SBF, Tunnel Ram, BIG Cam, and Towing?

Ok, this is probably one of the dumbest questions I have ever asked. Has anyone on here towed with a truck that was equipped with a small block, a tunnel ram single or dual quad and a pretty big cam? If so what were the results?

Here is what I'm up to: 65 F100, 302 with flat tops, 289 hipo heads with 2.02int and 1.60exh valves, Weiand single 4 barrel tunnel ram, and a Comp Big Mutha Thumpr camshaft. The trans is a C6 and the rear axle is a 9 inch with 3.54 gears. I like the sound and power with this combo so hoping to keep it how it is.

What I plan to tow: A Front Engine Dragster on a single axle open trailer, this should be pretty light so I'm thinking no problem hopefully. Can it be done without too many issues?

 

Your low end torque will probably suck... and torque is what moves the load.

 

It will suck no matter what with a short stroke 302................ but, it's all I've got and can't afford to sink money into another truck if I want to start on my FED. I've seen people towing FED's with cars, so I'm assuming they are pretty darn light on a single axle open trailer.

Thanks for the reply and the bump! Any tips that might help tuning wise?

 

This is a running combo? What torque converter?

 

I got to wonder how that combo works even without a trailer behind it.

 

Yes running combo at this time, torque converter is only 600-800rpm more stall than stock. Have not put allot of miles on it yet. Only been around town and a few miles on the highway since getting it together over the summer, been fighting an uphill battle with an improperly tuned carb but other than that it seems pretty well mannnered. Will know more when I swap the carb or re tune mine to work with this intake and cam.

 

Your SBF caught my eye.....anyway I towed a 1300# drag boat in the 60's on a tandem trailer (put in & pull out too) w/ a K model Mustang C/GS (4-speed). I don't remember any horrible events except wet ramp pull outs weren't smooth. Certainly not a one to one comparison, but example of "make it work". Your stall must be comfortably above 2000 which should help. With out redoing engine, you might have a bit more low end if you maintain your ignition timing on low side. Try it....good luck

 

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Oh man, All I can think of is blackened spark plugs and gas soaked oil...
And that makes me think of glazed cylinder walls and excessive oil burning.
And all that reminds me of prematurely worn rings and carbon encrusted valve steams.
And this all seems to come together in the very near future
but then again, consider that I never said that.



moe


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Only one way to find out and that is to do it. Worse case is that you might have to put a milder cam with a better torque profile and swap intakes.

I'm like some of the others in wondering how the whole combination actually works now but maybe to some changing plugs every thousand or two thousand miles and having to change oil quite often due to gas getting in it seems normal.

 

You lost me with the poser Thumpr cam, which is even advertised to just make noise, sacrifices actually running good for extra poser "lope"

 

I just don't see it pulling a trailer good, much less the truck by itself. The big cam lot's of valve overlap, and duration (what gives you the lope). A 302 with flat tops doesn't have enough compression ratio for that cam (you need at least a 9.5:1 compression ratio). You don't have enough stall for that cam (you need at least a 2800 rpm stall minimum). With a tunnel ram, the weight of the truck, the power gobbling C6, and the 3.54 gears it has to be a real slug without a trailer behind it. A much smaller rv/towing type cam, a stock torque converter, with a nice dual plane intake would probably run circles around what you have now.

 

I dont think the thumper cams make power in any combination, but just observations of specs. Not willing to test theory .
I have towed w cammed and modified motors before, taking off not as great but rolling is easy going , actually get better milage w mild cams and intakes on tow vehicles vs. the rv cam combo , if its tuned proper you will be fine, maybe back timeing off 2-4* when towing

 

Goin along with everyone else here but seeing as how it's already a running combo, the very first thing I would do would be lose the tunnelram and go a dual plane intake. The low end power you'll gain will definately be noticable without really sacrificing mid to even upper rpms.

 

If you said what carb you use, I missed it. The new motors seem to like long runners, you have that. If you run a very small carb, (500 Edelbrock) it may respond well or at least lower the RPM range. If not, it may be time for a cam better suited for the job at hand. Those engines respond well to tri Y headers.

