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The MiniRam & Ram Clutch conversion begins!

69MyWay

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 3, 2001
Messages
4,364
Location
Auburndale, Florida
Corvette
1969 Killer Shark
If cars had feelings, my 69 is getting ready to be ticked off, cause it is getting rolled off to the side for a couple of weeks. Introducing, my new TPiS MiniRam, 52MM throttle body, and Ram Clutch conversion for the six speed.


I will chronicle the conversion here in this thread. This manifold will be going on my full roller 355 with the Edelbrock heads and Crane 2050 roller compucam.

I guess I will jerk the old mill out this weekend and hope to have it all back on the road by the end of next weekend.

What is my goal here? Well, I am going from a 155K mile motor to 3K miles, new clutch, no more dual mass flywheel, and oh ya, about 150 more ponies.:dance

Nikki is a little ticked at me right now as well, because if I don't sell the GEO soon to put this money back in the bank, she is going to shoot me. I don't think sleeping in a C4 is very comfortable.
 
:J Man, I can't wait to see that package arrive at my door. The manifold that is, not the dog!

_ken :L
 
Mini conversion....

Hey 69,.... I haven't heard how hard it is to conervt over to the mini-beagle ram, but I have heard they run like rabbits ! Plus, they aren't as hard to keep "fed"
Seriously, enjoy, and please keep the pic's coming in !



:w
Steve.
 
Hey Chris, hats off to those guys (Terry and Jim) at TPIS, we're keeping them pretty busy, what with talking to us on the phone and then filling our orders. My order for $3750 was placed today :J, and that's not counting the computer re-programming when I get all the necessary specs together for him. :eek

_ken :w
 
Steve,

That is the funniest thing I have ever read! Nothing eats like a beagle.

Ken you are so right about the $$$$ stuff. I don't have what I want to spend on this particular project available to me. I really wanted to add the headers and the stage IV or V chip. That alone is another $1,200! In fact, I consider this a pretty low buck conversion at this time as I already spent the bucks on the motor several years ago, and I am going to try to squeek past with the original pressure plate (per TPiS). I did get the Flywheel new from G.M. I had to return an item I bought for the 69 anyway so he gave me credit and I just paid the difference.

At least a fellow called yesterday on my GEO ad and offered me 3/4 of what I am asking. I took his number and will call him back if I don't get any other action. Pretty bad when you can sell a perfectly good running driving car for just enough money to cover your car parts for another.
 
Hey Chris, you might want to think of listing your Geo at local high schools or Driver's Ed. schools. Parents are always looking for a beginner car that their kids can beat the hell out of. My siblings and I got to pound on some Hondas, which fostered my disdain for 4-cylinders, in a car at least. --Bullitt
 
69MyWay said:
Pretty bad when you can sell a perfectly good running driving car for just enough money to cover your car parts for another.

Hey - if/when someone buys my old Subaru RX, the cash from that will go towards several of the same things you bought. I think of it as automotive recycling and space compression - sell something BIG to get the money for something small - you get what you want, your garage gets more room for junk!
 
Okay! After dropping the 69 at the welding shop today I yanked the engine out of the 90.

We started by pulling the hood. Nikki and a friend of mine named Mitch both pitched in. My buddy Keith came over later.

Here are the pics.
 
Here is the old mill coming out. The clutch really gave me a hard time. My hoist is not deep enough to go from the front. Most of the time today seemed to be consumed with the final part of the pull. We pulled the accesories, upper injection, exhaust manifold, and complete exhaust system prior to yanking it. I guess we did it all in about 6 hours.
 
Here is a quick glance at the new to the 90 motor. Notice the schweeeet full roller rockers and the freaky hot look of the miniram looming on top.
 
