Ok, I've been drooling over the 502 Ram Jet ever since I saw it, but at $8999.99 it's probably never going to be sitting in one of my cars. What really appeals to me though besides the raw power of displacement, is the Ram Jet induction. I really hate seeing an air cleaner sitting atop a motor. It's visually unappealing to me and really seems like a dated design.

I have welding and fabrication skills and I have contemplated making an intake myself out of some aluminum tubing and plate, maybe with a mandrel bender and some additional machining.

The problems I run into, is I don't really know what would be the best design for airflow, and second, I'm not really sure how the whole fuel injection process works, so I don't know how I would have to setup the injector's, etc.

Is there anything anyone can give me advice on, or point me to, or make suggestions on how I could get started?

Also, in my quest to make my own plenum, should I consider designing my own intake as well to get the job done, or should I consider perhaps an Edelbrock design and build on it?

Mathius

 

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...=intake+design

this thread might help

theres a lot to consider -runner length and taper, injector position - plenum volume - intended use - design choises I can only guess at

a 502 ram jet intake for a small block looks easy to make - watch out for the sharp turn from the runner to the intake port
good luck

 

this is one of thoes things that can be really really simple.... or go deeply deeply in depth and be very complex.


if you just want to flow a better then TPI, no problem..... pretty much any design that looks good will work... then you start tweeking it, lil by lil...


the injectors are pretty easy once you start thinking about them.

all they need are tubes... basicly holes, that are the right size around. the O ring seals them, so theres a lil wiggle room.

you just make the 8 injector holes... then set your fuel rail over the injectors, and fab a way to bolt it there so the fuel rail doesnt move.... that holds the injectors in just like stock.



heres some great info to get you started... it starts out pretty basic, but goes into what you need to know after the first page..
http://www.grapeaperacing.com/GrapeA...ntaketerms.cfm

actually, theres alot of good stuff on that site.

 

I looked over both of those sites briefly and bookmarked them for later when I have time to go over them in detail.

Kenn: That site looks to be a lot more specific to whatever engine they're working on, but I should be able to use some things off of there, thanks.

Mr Dude: That link you gave me has a lot of stuff I need just to get started. The basic fuel injection process, the types of designs I can go for, etc. Very informative stuff.

What do you guys think about my intake question? Would a pre-existing intake serve my purposes ok? It seems like most of the existing intakes for a big block are for carb systems though just from looking through my Summit catalog. I really don't see any way to adapt them to use fuel injectors, short of just drilling holes, which is gonna defeat the purposes of their flow designs I think.

Mathius

 

before you do anything, it wouldnt be a bad idea to do a lil research and find out what the GM part numbers for just the intake manifold is.


think about it.... get the manifold. and fuel rails.. then you just drop in the correct injectors, a TPI distrib, and run it off of a GM V8 compatable ECM..... anything from the TPI ecms, to the aftermarket stuff.

if you're lucky, it'll be like the ramjet.... resonably priced.



btw, www.gmpartsdirect.com is usually cheaper then the dealer for parts like that.

 

just to get you started, the motor its self is GM part number 12497323



i didnt go any further in depth looking since im at work and have some stuff to do.

 

theres a few basic things to consider when asking yourself this question.....the most important is probably, what are you gonna dow with it???

cause if all your gonna do is drag race it, then its much simpler (but still not simple) as far as design goes......get the straightest shot, smoothest runner....and stick a big plenum over them

that will give you maximum flow (very simplified)

but if your looking for a multi purpose street/strip engine that makes power everyplace and has good throttle response, then making an intake is not easy at all

theres a reason that companies have spent millions in R&D making the different manifold designs we have today......and they have more money, smarter engineers, and better equipment than we do (for the most part)

 

I already went that step, the Ramjet injection package itself is like $3k by itself, which is still pricey.

I did find a site a couple of monthes ago that had RamJet like intakes, but the plenum was angled to the side, like on mustang engines. I thought I bookmarked it, but I've been unable to find it and I don't remember any pricing information.

Mathius

 

It will be mostly a street car, unless the big block puts me in a position where the gas price makes me not want to drive it.

What are the consequences of going with a simple design for a street car? Gas hogging?

Mathius

 

no.... not the injection kit.



the basic castings. and fuel rail.... thats it. you dont need the injection kit.

you can run and get everything else off a TPI car..... other then larger injectors, everything else should work. the only thing im not positive on is the throttle body... i know its a TPI/LT1 style one, but since ive never held one in my hand and looked, im not positive if it needs to be modified to work.


do you get what im saying though?

 

So you're talking about just the fuel raill, plenum, and intake?

Mathius

 

yes.

same concept as taking a TPI car, and putting the ramjet 350 intake on it....

 

I found this page, but these part #'s don't seem to work on gmpartsdirect...

http://www.gmgoodwrench.com/gmgoodwr...on=ep#12464484

Mathius

 

a lot of pn's don't work on their site, just e-mail them to them.

 

http://www.sdpc2000.com/search.asp?s...+jet&doQuery=1

this place has the manifold (upper and lower) for a total of about $800.. then you gotta add fuel rails ($200-300 is my guess) everything else should be adaptable from a TPI car like said above, when this 502 ramjet kit first came out i read an article that if i recall correctly said they used a regular old TPI throttle body, and they comented on how a simple throttle body upgrade would give a significant power increase because basically the one that comes on it is too small

17120039 m/point fuel rail... $88.36
12464482 lower intake... $268.11
12464484 upper intake.... $544.21
12489596 trans/throttle bracket $111.27
17113517 fuel press reg.... $49.82

plus gaskets, bolts, other minor stuff, your into it for about $1000, plus $300-500 for a COMPLETE used tpi system.. so for about $1500 you can have your BBC ramjet system, just make sure if/when you buy a TPI system get an uncut harness (most important thing) get a speed density system with 730 ecm (came in 91 92 cars), and get alternator, dist. and everything with it

by the time your 100% done it'll probably be about $2000, but thats really not bad, and it would rock

 

Thanks a ton guys. That's a huge savings, and a good idea, I'll have to look into that. But I don't want to give up the idea of making my own intake either. That would give me a lot of personal satisfaction if I could pull it off, so any help at all would be great. Even if I don't use the information for my big block project, I would still like to figure it out.

Mathius

 

Like this - but for a big block !

Basically used a Holley Pro-Dominator tunnel ram, built a plenum, installed injector bosses, built new fuel rails, etc. Lots of work - but different.

http://www.pbase.com/ctenche/steves_camaro

 

Right, I understand the concept, I just don't have a good understanding of the fuel injection setup to make sure I have the injectors seated in the right locations and everything setup properly. I also want to make sure I have a good air flow. Any shots of that thing with the top off?

Hopefully Mr.Dude's web page will help me with the first part, when I get a chance to look it over.

Mathius