Intake manifold fitment. How much room is there?

[JOHNA01374]

Been doing a little bit of work to the Monte and decided that along with the header and exhaust I'm going to install a better intake manifold and Air filter assembly.

 

Since my motor is all stock I've decided to go with the Edelbrock Performer 2.0. It's the basic upgrade for 0-5000rpm so It should work fine for me. My question is will it fit under the hood with a standard 2 inch filter or will I need to get a drop base for the air cleaner ?

 

My car is a 402 with new stock motor mounts. Noticed the motor sits about 3/4 to 1 inch higher than before I replaced them.

[72-CLASSIC_RIDE]

I replaced my 350 CI with a 402 & new motor mounts with installed Eddy Performer Intake that required me to use a drop base for the air cleaner. Not much available room left even with the drop base. I would say it is a good idea to get one.

Good luck on your project.

 

Doug

[bigscaht]

a drop base should work since ur engine sits 3/4 higher..I have teh performer rpm on my 350 with a regular aire filer..no drop base...and before I got my fiberglass hood it was only about 1/2 inch clearence under there!!!

[wallaby]

I'm not convinced that the Performer 2.0 is an upgrade. It's designed to be a stock replacement, and has port runners that are smaller than the cast-iron stock piece. The obvious advantages are lighter weight and a dual bolt pattern for mounting carbs, but I felt I had better performance with my stock intake. I used my performer for about 2 weeks while I waited for my performer RPM to arrive. Either way, you might find you have to make adjustments to linkages, air cleaner housing and fuel line because of the height difference.

[JOHNA01374]

Sounds good guys. I kind of thought I'd need the dropped base.

 

As for the Performer being an upgrade. Well that remains to be seen on the 402. I used the exact same manifold on a 454 many years back and the difference was huge when compared to the stock piece Both in weight and performance. I'm going to take the time to smooth out the ports just a tad to get rid of the casting flash and rough spots. I'm actually shocked how bad this manifold was cast. I was a little concerned that it would be too much for the little 402.

[Mike 57]

I run a Victor Jr with a flat hood and a drop base air cleaner on my 505. Clearance is tight but no issues. The performer and RPM air gap fit good with a drop base air cleaner

[70mcarlo]

I have an RPM Air-Gap on my 502, with a 3" high K&N filter on a drop base and have no clearance issues at all.

[JOHNA01374]

How deep is your drop base. I've seen everything from 3/4 to

2-1/2 inch. How much drop is needed to clear a 3 inch filter. Any linkage interference with The drop base ?

[70mcarlo]

I am using a 14" open element filter (K&N 3" high), K&N xtreme flow cover, and the base is the same one used on '66-'69 Chevelle 350/375 hp 396 models. It is made specifically for Holley 4 bbl and it wraps around the carb quite nicely. There are no linkage issues. Even the anti-dieseling solenoid clears. I measured the filter base and it has a 1 7/8" drop from carb flange to bottom of base.

 

Not sure if they are hard to find now - I bought mine quite a few years ago (ten?) from Year One, but I don't see it listed in their catalog any more. It was a new GM part at the time, so GM was still making them at least till then.

 

I used the GM base because I was looking for a "factory" look and it has the crankcase vent tube built into it that slips into a rubber connection/90 degree elbow at the valve cover (I am using "retro" chrome valve covers on my 502). Before I switched to the GM base, I was using an aftermarket chrome drop-base filter with no hood clearance issues, and I believe it had even more room for linkage, etc. than the Holley-specific one I'm using now.

 

According to my Edelbrock catalog, the Performer 2-O that you plan on using has a lower carb pad height (4.85") than the RPM Air-Gap (5.22") I have - giving you a little bit more room to play with.

 

 

[MonteCarLois]

I run a 402 with solid mounts (that sit the same), an Eddy Performer and I could fit a 2" carb spacer with a flat-based air cleaner without clearance issues. I do run a drop-base air cleaner, but only because I think it looks cleaner to hide the carburetor.