I'm putting my 87 RS together with the plan of bracket racing. It's more a street/strip car and will be driven to the track and around town.. to shows etc, but it's not my daily driver. I'm hoping for at least high 13s. Engine - L98 shortblock, Vortec heads, 1.6 RR, 1 5/8" shorty headers into 3" exhaust, Ram Jet intake. Cam - Hydraulic roller tappet Basic Operating RPM Range 1,500-5,500 Duration at 050 inch Lift 218 int./224 exh. Advertised Duration 269 int./276 exh. Valve Lift with Factory Rocker Arm Ratio 0.495 int./0.503 exh. lift Lobe Separation (degrees) 112 Grind Number CS XR269HR-12 The transmission ( 700R4 ) is being built by my friend who works in a shop. But I need to pick a converter and the appropriate stall. Also need to figure out what gears would work best. I'm more interested in track performance over streetability. My 88 IROC is the "street" car. I know it's not going to be a fast car, but I'd like to get the most out of what I have.

You will be looking at a stock style 12 inch converter. It will most likely retain the factory lock up unless you are doing away with that. Lots of companys out there make them and will be able to loosen the stall from 2300-2900. You can go the max with your combo if you want maximum results at the track. The higher stalls usually show a 2600-2900 range which you'll find works well when trying to gain good 60 ft. If street driving was a concern than the lower stall (2300-2500) would suit you well.
Try to find a company that does some type of brazing while inside the converter. Ex. furnace, heli etc...

My company sells them around $275 or so.

Good luck

That's what I was thinking, and of course I had a 2800 stall converter that I sold last year since I had done a T56 swap and didn't own the other car yet.

Was also thinking 3.73 gears

Ram Jet intake? As in, the one used on the 350 Ram Jet crate motor from GM?

If so, curious how you came to that decision.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting into the 13's with that package and traction.

Yup that's the one. Wanted something different, plus I got a ridiculous deal on the Vortec heads and rockers.. brand new new opened, guy sold the car he had bought them for. Didn't want to use the Vortec TPI. It uses an LS1 style throttle body... plus it's relatively cheap. I bought just the intake for a little less than $400. The Vortec baseplate goes for more than that alone. Not to mention that GM designed the intake to work specifically with the Vortec heads.. vs Holley that just adapted an old tunnel ram to bolt up.

Plus this engine is eventually going in my 88 IROC ( 5.3L swap into the RS later on ) and I have been using a lot of "stock" and GM stuff in that car. Dana 44, T56 L98 with GM performance parts heads and intake.

The heads are at the machine shop right now, should be all back together and i the car with in the next week.. I took a week vacation to finish the car up next week.

I like to make realistic goals .. and I'm thinking 13.75 is. That way anything more is a bonus. I've worked on cars enough to know it's easy to be largely disappointed by over expectations. Traction should be OK. Have BFG drag radials, Spohn LCAs and panhard, drag struts and shocks, Trick springs, front sway bar delete.

I've never run my Camaro at sea level, but based on NHRA conversion factors (which have been reliable for the '57) and 5800' elevation performance, it should run 13.3's with less gear and converter than you're talking about. If the Ram Jet can't keep up with my idle-5500 RPM intake, then you've got issues.

The Holley/Weiand Stealth Ram might be an adaptation of an old tunnel ram intake, but that doesn't make it a slouch. I'd be surprised if the Ram Jet could keep up with it. But, you've got a fairly mild cam, so it may be okay.

The Ram Jet has 4.250" long runners 2.110 in. x 1.08 in. port size, and opens up inside the plenum with decent sized radius on the transition. It's basically straight shot into the plenum with a slight curve to the runner side walls.

I'd love to see the difference on the dyno ( peak #'s and curve ) and at the track on the same engine.. comparing the HSR Vortec to the Ram Jet.