86BirdSE

For carbed cars anyway.

It took me about an hour, including the trip to the parts store. Here's what I did.

I installed a Chevy Truck air cleaner lid. The particular one I had was from my old dead 1978 K10. The snorkel on it is smaller than the ones on the LG4's!! I gave it a quick bead blasting and threw on a quick coat of rust-oleum gloss black. It's kinda like polishing a turd because I should have used oxide, not beads to blast it off.

I reamed the hole a tad wider than stock to fit my factory wingnut on. I then purchased a 1978 Chevrolet K10 4x4 air filter from NAPA.

I then took a water pump pliers and removed the deflector ring inside the snorkel from it's spotwelds. I then put it all back together.

It's a bit louder under the hood, but I am consistently getting 1.5 MPG more than the stock unit. Maybe the old air filter was getting due for replacement, but I feel a better seat-of-the-pants performance than before.

86BirdSE

here is a comparison photo

Vader

No hood clearance problems? If not, that would make a good addendum to the Tech Data or a Tech Article on teh site. It would be even better if you used the second snorkel snd made a dual snokel cleaner out of your original.

86BirdSE

No hood clearance problems at all. It slightly rubs the hood insulation, as it put a slight indentation of the front rim of the air cleaner on the padding above the hood.

I refrained using the snorkel from the truck air cleaner because the opening in the truck snorkel tapers to 1" in diameter!!. I would definitely use a second snorkel I think. An even cheaper (though I think it looks jerry-rigged) open element cleaner would be to purchase the truck filter and longer air cleaner stud, then use the stock lid.

I like the stock look as visual inspections are comming to PA, and I think it flows double with the taller element.

AJ_92RS

I did basically the same thing, but I managed to pick up a used L69 dual snorkel.

Hood clearance is fine. I don't know why GM used that pansy lid?

Now I just need to get an aftermarket coolant reservoir so I can run the passenger side duct.

Mine wasn't "cheap" though. I bought the air cleaner from a swap meet for ~$50, and the lid cost me another $20. Then the K&N #1500 filter was ~$40. Buy the time I buy all the other pieces, it's gonna cost me a lot more.

Your idea is a good mod for A LOT less money.

BTW, I just used some washers to bring the washer up high enough so it didn't bind up.

TransAm12sec

I just stuck an open element I got for x-mas and called it a day.

I'm confused how better gas milage would come from a bigger air cleaner and filter.

AJ_92RS

Easy in, easy out makes the engine more efficient. More efficient means more MPG.

86BirdSE

I could have done that too, but for less than $10 I was able to use what I had instead of getting an open element, which may fail the upcomming visual inspection/emmissions laws in PA. I could (and probably will) go with a K&N later on this summer, but for a right-now fix, I'm very pleased with it.

I may use a snorkel from the vans/trucks with TBI because they have much bigger snorkels (like those of the dual setup) to flow more air on one side, and use the plastic tube to keep it looking like it came from the factory.

TransAm12sec

But it seems like more air would be sucked in, so more gas would be pushed in.

86BirdSE

The engine is stressing less (under less load) because there is more air availible to pull in. All an engine is is an inefficient air pump.

TransAm12sec

I'm still a bit confused. A friend of mine has a focus and he said when he put a cold air intake on it, the gas mileage went down.

AJ_92RS

I've had that problem to. For some crazy reason, your foot seems to get heavier when you make your car/truck quiker or sound better. It's force of habit.

We like power. We're gear heads. Even the import crowd likes to make their cars sound more powerful by putting on a loud exhaust (aka 'fart pipe'). Next, they're (and I do it to) reving the engine as often as they can, and shifting at later RPMs just to get that sound.

The easier you make it for the engine to get air, the easier it spins. Which is the real reason of using a bigger air cleaner and better flowing filter. It's so the engine can "suck" air easier. As said, an engine is sort of like an air pump. The harder it is for it to get air, the more work it has to do just to get it. It's called pumping losses.

Same holds true with a free flowing exhaust system. The engine has to push the exhaust out. The easier you make it for the engine to push the air out, the more efficient it becomes.

The extra power is just a benefit of making an engine more efficient. So when you make it easier for the engine to breath (in and out) you can tell your friends that you're helping the environment by increasing your MPG, and burning less fuel. That's IF you can keep your foot out of it.

TransAm12sec

For the environment part, why does an open element kill emissions?

AJ_92RS

It doesn't. That's how retarded the government is.

As far as they're concerned, the car should have what it came with from the factory.

Actually, using an open element doesn't recirculate the crankcase pressure back into the combustion process like an enclosed air cleaner does (which can increase pollution), unless you modify the open element to do so. But NOBODY does.

99Hawk120

You mean, run the breather line from the valve cover into the air filter. I did that on both my cars.

But around here, they'll fail you on emissions for a missing SNORKEL.

SC2camaro

hey guys

I modded my stock air cleaner assembly./ It should be in part with the TBI mods. that little ring that sits in the center of the air cleaner. i removed it. it gives the air about 1/2 more of flowing space on the stock assembly. if you guys ever take the air cleaner off put the lid on it and look at how close that ring is to the lid compared to the floor of the air cleaner is at that same area. i can tell a response diffrence from idle even with the k/n filter on it. will post pics later

86BirdSE

I'd believe it. The Thermac unit on the snorkel is part of the emmissions equipment. It puts heated air into the snorkel for a faster warm-up to optimal operating temp.

99Hawk120

Um, no.

The thermac is part of the air cleaner unit.

I'm talking about the flexible tube and the scoop. That's all that was missing.

The THERMAC system will still function properly. In fact, better than stock, because the system is sucking up hotter air now even with the hot air source closed off.

TransAm12sec

Does it still suck up hot air when the engine is up to temp?

86BirdSE

well, it's all relative. The flap is closed via a thermal switch and engine vacuum under the air cleaner base. The snorkel still comes over the exhaust manifold, and under the hood can (especially on your car's color and time of year) get hot anyway, and since the air is pulled through the tubing and air cleaner in all that heat, it's bound to pick some of that heat up.

perhaps a better visual is the colant in your engine. The green stuff picks up heat inside the engine block and heads, but releases it in the presence of the cooler surroundings of the heater core and radiator.