Hey Chris, you been doing any insurance work at all lately? :L

_ken :w
 
Ken said:
Hey Chris, you been doing any insurance work at all lately? :L

_ken :w


Hmmmmmmmmmm, good question. Actually, we were adding it up tonight. I put in much more than a 40 hour a week schedule at work, then come home and tinker with the cars, house, or whatever until bed time, then hammer out stuff all weekend. I guess I am obsessed with doing stuff. I love my regular job. It leaves plenty of room for personal and professional development, and I am able to squeeze my hobbies in as well.

It is all good though.
 
Racer78 said:
Great work Chris, are you leaving the block orange?

Going to clean and detail 90 engine compartment?


Keith :w

Keith,

That engine is actually base coat clear coat Dodge Viper red. I sprayed it to match the Fiero back in 97. It is almost a shame to paint over it after all the time I spent. I do need to clean it up though.

There is not much to detail in the engine bay. I found the bad oil leak. It was the oil cooler adapter not snug to the block. So, the rear main was perfect and no other leaks detected.
 
Engine swap....

Chris.. Hi :w and, SCHWEEEEEEEEETTTT.....
Thank you for taking the time to post the " Docu-Drama" pic's. I probably am about as anxious as you are ! The one question that keeps going thru my mind is; are you going to run a full ram hood scoop so the mini-beagle will have head room ? Or will you delete the beagle from the mini-beagle, just utilizing the " ram " effect ? LMAO... I know, I'm to warped to ever get remarried.... Seiously, thanks for the update ! Man, after just seeing the nose of your '90, I wonder how you could have ever considered getting rid of it ? You sir, are the MAN ! Let everyone here know how it sounds when you lite it off for the first time, :cool .



:w
Steve.
 
Racer78 said:
Chris,

your sure the viper red goes with the car? A lot easier to paint it now :)


Keith :w

We talked about that last night. We think it will look like christmas under the hood with the green car and red engine. Then again, after the exhaust, manifolds, etc. go on you can hardly see it anyway. Plus, this is real ICI automotive sprayed from a gun paint and it will hold up for many many years as compared to rattle cans. I actually took the bare block and oil pan. Cleaned, stripped, sanded and prepped it like you would a fender or hood. Then applied Urothane primer/sealer, two medium coats of the base, then two coats of clear. The dirt washes right off. I have not cleaned it since I took it out of the Fiero. I think it would look worse to have the rattle can start peeling off and exposing the red underneath. Finally, anybody looking at the engine can't accuse me of just dropping heads and intake on a stocker as the block has to come out for this kind of quality paint work.

I think we will leave it alone-Then again, I do have about a pint of the polo green base left over where I had to repair and repaint the left 3/4 of the 90 a few years ago. I also have plenty of clear left over from the 69. I could always strip it and do that. Nah, too much work.
 
Chris, if you ever get tired of that mini-ram, I have a nice home waiting for it... :)

How hard was it to install on that engine, and was the engine out of the car when you did it (I don't know the history of that 355)? The mini-ram is one of the few bigger-ticket items I want to add to my 86.

Did you also get an upgraded PROM? I think TPIS recommends their Magnum III with that setup.

Finally, and this may be considered a dumb question :confused but does the mini-ram clear the stock hood?

Thanks...
[RICHR]
 
Well, I have not actually bolted the intake down for good yet. Just popped it on there for the photo opportunity. I believe I will be putting it on before installing the engine. It is superior to the stock TPI anyway you slice it from the breathing characteristics to the once piece less complicated design. It is a one size fits all for type I and type II heads for the center bolt. It won't fit the new fast burn heads. They have a special one just for that.

No chip yet. For now I will boost the fuel pressure to compensate. Due to the fact that I have done heads and cam already they suggest a stage IV for this engine. I can always put that in later as the puter on the 90 sits in the engine bay (10 minute swap).

As far as I know it will clear the hood. It is shorter than a stock TPI, but taller than an LT1. Should be no problems there.

I am going to try to attach a picture of this motor back in 97 when I was test fitting it in the Fiero. So far my size of the photo is too large and I am having trouble converting from bitmap.
 

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