Just out of curiousity what kinda work are you talking about I was under the impression it was just as simple as bolting in and getting it tuned and go. How wrong am I? lol
moderately. I've not worked specifically on the ramjet itself, but I do have a fully custom MPFI setup on my truck and have done alot of the same stuff for mine, if you really want to go for the ramjet, there is a member here named 'lextech' who is running one, he'd probably be able to help with alot of the nitty gritty specifics more than I would.
the Ramjet is made to bolt on to vortec heads, but its not specifically made for a L31/L30 engine or a GMT400 so you've got to do some stuff to make it work with what you've got. off the top of my head I can think of a few:
-fabrication of fuel lines/regulator mounting/placement to mate the stock system to the ramjet,
-fabrication of intake air tubing to meet the new TB (and depending on how you route the intake tubing, you may need to do some wiring and alterations for the MAF sensor),
-since the ramjet is not setup for EGR and has no EGR return port, you'll need to find a way to block that off on your exhaust manifold,
-you'll need to figure out a way to route the TB cabling properly,
-you'll need to figure out mounting/wiring and such for the ignition module and coil,
-you'll also need to likely address distributor issues since the vortec isn't like the older HEI setups, and the distributor actually houses the cam position sensor, so you'd likely need to keep a vortec dist in there, and things may get crowded with the vortec crab cap distributor with the fuel rails and the size of the ramjet,
-you'll need to work on the wiring for the TPS and IAC to reach the new TB placement,
-I don't know if the ramjet is ported for a vacuum port to feed the brake booster or not so you might have to add that,
-I'm also not sure about how its ported for coolant flow and such, you may need to do something there,
-I wouldn't be personally happy with a mail order tune for a major intake change like this, you'd really want to do something in-person, like a dyno tune, or better yet, tune it yourself. this kind of thing will change things like your volumetric efficiency tables, transient fueling, and such, I'm really **** about my tune so maybe its just my OCD kicking in, but even so, I'd suggest nothing less than an in-person tune of some kind by someone who knows how to tune GM vehicles very well.
-you'd need to fabricate new routing, porting, and mounting of the EVAP stuff,
-there are alot of little things that are mounted to the intake manifold, like harness loom holders, so you'd likely have issues with stuff like that to address,
-you'd need to splice into the stock harness to add the new external injector connectors
I'm probably missing some stuff too, I know it kindof sounds like alot, but depending on how comfortable you are with minor wiring, and some light metal work, it really shouldn't be too bad with a little creativity, but its not just a 'bolt on and go' type of mod.
with all the specific stuff you'd likely need to do, you'd probably be better off not getting the ramjet 'kit' but rather the bare manifold, and piecing the correct parts together for your setup. it would probably cost less that way too and you'd get a better setup, for example, this is just personal preference, but the injectors that come with that kit SUCK (they're like the ones that company is selling for $170 each), I'd get something better if I were you.
I'd still recommend the ramjet over the upgraded spider any day of the week, but there are circumstances where the spider is a good choice too, it just comes down to what your goals and plans are.
