can be setup to run on the street with carbs but with two throttle bodies instead of two carbs it will be more difficult to setup, tune and run on the street. How do I know because I have done a couple and they were a bitch to set up and tune. You might want to consider this before you jump into purchasing a lot of parts and effort. JMHO