Intake options with street hood

[lippy]

I'm deciding on final options for ERA 797 and am pretty sure I'm going with a smooth street hood. I'm having Brent build me a Pond 427/482 for the car. So my questions are: What intake manifolds have people used with this type of configuration? Am I limited to low-riser or could I use medium? Any experience with this issue would be great.

Bob - your input would be greatly appreciated and it also would be good if you could share any height/clearance dimensions specific to an ERA 427 with a street hood.

Thanks.

[DanEC]

Lippy - you are limited to a low riser intake without a hood scope - such as an early 427 LR dual quad intake or a Cobra Jet 1x4 intake or Police Interceptor 1x4 intake. There are a few aftermarket LR based intakes that can also work. The Great Intake Manifold Comparison book has dimensions on most of the available intakes. I can look up a couple of them if you have any particular ones in mind.

Dan

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by DanEC

Lippy - you are limited to a low riser intake without a hood scope - such as an early 427 LR dual quad intake or a Cobra Jet 1x4 intake or Police Interceptor 1x4 intake. There are a few aftermarket LR based intakes that can also work.

If that's true, that would make a waste of an expensive Pond 482. If your main concern is 'original' appearance, you could have easily, cheaply and smartly built a 445 / 390 and choked that with LR stuff.

[DanEC]

Bob has a good picture that he sent me once - looking into the hood scope of an ERA with a MR intake and a good deal of the air cleaner was sitting up in and very visible in the scope. You might call Doug at ERA and see what they think is the best manifold that will clear.

Obviously ERAChase has a good and valid point but it isn't the end of the world. I had Keith Craft build my motor out of old parts with steel heads, LR dual quad intake, 9:1 compression, mild hydraulic cam, and 4.25 inch stroke and it still dyno'd at 480HP/530+Torque (past peak torque when his pull data started). With a set of Edelbrock heads, a little more compression and a little more cam I would think the HP number could easily have been boosted by another 50 or so and still produced a pretty mild motor. Another 22 cubic inches on top of my motor would help even more. Jay Brown's (hope I have his name correct from memory) manifold comparison book found my LR dual quad intake to actually perform very respectively - very good torque numbers and decent HP at least up to moderate rpms. I think some of the aftermarket versions of the 428 Cobra Jet 1x4 intake also perform pretty well.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by DanEC

The Great Intake Manifold Comparison book has dimensions on most of the available intakes. I can look up a couple of them if you have any particular ones in mind.
Dan

It's a great resource. I would buy one. I have it because I'm constantly thinking of tinkering with my engine or dreaming about a SOHC motor.

The Great FE Intake Comparo

Don't mind Chas. He can sometimes be Mr. Negativity. Nothing wrong with choking your engine. Form over substance, I always say. It's not about how it performs, but how it looks.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

It's a great resource. I would buy one. I have it because I'm constantly thinking of tinkering with my engine or dreaming about a SOHC motor.

The Great FE Intake Comparo

Don't mind Chas. He can sometimes be Mr. Negativity. Nothing wrong with choking your engine. Form over substance, I always say. It's not about how it performs, but how it looks.

Yeah-don't mind that quack.
But he would not pay $18K for an engine that has the performance of a $12K engine.
Proceed with form over substance.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Yeah-don't mind that quack.

[Dimis]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

Yeah-don't mind that quack.
But he would not pay $18K for an engine that has the performance of a $12K engine.
Proceed with form over substance.

I'm with Rod in this one. Our dear friend ERAChas has over looked one small point when it comes to performance, just like many American car manufacturers before him. Lighter IS Better!

Is it worth paying 6k premium for?
Well, assolutely (if I may quote a famous moderator), particularly if you ever intend to turn the steering wheel, as our OP friend just may... It is of course a street car.

Further, it's worth at least that much in bragging rights and more again cos Brent built it

Chas's advise may be sage, but if we all followed that logic we'd be driving turbo charged ffrs.

Enjoy

[B.M.B.C]

I have seen street cars with a smooth hood using Webers

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by B.M.B.C

I have seen street cars with a smooth hood using Webers

Yes those are as high as Low Riser 4bbl intakes.

[lippy]

Doug at ERA tells me I can use any medium riser with a street hood as long as I use a 14" round air cleaner.

[flaflier]

I have HR heads and 2x4 intake with 1/2 spacers, and my air cleaners are about 1.5" visible in the scoop..

I agree MR's should fit no problem.

[DanEC]

Originally Posted by lippy

Doug at ERA tells me I can use any medium riser with a street hood as long as I use a 14" round air cleaner.

Well - after going back through my old posts I found that Bob's comments that a MR intake will not fit under a smooth ERA hood are all related to the dual quad intake. See post 5 in this thread.

Dual quad intake to fit under smooth hood

Unfortunately I don't think I have his emailed picture anymore and some posters seemed to think a dual quad MR intake might still fit.

Apparently a singel 4bbl MR intake will fit. Sorry for the mis-information.

Dan