junkyardhero
Well-Known Member
booo! hissss!
tunnel rams are what make this so cool!
go to a car show and all you see is cross rams. when was the last time you saw a rough and tumble dual quad tunnel ram?
just run smaller, non racy carbs.
1969 Race Dart w/ 426 Hemi- garaged for 45+ years
- Thread starter Scott_ 69HemiDart
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tunnel rams are what make this so cool!
go to a car show and all you see is cross rams. when was the last time you saw a rough and tumble dual quad tunnel ram?
just run smaller, non racy carbs.
TT5.9mag
Two atmospheres are better than one
Wish I could hit the agree button a few times on this post.
Dfr360cuda
Diagnosis... Plum Crazy.
Wish I could hit the agree button a few times on this post.
Not sure what car shows you go to that everyone has cross ram hemis but they are better shows than here. I run a tunnel ram on my wedge and there are many here in town, nothing all that special. He could paint it pink and put a single carb on it and it would be baddass.
Does it help that the crossram is dated 1963 and is a factory unit for a 64 Hemi Superstock
junkyardhero
Well-Known Member
i've rarely seen tunnel rams on hemi's that aren't full blown track cars. usually it's cross rams or in the event there is, it's not some towering inferno dual quad piece.
wedges, sure. small blocks, of course. but a real deal hemi? not often.
junkyardhero
Well-Known Member
in the nuanced idea that the intake and motor go together and were probably purchased and raced that way until "upgraded" to the tunnel ram, sure.
the idea of several year old race motor in a year or two old car absolutely tracks with how things would play out back then. but another possibility, especially after seeing the motor broken down, is that it was purchased as parts, and put together with what all was available-- hence the alum rods, backyard balance job on the stock crank and the big ol gnarly cam. which again, under investigation of the trans, cut up floor, seats, and ladder bars kind of sort of tracks.
and as time rolled on, maybe your FIL collected the bits to make it more "SS" and less home brew?
NC Engine Builder
Grumpy Old Man
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I think the car started out with a 66 street hemi, with a few bits of REAL race parts, probably second hand. The crossram and carburetors are legit 64 superstock parts, the pistons, rods, magneto, oiling system stuff are all legit period race parts. My opinion is the car began to morph from a 68 superstocker vibe to a bit more like the early "pro stock" vibe of the early 70s. Hence the tunnel ram and twin dominators, ladder bars ect. Like most old race cars, they quickly evolved and changed, sometimes even from week to week while being raced. This car shows evidence, and we have old photos, showing it in a few different variations over it's very brief career.
73 dart
73dart
Maxcustody: You do you either intake set up will be way cool. Your the one paying the bills and honoring you FIL. I am very happy for you and what you are doing and letting us go along on this journey thank you.
Thank you.
TT5.9mag
Two atmospheres are better than one
The only thing that helps is what ever intake YOU want the car to have. I like the tunnel ram. Some peeps like the cross ram. It’s actually cool that we all like different stuff. Use what makes you happy and fits what is correct for your vision of the car.
Thanks. I think it’s cool it started with the crossram and 50 years later it will be blasting down the road again.
Hemisurfer
Well-Known Member
The crossram was a super stock piece in 68 by the early 70’s to mid 70’s tunnel rams were used in pro stock on the darts for a couple years that included updates to the body to keep it legal, because the body was a 69 and not changed and the owner has a trophy from 72 the car was most likely run in modified production. Bracket racing was starting to happen but mostly populated at that time by cars that couldn’t run the numbers in class racing.
Hemisurfer
Well-Known Member
The crossrams in 68 used on the Hemi dart were old stock from 1964. My magnesium crossram is legit for a 68 Dart but dated 64, by 68 the remaining inventory was available mostly aluminum, the magnesium crossrams were produced in lower numbers. I am thinking A/MP, but Pro Stock for a year or two is possible, we both could be right. For it to run Pro in 1972 I think the body would have needed updating I believe the rule was within two years of production for Pro. Following your work closely very intrested in the build.
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That means it's magnesium and extremely flammable. That's why they were phased out.
Yup. That car's gonna be cool no matter what, because its new owner actually has SENSE.
SSing
Well-Known Member
Actually, per NHRA Drag Rules, the two year rule was a 1970-71 rule. In 1972-73, (don´t have newer Drag Rules) you could still run your 1969 model.
That's interesting, I did not know that. Don't they sell new parts still made out of magnesium?
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I have never heard of one catching fire on its own (I am curious the alloy they used), but if there was a fire it would burn very intense. CO2 extinguisher and water would both make it much worse. Need a dry chemical extinguisher.
@replicaracer43 do you know if the intake is aluminum or magnesium? it looks aluminum to me. After sitting so long I would imagine it would have taken on the black oxidation by now if mag
according to this, 1965 casting would have been magnesium and 1964 aluminum yet.
Race Hemi Crossram Intake Manifolds
just a little sidebar on the mag tunnel ram.
Butch Leal just about burned down Ron Butlers race car shop in the early 70's. Butler let Butch use his milling / grinding area to modify (Butch removed 1" off the top of the base / open and blend the plenum, etc) his magnesium tunnel ram, after several hours of milling / grinding, he walked over to talk to Ron and the pile of mag flakes / dust ignited. One of Butlers shop guys grabbed an extinguisher only to make a much larger fire. Butler had buckets of water nearby and doused it out with every bucket they had.
The one on the Hemi I posted in the California Flash is magnesium and I have a (pictured) modified magnesium spare just as a "keeper". To keep it company is a new aluminum Hemi tunnel ram with 2 plenums. I guess I like Hemi tunnel rams.
Butch Leal just about burned down Ron Butlers race car shop in the early 70's. Butler let Butch use his milling / grinding area to modify (Butch removed 1" off the top of the base / open and blend the plenum, etc) his magnesium tunnel ram, after several hours of milling / grinding, he walked over to talk to Ron and the pile of mag flakes / dust ignited. One of Butlers shop guys grabbed an extinguisher only to make a much larger fire. Butler had buckets of water nearby and doused it out with every bucket they had.
The one on the Hemi I posted in the California Flash is magnesium and I have a (pictured) modified magnesium spare just as a "keeper". To keep it company is a new aluminum Hemi tunnel ram with 2 plenums. I guess I like Hemi tunnel rams.
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That is crazy the water put it out. Typically magnesium burns hot enough to separate the hydrogen and oxygen from the water making it far worse/explosive! Lucky
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