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custom air cleaners for intake systems and air grabber hoods

fj5gtx

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So I have a 70 GTX with air grabber. I can go with stock 4bbl and manifold, or 6bbl. I'd rather go aftermarket aluminum and efi or holley carb. The rub is mating to the air grabber setup. Anyone struggle with this and come up with solutions?
 
I've not done that swap, but you are correct that it's pretty much factory intakes or a C4HB (or something??? - can't remember part number) and that's it. If your efi setup isn't more than 1/2" taller than a Holley, it bolts up to intake and fits inside the air cleaner (modified?) it will work. I believe I have seen some half-moon shaped efi throttle bodies that "looked" like they might fit in a six pack air cleaner
 
You're screwed. The aftermarket intake height is the issue and usually they're an inch or more taller. So without some major mods to what are now expensive air cleaner bases, you're pretty much screwed.

FWIW here's a frontal view of the motor with Indy intake, mockup carb and '70 air cleaner. Total height is 15" measured from the front pad on the block. That's a 383 baseplate and a 440 block but using a 440 baseplate wouldn't make much difference.

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FWIW, an Edelbrock CH4B works with my ‘69 Air Grabber, no modification was necessary. It is a dual plane design which looks a lot like the factory intake, but the plenum and runners are a bit larger.

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Not to fit an air grabber but I modified my 383 air cleaner base to fit my taller than stock aluminum Edelbrock intake plus a 1" two stage nitrous plate on my Roached Runner. Still fits under the stock hood.

I also made my own custom hood opening, base and bubble shaker to fit my tunnel ram and two 1050 Dominator carbs on my 70' Challenger.

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I like that shaker fix :) Unfortunately the air grabber doesn't have a vertical degree of freedom like that. I'd like to use the torker and 850cfm holley I have.

I have a 4bbl air grabber air cleaner housing, but am unsure if its a B or RB. I think I remember the previous owner telling me he thought it was for a 383. I assume the B engine air cleaner version would be taller than RB.... anyone know the air cleaner baseplate difference in height between the B and RB versions?
 
I like that shaker fix :) Unfortunately the air grabber doesn't have a vertical degree of freedom like that. I'd like to use the torker and 850cfm holley I have.

I have a 4bbl air grabber air cleaner housing, but am unsure if it’s a B or RB. I think I remember the previous owner telling me he thought it was for a 383. I assume the B engine air cleaner version would be taller than RB.... anyone know the air cleaner baseplate difference in height between the B and RB versions?

I believe the B is roughly 3/4” taller
 
I like that shaker fix :) Unfortunately the air grabber doesn't have a vertical degree of freedom like that. I'd like to use the torker and 850cfm holley I have.

I have a 4bbl air grabber air cleaner housing, but am unsure if its a B or RB. I think I remember the previous owner telling me he thought it was for a 383. I assume the B engine air cleaner version would be taller than RB.... anyone know the air cleaner baseplate difference in height between the B and RB versions?
Just showing anything can be done with a little ingenuity. With a little work I am sure you can figure something out. Maybe buy a fiberglass reproduction to cut up and save you original.
 
It can be done I run a Holley Street Avenger intake with Proform 850DP carb. 69 GTX with factory air grabber 440 block.
On my car I have a custom fiberglass base that lowers the carb and air cleaner just enough to get the stock hood to close.

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It can be done I run a Holley Street Avenger intake with Proform 850DP carb. 69 GTX with factory air grabber 440 block.
On my car I have a custom fiberglass base that lowers the carb and air cleaner just enough to get the stock hood to close.

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Did you buy that base plate to fit, or buy and modify it yourself? How much lower did the base have to go to make it work?

Likely I'll need to consider moving from the single plane to a dual plane to get into a height that is workable. Or just go with the 6bbl setup I have on the shelf. The air grabber is why I bought the car, now I'm wondering if its worth these restrictions :)

I'll measure the Torker vs the cast iron stock intake to see exactly how much taller it is. Then I'll have to find the old carter carb and see what the air cleaner relevant differences are between it and the holley 850. I'll report that back in this thread, just in case anyone cares.

Adding this link where people are talking about some similar issues.
Air grabber and intake height issue.
 
I bought the base plate from a gentlemen in Texas. I don't remember his name. He posts on Moparts site. He makes custom base plates. I had to modify the one he sent me. I needed to remove about 3/4 inch of material from carb mount area. I think it was designed for a B engine.
 
Edelbrock's website reports these stats, where CH is carb height. That stock reference on the RPM implies that the stock CH = 3.65". And thus implies that my torker is only 1" higher than stock. I'll have to dig out the iron and confirm these differences when I get a chance this weekend.

Performer 440 CH=4.30: Idle-5500 RPM
Torker/TorkerII CH 4.67 2500-6500 RPM
Performer RPM CH=5.35 1500-6500 RPM Manifold is 1.7" taller than stock;
Super Victor CH=6.4" 3500 to 8000 rpm
 
Did you buy that base plate to fit, or buy and modify it yourself? How much lower did the base have to go to make it work?

Likely I'll need to consider moving from the single plane to a dual plane to get into a height that is workable. Or just go with the 6bbl setup I have on the shelf. The air grabber is why I bought the car, now I'm wondering if its worth these restrictions :)

I'll measure the Torker vs the cast iron stock intake to see exactly how much taller it is. Then I'll have to find the old carter carb and see what the air cleaner relevant differences are between it and the holley 850. I'll report that back in this thread, just in case anyone cares.

Adding this link where people are talking about some similar issues.
Air grabber and intake height issue.
Do you remember the source for the base??
 
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