Making a custom air cleaner for the Cuda, looking for opinions.

[BARRACUDA1968]

I've had this car since 1998 and used to race it. 340 stroked to a 416 low 10 second car at 131 mph. I've never had a nice air cleaner for it mainly because I run a 1050 Dominator and can get an off the shelf air cleaner on the motor and shut the hood. I got invited to show the car in June at a big car show so it motivated me to finally get something made. I found the only thing on the planet made for a Dominator that will fit under my hood so I bought it to give me something to start with.

Using a 4" PCV 90 degree elbow to mock something up my idea is to weld 2 aluminum elbows about like you see in the picture and then mount some type of filter on the ends. Simple enough but how do you guy's think it will look?

 

[Gary Wells]

Did you get this mainly for shows, or are you going to run with too?
Personally, as an ex-Mopar owner to me the only thing that looks good
on a Holley Dominator sitting still are 4 tennis balls sticking out of the carb.
Nothing puts the fear of God into a racer is another racer with a Dominator.

 

[Charles Young]

I think it would look great! Let's see the rest of the car too.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

Thank you. I just don't want it to look ricer. I just don't have a lot of options with the toilet for a carburetor sitting on top of my manifold.

The car was on the cover of Mopar Muscle magazine in 2005. I quit racing it after that. It's pretty much sat since then. I get it out about twice a year. I live in a rural community so we do a lot of highway driving, with a 4:10 gear and a 28" tire I'm 2800 rpm everywhere I go which for this motor is nothing. It doesn't start making any real power until 3500 rpm. I used to spin it 7200 between shifts racing. It was a hand full but honestly less stressful than the grand national. Put good fuel in it crank the timing and drop the hammer. Didn't need 9 gauges to monitor so it wouldn't blow up. It was a lot of fun but I have too much money in the car to risk hurting it that's why when I decided to go racing again I bought a GN. Fast, good highway car and a car I always wanted to own since I saw my first one back in 1987.

 

[4timesT]

Low 10s and a man pedal....verryyy nice!!!

 

[OhioC5]

As soon as I saw I thought about the old Thunderbolts, I think it looks nice.

 

[liquidh8]

Nice, I am working on my cousins 69 notchback? (not a fastback like yours) now. Just installed the USCarTools kit, subframe connectors, torque boxes, spring relocation, rad support bracing and shock tower bracing. I did floor pans in inner fender wells also. I'll be doing the mini tub a quarters in the coming weeks.

I'll be showing him these pics, shit, he may even have the issue your car is in.

 

[BADDGUY6]

Very Nice!! Can you spin the Air cleaner around 180* and with the 90* elbows get the air filters to face the front of the car near the air scoop? More cold air into the filters/motor.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I love the notchbacks. I had a 69 25 years ago. I have history with this car when I was a kid so I'll have it forever. If I ever do another one it will be a notchback like you're building and I'll go back to racing with the old school stuff. I've got enough motor to go 9's with the right car. Say under 3000 pounds and a good automatic with the right convertor. I'd just build a nice 340 for this car and pull my stroker for a mini or full tub toy.

I decided to go 45 degree's off the hat in the pictures. I should be able to point the air breathers down toward the front corners of the engine compartment. It's not ideal but I'm not ready to spend the money to have something hand fabbed just yet.

 

[novaderrik]

you say you don't want it to look like a "ricer", while showing pics of what will be the most ricerish air cleaner that could possibly be put on a car?

i say keep it traditional: make a base to use one of those oval air cleaner elements and lid that the 6 pack cars had- and make sure to paint the housing orange just like the 6 pack cars did- and have it sealed to the bottom of the hood to make that big hood scoop do something besides look cool.

 

[bpman1234]

You should look at the spectra line products they have those elbows and bends pipes in 4"

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

you say you don't want it to look like a "ricer", while showing pics of what will be the most ricerish air cleaner that could possibly be put on a car?

i say keep it traditional: make a base to use one of those oval air cleaner elements and lid that the 6 pack cars had- and make sure to paint the housing orange just like the 6 pack cars did- and have it sealed to the bottom of the hood to make that big hood scoop do something besides look cool.

That all sounds wonderful but an oval air cleaner won't fit long way's. I have one. Second issue, this motor moves some air so I need a lot of air breather. The Oval air cleaner I have has to sit sideways so I can close the hood. It's a 2" thick element and it literally richen's up the motor when I put it on. Unless I can get someone to custom make me my own air filter which won't happen I'm stuck with something like this. We are going to cut 45 degree cast elbows and tig weld them on. Then pick a filter that will fit pointing down and forward. If I didn't run a highrise single plane intake with a dominator I could run a round air cleaner but then I'd give up a 100 HP.

Keep an open mind it may not look ricer when I'm done.

This piece is from Spectre. It's the only hat I could find for a Dominator carb. I don't want the rubber elbows that's why we're going to tig weld the elbows on. I should have plenty of air flow with this set up.

 

[bpman1234]

ok good luck with it nice car .show pics when your done.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Thank you. I just don't want it to look ricer. I just don't have a lot of options with the toilet for a carburetor sitting on top of my manifold.

The car was on the cover of Mopar Muscle magazine in 2005. I quit racing it after that. It's pretty much sat since then. I get it out about twice a year. I live in a rural community so we do a lot of highway driving, with a 4:10 gear and a 28" tire I'm 2800 rpm everywhere I go which for this motor is nothing. It doesn't start making any real power until 3500 rpm. I used to spin it 7200 between shifts racing. It was a hand full but honestly less stressful than the grand national. Put good fuel in it crank the timing and drop the hammer. Didn't need 9 gauges to monitor so it wouldn't blow up. It was a lot of fun but I have too much money in the car to risk hurting it that's why when I decided to go racing again I bought a GN. Fast, good highway car and a car I always wanted to own since I saw my first one back in 1987.

W/ the SS scoop, why not hook it up w/ a factory style plate and a foam gasket??
Here's a shot of my Hemi 65 Belve, w/ the factory scoop, and dual throttle bodies. [Missing is the cleaner box.. A fabbed box w/ 2 flat K&N's in it, sealed to the scoop opening.] Don't see why that wouldn't be more period style.
My $.02... the alum tubes, etc don't look right for a car of that vintage.

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I like that idea and wanted to go that direction. The problem is the air cleaner flange on the carb is higher than the bottom of the hood meaning something would need to be molded. My other problem is I can't get an air cleaner on top of the carb and shut the hood unless it shorter than 2". Won't flow enough air unless it was something like the 6 pack set ups which I can't get under the hood. I just don't have any room behind the carb and to make it worse the distributor is in the way too. It's right behind the carb.

If I want to run the Dominator and I do I'm limited to something like I'm doing. The Hat could look better but unless I build my own which I don't have the tools or the time to do I'm stuck. I've been from one end of the internet to the other and there's nothing out there for a dominator that fits under my hood.

Very nice set up there Chuck!!!!!

 

[BARRACUDA1968]

I got it finished and back together last night. Heading to a big car show tomorrow. I'm happy with it.