I know that mike has put one on his Z.. maybe he will know!

First off, where in the heck could I possibly find one?
I am gonna be putting an l98 in my car sooner or later, and am trying to figure the costs out. I would love to do the t-ram setup.. it is completely awesome! SLP is the only way to go....

Does anyone who has done this know exactly what is involved into swapping one onto a formally TPI setup engine?

A list anyone?


Thanks a lot!,
Daniel

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http://kiztope.50megs.com
92 Rs 3.1/T-5
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"No one knows until they learn" Leon Calrinsky (99)

 

...the only way to get one will be to find someone who has a used one for sale. Summit and SLP sold out of them years ago. I have one on my '91 Formula. The t-ram intake was designed for the pre-1987 L98 aluminum heads. If you have a 350 with perimeter bolt heads, it'll bolt right up. If you have centerbolt heads you'll need to elongate the center to intake bolt holes, because they are at different angles than those on the perimeter bolt heads. One other thing I found out when I pulled the engine for this last go round of mods...the intake head bolt holes are quite a bit smaller than those on the stock intakes are. Because of this, when you thread the bolts into the heads, the holes in the heads are slightly higher than the holes in the intake, so it actually lifts the intake slightly out of the valley (about 1/8"). This stretches the RTV bond at the front and rear of the intake...eventually leading to oil leaks. I opened up the holes in the intake this go round and used double gaskets between the intake and the heads to correct this problem. The intake interface for the throttle body is 52mm…so if you plan on using a 58mm throttle body you'll need to open these up, or else you'll have what basically amounts to a restrictor plate in your air path. If you're running an automatic tranny, you need to make sure you also get the throttle cable bracket with the t-ram. If you don't, you'll have to fabricate one…and they're quite complex in design. One last item…there are no gaskets in production for the upper to lower intake assembly and side tank to intake interfaces, so you'll have to fabricate these. Other than that, the installation is fairly straight forward…you just need to take your time, and it sounds like there are at least 3 or 4 people on this board that have the t-ram, so help is here for the asking.

Good luck in your search…and Happy Motoring…

 

Ok, Thanks for the tips so far!

How much did you pay for yours?

Just curious, did they put pre-87 heads on the 91-92 firehawks?

What heads would you guys recommend me to buy to get the most out of the T-ram? Specs...


This is intended to be a daily driven car that I hope to have in the low 13's or 12's eventually...


Thanks!,
Daniel

[This message has been edited by kiztope (edited February 22, 2001).]

 

...I paid somewhere around $1100 from SLP for the t-ram, the linkage and the installation kit. The '91-'92 Firehawks used a pre-'87 truck block with 4-bolt mains and SPO perimeter bolt aluminum L98 heads. I'm running Trickflow 23 degree heads on mine...it's a daily driver, and when I get the new chip burned for it I should be in the 375-390 hp range and with some decent rubber in the 12's...

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jimbo

Mosquito Coast F-Body Association (MCFBA)

1991 Formula SLP350
1999 Trans Am Firehawk

 

So what kind of gas mileage do ya get?

O yea, what all came in the install kit? What did you need to have apart from the 350....

Thanks,
Daniel

[This message has been edited by kiztope (edited February 22, 2001).]

 

It won't help you much, but one was for sale in the classified section for $1500 a few months ago. However much I'd like one, that's too steep.

 

I'm getting 16-18 around town...around 22-24 on the highway. The install kit came with the automatic tranny bracket...included braided fuel lines, the linkage to hook up the kickdown and cruise cables, and some misc. hardware. This intake was designed to work with worked heads, a mid range performance cam, headers and a low restriction exhaust system, a dual inlet cold air induction system, a 3:54 (or thereabouts) rear end, a 52mm throttle body, and a calibrated chip. Unless you have these mods on your car, or plan on doing them when you install the t-ram...you're not going to see to much of a performance gain out of it. If you have these mods or are going to do them when you install the t-ram...you can expect an engine that'll pull hard to the redline...like an LS1...and not run outa poop around 5200 rpm.

It's a pretty formidible intake...but in all reality, there are others out there that'll give you similar performance. Unless you're dead set about getting a t-ram, look at some of the other aftermarket intakes...they'll give you comparable bang for a lot fewer $$$...

Happy Motoring...


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jimbo

Mosquito Coast F-Body Association (MCFBA)

1991 Formula SLP350
1999 Trans Am Firehawk

[This message has been edited by jimbo (edited February 24, 2001).]

 

Hey....

I'll run down the list here...

I paid $1500 for mine but it came with all the sensors, hardware, 24# injectors, 58mm throttle body plus it was polished! I have some spare parts left over - fuel fittings and the entire bolt kit - but to be honest, you can make the gaskets, buy the bolts and fittings, make the fuel lines and make the throttle cable bracket without an enormous effort. I haven't run the car yet as I am changing the fuel pump that happened to quit while the car was apart. Installation wasn't to bad, it just made an already cramped engine compartment a littel worse. The MAP sensor had to be moved, cruise control was deleted because the bracket was way to expensive and ugly as hell, and the coil had to be moved out of the way.

I've seen them on eBay, in local classifieds, and on http://www.firehawk.org. Just keep looking! Email some of the guys on the registry and I'm sure they could all help. My website has changed and is completely dedicated to the T-Ram. Check it out!

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92 Z28 - 5.7 - Black/Grey Leather
Macewen White Faced Guages
SLP T-RAM, 24lb/h Injectors
Accell 52mm Throttle Body
SLP 1 3/4" Headers and Cat Back Sys.

One Awesome Camaro Site!

 

I've also been talking with Brian Reese from SLP in NJ. He's tracking down some production numbers for me and some other odds and ends. Funny thing is, he has an the intake and side tanks but no plenum... he's looking for one too.

Just in case you are wondering, he has scowered all the SLP plants and says they have NOTHING left for the T-Ram. He agreed that the the bolts, gaskets and fittings can all be bought or made with a littel effort.

He also let me in that SLP still has all of the ingedients needed to continue producing the T-Ram, but they think the market won't support it's return, which is fine with me. The entire reason I have equiped my car with it is becasue it is so rare!

 

Thanks for the info.

I dont know what I should plan for now, to work on getting a T-ram, or just go the easy way and get something like a mini-ram.

One problem that I have forseen is the fact that the engine I get may not have anything relating to the fuel system coming with it.

What would be the best way to go in this situation?

For example, if I got the 350HO engine from www.sdpc2000.com , what fuel system and intake would you guys go with? The T-ram, a normal TPI setup, or somthing like the mini-ram?


Thanks



[This message has been edited by kiztope (edited February 28, 2001).]