So when I started building my car I had a specific time period that I was shooting for. Over the last 4 years that got pretty blurred due to lack of funds and killer deals that came up. I definatly skewed away from the original plan. I was thinking I would like to kind of date where my car could have been built. So at what point in time did you see a model a highboy with a tunnel ram hit the streets. I did some searching and I know when they came out but at what point did you actualy see the first one? I was born a little late to have seen what went on.
Not in a model A, but a classmate had one in a Corvette in 66. We rattled the windows at the Steak&Shake many times..
The story I've heard is that a fellow named Ralph Ridgeway crafted one using the base from a Rochester Fuel Injection unit and mounted it on his '55 Chevy and ran C/MP with it. Supposedly, Edelbrock borrowed it to make copies and that's how the whole mess started. He called the car Ridgerunner. Here's another thread that backs up this idea..... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=94562
Edelbrock used Carrol Caudle's intake for their design. Caudle was running his home made intake about the same time Ridgeway was. I think Edelbrocks first commercial tunnelram was in 1968 (but take it for what it's worth, not much).
I don't remember seeing any tunnel rammed cars around my area until around '69 or later. I graduated HS in '68 and there weren't any around then that I remember.
'68 was when they first came out commercially, and they were real thin on the ground in '69. Theres a whole bunch of guys that think it would be real cool if it was '66 or '62, or maybe '58 or whatever, but it wasnt.
Saw all of the ngative responses. So I went back threw my old stuff. I was wrong on the year. It was 1967. We used to run the car at St. Louis International and MAR. Pacific was closed. My friends dad was an automotive engineer from Palo Alto, Cal. He ran two AFB carbs on the tunnel ram. I do not remember any name on the intake
The first one I remember seeing on the street in my hometown was in the early 70's. But Paris, Kentucky always was a bit behind the times. Now that's part of what I find so endearing about the place!
Alton Drags was running till the early 70s. Holly's Speed Shop's Back up pickup. Chris Karamesine's controversial first to hit 200mph. The Bloody Mary. Corvette engine in a motor cycle frame. I ran my brand new '70 Duster 340 (3 wks old) at Alton. 14.56 Lots of good racing back in the day. Alton drags is now a trailer court I believe. Still a lot of street racing down on Hall Street but mostly rice burners now. Hall street got so bad that the fire dept would turn on the fire hydrants after 10 PM. the even passed a law (for a while) that outlawed cars since it was a road with all trucking companies along it's two miles. I got a ticket for a burned out licenses plate bulb in my bright orange Duster 340. The cops would stand in the middle of the road with 8-10 cop cars parked on the side. The cop in the middle would look over every car that went by and radioes the parked cars about ANYTHING wrong with your car. Harrassment I tell ya!
My friend ran one on his Nova M/P car in 68'. Heard the song "Rubber Ducky" and called the car Rubber Duck, what do I say, such was his nature !?! It was the first generation a TR-1, almost immediately after the purchase the TR-2 was released. I ran one on my 40' Chev coupe in 76' .
They started hitting the dragstrips in 1968 and only the serious racers had them in the beginning. To answer your question as to see tunnel rams on the streets on a street rod that would be early to mid 70's. Those were cammed up real hot rods not street rods.
Back in the late 1950s, a group of off-duty Chrysler Corporation engineers racing in their spare time decided to band together and form an organization, called the Ramchargers, to really see what they could do. Original is at High and Mighty - the Ramchargers first racing car http://www.allpar.com/racing/high-mighty.html#ixzz2IWQKfFfh Follow us: @allparcom on Twitter | allparcom on Facebook
The operative words are... hit the street. I never tried one on the street but I remember guys having problems sorting them out for real street driving and not just from an enclosed trailer to the show field and back to the trailer. That is not my idea of hitting the streets. Lots of them were tried but they fell out of favor pretty quickly and got changed for the old single 4 BBL for the guys that actually drove them to the shows many miles away.
Used to go to Alton for the Gasser Wars. Saw the "Hemi under Glass" go over. Yes, sadly, it is now a trailer park. But StLouis Int has shure changed. From an 1/8 th mile outlaw track to now.. I was on Hall street back in the late sixties. Watched a dragster run there. Cops were brutal. I ran Weiand tunnel ram with two 750 DP Holleys on a large cube BBC Nova in 71-72. Street runner on sat nights. After moving back to Michigan
Not sure what the High & Mighty has to do with when cast aluminum tunnel rams came to market. And I'm pretty sure at this point you would be hard-pressed to find a HAMBer that didnt know about it.
See post #28 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=119286&page=2 Early seventies is when they became popular on the street.
1st on ever saw on the street n the Midwest was the early 70's ... And it was wild to see at that time.
First one I saw 1968. A friend of mine had it on a built small block 65 Chevelle. Hard runner on the Street. That was in Camas,Washington.
I think the reason for posting the High and Mighty was that it's induction system Had a high plenum feeding the fuel mixture down long runners-basically a tunnel ram in the late 50's.
Nothing to debate. I just think the evolution is interesting. It's a discussion, not a test. If you want to pick it apart: Nocero asked, "at what point in time did you see a MODEL A HIGHBOY with a tunnel ram hit the streets?" Now I remember why I don't post to the "main" board often.
bigjoe1 as in Joe Sherman don't know squat.... hmmm did you get your meds mixed up today? Sometime this HAMB thing can be taken a little too far.
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