Hood clearance issues

[Hawkeye]

I am looking at creating a little more clearance between the top of the aircleaner and the hood scoop. My first thought is to mill about a 1/4” off the top of the intake manifold. I currently have a performer rpm intake on a 429. My current air filter is about 17/8” high and I would like to put something a little higher or a top that breathes as well.
Any feed back on this would greatly be appreciated, I know it may compromise the original design of the intake but if a loose a little HP I may gain it back in having the motor breath better.

[mickmate]

Lots of info and ideas on CC try a search. Here's a recent thread.
I Need Suggestions

[RET_COP]

Hawkeye is this a D&D [?] cobra like in your sig. or a more well known B&B cobra. I own a B&B and I also have the clearance issue. My way around it was to mill off the bottom of a K&N billet air cleaner. I also cut the bottom off an edelbrock air cleaner. They both worked out good. I have the luxury of a tall hood scoop which came as an option. I would not mill the intake as the divided plenum is small enough. This would also negatively effect the turn radius causing a problem with air and fuel mixture.
I have thought of buying another hood and putting a low Harwood scoop on it but that's just me.
I have an air cleaner that I modified to breath better. Look in my profile under Lou's pictures.
Lou

[Hawkeye]

Yes this is a D&D cobra as in my Gallery. I currently have about 3/16"th clearance but would like to put on a k&n extreme top on the air filter. With the shape of the extreme element I would need a little extra clearence to get it in. Unless some one can recommend a drop filter base for a 9" round filter to gane clearence.

[mdross1]

Doubt you will find a drop base for a 9" filter.Our 460 car with same manifold needed a 3"x14" with Extreme top according to K&N so I did get another hood modify and graft in a Harwood scoop.It could not have worked out better the motor has plenty of clean air and the scoop looks like it was meant to be there.

[Tommy]

I went through this exercise with a different kind of car several years ago. Here is the list of options I remember.

• Lower the engine in the frame
• Raise the body on the frame
• Use a shorter intake manifold
• Mill the carburetor mounting surface on the intake manifold
• Use a unique air filter design to fit in the available space

As I cautiioned in the earlier thread mentioned above, regardless of the approach taken, you have to leave enough room between the top of the carburetor and the top of the air cleaner for the air to make the turn into the throat of the carburetor without significant restriction.

[YerDugliness]

Here's what I did....bought a K&N X-Stream air-cleaner assembly, found out that with the nicely radiused K&N base there was not enough clearance. I had been using a Mr. Gasket air cleaner that was shorter, so I used that and here's what I came up with:



It is possible to get a shorter K&N 9" cleaner element...which would give additional clearance.

One of our members (sure wish I could remember the name) used some flat aluminum stock to mill out a plate for his Holley, but I am using an Edelbrock carb and the choke mechanism would have interfered...if you have a Holley perhaps you can find his thread. IIRC he had a few milled up and was selling them at cost, perhaps he has a few left for sale.

Good luck....much as I hate to do it, I think I am going to have to lower the engine in my Cobra replica to get the intake system I want to fit.....

Cheers!

Dugly

[csx4017]

I wanted to use a Turkey Pan and replace the old style Stelling & Hellings with a K&N XSTREAM filter. Unfortunately the 2.75 high filter created an overalll height of 4.5. I only needed 3/8 less to clear the hood. In a search on the K&N web site I found a 9 inch dia filter that was 2 inches high. That is PN E-3527. I bounce between removing the Turkey Pan and 9 incher and reinstalling the elliptical filter assembly that came with my Roush 427SR. The CFM is less with the 9 incher but I have not noticed any performance drop. I don't know if this is an acceptable solution for you but it is the maximum CFM when using a Turkey Pan and clearing the hood.

[rodneym]

Dugly,

K&N does custom filters. I had some made for my clearance issue on my old SPF a few years ago. Took a couple weeks

[mdross1]

Big cfm consumption is only needed when really getting into it.With these cars that is very easy to do,in my case anyway and the very reason I chose the path I did.Always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Will say going from the Stellings to the K&N was in incredible increase in seat of the pants feel.

[w-lewis]

When replacing my oil soaked, dry rotted Stelling & Helling foam element with a H&N, the only K&N I could find that was close in size, was one about 1/4" too tall. I trimmed the rubber bead seal on both sides, basically eliminating the bead, and it allowed enough additional clearance to fit. If you need it, I could find the K&N part number.

[Hawkeye]

Thanks for all your input.

[dcdoug]

Here is a thread that covers some of the K&N options.

"KNN E-2570 is 8.1 inches X 2 inch. The KNN E-1015 is 8.5 inches X 2.5 inch." K&N part number for Stellings

Here is another thread on the subject: Pent-Roof Valve Covers and which air cleaner?

I use the 2570, the 1015 was too tall to clear for me. One nice benefit to the 2570 is you can slide the wire mesh from the S&H over this element and it maintains most of the original look (if you care about that).

[Hawkeye]

Well I may have found the combination. K&N E-2585 element which is 9" dia. and 1.813" high, with xtreme 66-0901. A lot will be based on what I use for a base plate. I only have a max. 2 3/4" clearance from the top of carb to the undeside of hood. It's going to be close allowing 5/16" for torque. I'll know more once I get hold of the xtreme top and see how much of a peak it has.

[kinsey]

your air cleaner lid is probably only a 1/2 " to an 1" or so above your carb.
i went with an edelbrock foam triangle shaped filter. low cost and seems to allow more air flow

[mickmate]

This is the lowest base plate you can get.

Under a Cobra hood scoop with an Xtreme lid and flush mounting hardware it doesn't get much better for the 9".