Cross Ram Questions

[Kevin Grasson]

I am running a '64 Polara in NSS with an Indy headed 493 (wedge) topped with a stock (unmodified) '63 cross ram and a pair of 750 cfm Edelbrock AFB's, and I have a couple of questions for guys who run them.
First, my egt's are 40 degrees different between the no.1 and no.8 cylinders. Is there anything that can be done to correct this? The carbs are jetted square.

Second, for those that ran a cross ram in SS back when people actually ran a stock-based cross ram in SS, what mods were done to improve flow and fuel distribution? I would probably get a repro intake if I was going to make any major changes.

[Jeff Lee]

Do you have the old Direct Connection tech bulletins pertaining to this? Probably a moot point as you most likely will want a removable top cross-ram. Seems like if your allowed one you might as well otherwise it's an up hill battle. I've never run one but I know there is a lot of work to be done and it's worth the effort. I don't believe your allowed sheet metal intakes, correct?
Good luck!

[treessavoy]

The old Direct Connection manual shows extensive modifications for the 1963 cross ram for super stock. The manifold was cut apart and popcicle sticks were epoxied in certain places to redirect fuel flow. Unless you can find one of those bulletins this will be a very hard to do.

The second alternative is to play with the jets and metering rods in the carbs to achieve the desired results. Consulting Bob Mazollini in riverside ca. or Dan Dvorak in Waldo Fl might be a good idea, both have raced these cars for over 30 years.

Jim R

Note: The '64 manifold flows much better in the stock form.

[GTX JOHN]

We used 76 and 89 staggered jets on my A/SA 64 Plymouth. I never found any difference on 63 or 64 manifolds although connection between banks was larger on 64.

[Jim Bailey]

Kevin, Brian Ebert (High Tech in Min.) and myself worked on this problem one whole afternoon on the dyno. I use the Programable MSD Digital Ignition, that allows you to vary the timing from Cyl. to Cly. I ended up with 39 degrees Total Timing in cyl.1, cyl.2, cyl.7 and cyl.8. I run 38 degrees in cyl.3, and cyl.6. I run 37 degrees in cyl.4 and cyl.5. This pretty much equaled out the egts.( I just saved you $300.00 in dyno time, laughing). Then, a quick run to a chassis dyno will allow you to fine tune the carbs. Forget about the mettering rods! They don't do *****. You'll end up with a signifcant difference in your jetting to optimize your O2's. Finally, we've dyno'd about 15 Different Crossrams...There's no rime or reason to any of them. 1963's - 1964's - doesn't matter. The best one John Shaul ever had was a '63. For what your doing, I'd run a New Mopar Perf. with the removable top. They're cheap, and they work really well. You'll just have to tune to yours. Hope this helps, Jim.

[Kevin Grasson]

Originally Posted by treessavoy

The old Direct Connection manual shows extensive modifications for the 1963 cross ram for super stock. The manifold was cut apart and popcicle sticks were epoxied in certain places to redirect fuel flow. Unless you can find one of those bulletins this will be a very hard to do.

The second alternative is to play with the jets and metering rods in the carbs to achieve the desired results. Consulting Bob Mazollini in riverside ca. or Dan Dvorak in Waldo Fl might be a good idea, both have raced these cars for over 30 years.

Jim R

Note: The '64 manifold flows much better in the stock form.

Thanks everyone!
I think my Dad might have the manual.

John-Wow that's a pretty big stagger!

I actually am allowed to use a sheet-metal intake in one of the organizations I run, but not all, so I wouldn't go that route.

The removable top cross-ram sounds like a good idea....

Jim-Thanks! What egt and O2 readings do you like to see?

[treessavoy]

Kevin,

If you are running the NMCA or Chrysler NSS events you might look into using the Indy Max Wedge Ratroaster manifold they sell. It looks a lot like the Hemi version with the carbs inline. They swear that it will make 40hp over any crossram....it just depends if you want the traditional look or the inline look.

I've got a new one in the box but never used it because I decided to go class racing again so I don't know how well it actually works.

Jim R

[Kevin Grasson]

I had considered the Indy intake but as of right now I would really like to keep the look of the cross-ram...might eventually want try it though..

[Paul Precht]

A good starting point would be the stock 3705 jetting, 104s in the primary. For the secondaries, 89 on the throttle side and 63 on the choke side. The metering rods should be about .053" on the small end. Square jetting is not good for these manifolds. There are many fast stockers running these carbs and probably better jetting setups but the stock jetting should be a huge improvement over what you have. How fast is the car and did you build it or buy a former race car, Paul.

[Kevin Grasson]

Originally Posted by Paul Precht

A good starting point would be the stock 3705 jetting, 104s in the primary. For the secondaries, 89 on the throttle side and 63 on the choke side. The metering rods should be about .053" on the small end. Square jetting is not good for these manifolds. There are many fast stockers running these carbs and probably better jetting setups but the stock jetting should be a huge improvement over what you have. How fast is the car and did you build it or buy a former race car, Paul.

Thanks! The car has been 10.31 at 132; it was a race car for 20 years when I got it, always run with a max wedge combo of some sort. It had been sitting for over 2 years before I got it. The engine combo is fairly new, so I assumed I would be starting from scratch when I started messing with it.