68 GT convertible project
I had been looking online at custom air cleaners for a long time, trying to find something I liked. At first I was thinking about a factory six-pak style air cleaner but decided against it. I found something I liked better but it was more advanced then what I was capable of doing myself. I ended up modifying the design into something that I could handle.
I started with a $20 14" drop base air cleaner from Summit. I knew I was limited by how much drop I could have in the base since the Edelbrock electric choke gets in the way at some point. I couldn't find the exact answer online so I took a chance with a 1" drop. As it turns out, 3/4" drop is the most you can have with an electric choke before the air cleaner hits it. I needed that extra 1/4" though because I was too close to the bottom of the hood for my liking. The air cleaner came with a 3" filter and that's the size I wanted to use. Anything under 3" doesn't look right IMO. I ended up taking the base over to a friends house and we modified it to fit the choke. We cut the base open, bent the metal up and out of the way, then welded it back together. Now, the 1" drop base will fit over the electric choke with just a smidgeon of clearance. This modification did require I grind away some of the rubber on the inside lip of the air filter. It was an easy mod and doesn't affect the filtering in any way.
The next thing was to make that generic 14" air cleaner look custom. I went to the local metal shop and had them cut me a piece of aluminum 3" tall x 4' long. Then I used a 1-1/4" hole saw to drill 14 equally spaced holes along its length. I played with the hole spacing on a sheet of paper until I found the one I liked the best.
Then I dimpled each of the holes with the dimple die I used to make my trans cooler bracket.
At that point, it was just a matter of bending the aluminum around the air cleaner. I wasn't sure how easily it was going to bend since the dimpled holes add strength to the aluminum. As it turns out, it wasn't an issue.
Here is the finished product before paint. The aluminum sits inside the outer lip of the air cleaner base/lid. There is a little room between the lip of the base and the air filter element. I riveted the ends together after cutting them to length. The rivets are in the back so you can't see them. If you can, you're leaning under my hood too much. I don't think the air flow will be hindered too much. There is a lot more open area then a factory air cleaner assembly.
Here it is on the engine. Like I said earlier, hood clearance is a big issue. I don't have enough room to use a traditional wing nut to hold the air cleaner in place. I have an idea for a custom fastener but haven't started that yet.
I had been looking online at custom air cleaners for a long time, trying to find something I liked. At first I was thinking about a factory six-pak style air cleaner but decided against it. I found something I liked better but it was more advanced then what I was capable of doing myself. I ended up modifying the design into something that I could handle.
I started with a $20 14" drop base air cleaner from Summit. I knew I was limited by how much drop I could have in the base since the Edelbrock electric choke gets in the way at some point. I couldn't find the exact answer online so I took a chance with a 1" drop. As it turns out, 3/4" drop is the most you can have with an electric choke before the air cleaner hits it. I needed that extra 1/4" though because I was too close to the bottom of the hood for my liking. The air cleaner came with a 3" filter and that's the size I wanted to use. Anything under 3" doesn't look right IMO. I ended up taking the base over to a friends house and we modified it to fit the choke. We cut the base open, bent the metal up and out of the way, then welded it back together. Now, the 1" drop base will fit over the electric choke with just a smidgeon of clearance. This modification did require I grind away some of the rubber on the inside lip of the air filter. It was an easy mod and doesn't affect the filtering in any way.
The next thing was to make that generic 14" air cleaner look custom. I went to the local metal shop and had them cut me a piece of aluminum 3" tall x 4' long. Then I used a 1-1/4" hole saw to drill 14 equally spaced holes along its length. I played with the hole spacing on a sheet of paper until I found the one I liked the best.
Then I dimpled each of the holes with the dimple die I used to make my trans cooler bracket.
At that point, it was just a matter of bending the aluminum around the air cleaner. I wasn't sure how easily it was going to bend since the dimpled holes add strength to the aluminum. As it turns out, it wasn't an issue.
Here is the finished product before paint. The aluminum sits inside the outer lip of the air cleaner base/lid. There is a little room between the lip of the base and the air filter element. I riveted the ends together after cutting them to length. The rivets are in the back so you can't see them. If you can, you're leaning under my hood too much. I don't think the air flow will be hindered too much. There is a lot more open area then a factory air cleaner assembly.
Here it is on the engine. Like I said earlier, hood clearance is a big issue. I don't have enough room to use a traditional wing nut to hold the air cleaner in place. I have an idea for a custom fastener but haven't started that yet.