 

one of my colassal mistakes in life was a 312 merc in a f5 Ford tow truck i put a 3/4 race cam in it when i built it, would not pull a hill of beans

but running empty wound out it screamed

 

A friend of mine ran a similar combo in a Bronco, only it was a 351M, 10:1, big cam, Holley strip dominator, 3:50 gears and 38 inch tires. It would back fire through the carb if you didn't downshift 2 second going up a grade on the highway.It would also go faster in second than it would in third. I always thought that the truck would do a lot better with a dual plane intake and of course gears. As others have said, try swapping the tunnel ram for a dual plane and see where that takes you. It also wouldn't hurt to put a relatively short tire on it.

 

big big gears
302 is too small

 

Plan on a mega trans cooler your tranny is going to get hot towing. Plan on towing at high RPMs, you will have now low end grunt and if you keep it below about 3-4K you are going to be loaded up all the time.

What that means is that anything below about 60 MPH you are going to be running in first or second gear. If you are into high rpm cruising than you are golden.

 

Swap the tunnel for a 4/71 blower and set the drive ratio about 1:1. That's what you REALLY wanted anyway, right?

 

Saving the blower for the FED, but that would be fun!

Going to stick with a 600cfm or so carb, buying a new one to start fresh as I'm tired of messing with one that was screwed up from the beginning.The compression is higher than a normal 302 as I am running 1963 289 heads that have 53cc or 54cc chambers. Yes, the Thumpr is a poser cam but I like the racy sound without having to go wild on lift and duration. The tunnel ram won't perform as good as many other intakes would on the truck and was mainly done for looks and attention grabbing as you don't see many trucks with them, just a small effort to be different, so I'm willing to make that sacrifice and have heard of people running them daily without too many issues and this is just my weekend toy. I don't mind changing plugs and oil, that's just normal maintenance. Don't want the converter to be too loose as that causes overheating issues, although I already run the factory cooler in the radiator and a large aftermarket one as well.

I might be making a huge mistake from what I have read, so I may start buying parts to do a cam and intake swap in case I get sick of problems, hopefully I get it tuned well enough to at least cruise on weekends.

Thanks for all the replies and info everyone, much appreciated, still hoping someone with similar setup will chime in and give some much needed tuning advice, have searched and found a little, but every little bit helps ya know.

 

yellow dog I sent you a pm would like to talk with you

 

With those early heads & flat tops you might have around 10:1, but a diffrent intake would be better than what you got.

 

I figured compression at around 9.5 to 10:1 with piston cc, gasket thickness and chamber cc. I agree a different intake would work better, but it's what I had. The buddy I bought the truck from wanted to see it on there and so did I, now that it's there it looks too cool to take it off, call me a poser if ya want but at least it looks bad ass and it is no dog even with a junk carb.

 

Really, it only looks "bad ass" to the strokes that don't know any better- who are the target buyers that the Thumpr cams are aimed at- to real hotrodders, it just looks like a lousy poser combination that ain't gonna run as well as a "real" matched combo, no matter how much you fiddle with it

 

how big is you radiator? trans cooler?
de tune the motor rv cam dual plane intake

 

Put some 4.57 gears in it and go...The 302 will live fine at 3k at 60, way better than 2k....Rpm is your friend, and if your worried about gas milage it will probably be better; of course noise would be up...

 

I'm definitely no poser. I know it won't run as well as a dual plane and little cam like everyone else already has, is there something wrong with being different? Go troll and piss on someone's thread that gives a shit. I was looking for helpful advice and input on using the combo I have now, not some bullshit reply from someone who probably doesn't even know the specs on my cam let alone what a tunnel ram is capable of. I know what it takes to build a real towing torque monster and a little 302 doesn't have it.

 

Sorry, but you just put together a poor combination that's not really a good performance setup, and a lousy combo for towing, and then blame the carb because it doesn't run that well (you can't straighten out the carb?). The Thumpr is not a "big" cam, it's a pure poser cam that sacrifices good running to make a mediocre engine sound like a strong one- it's even advertised that way- get over it. Quite a few folks have tried to give you good advice, and most agree the combo isn't good- and that Thumpr ain't good for any application that you want actual performance from.
But you're right- I know nothing about cams, nothing about tunnel rams, and nothing about Ford engines in general. Good luck getting your "different" poser engine to tow well- the results are definitely gonna be "different"

 

I guess I should give up on trying to get the information that I am looking for from this site, all I get for the most part is everyone's opinion, did I ask what combo to switch to? NO. Opinions are like assholes everyone has one and is entitled to their own.

 

How many times do you have to hear "no torque"? You asked how it would work...Right? LOUSY!