The big scoop

[CobraJoe]

I agree, it looks like it belongs there, not an afterthought.

[rmk57]

  After an hour drive on a warm day with the stock hood the air cleaner was hot to the touch. Under hood temps would be in 120-130 degree area at least. Now the the lid and filter area are a least 50-60 degrees cooler after a drive. Iv'e also been playing around with this Holley 950 hp carburetor I bought a year ago. After messing with the idle feed restrictors, idle air bleeds and other tweeks I got it from a very rich 11.50-12.50 a/f ratio to 14.50-15.50 at a light cruise (2000-2500 rpm), according to my wideband sensor. I just increased my fuel mileage from dismal to somewhat acceptable.

[John Palmer]

Once upon a time........many years ago......I had a 1956 Ford.  It had a FE, a factory three two manifold, a top loader four speed, and Good Year blue streak slicks.  It was a high 13 second car on a good day.

I fabricated a oval "sealed fresh air cover" over the factory air cleaner and used fresh air hoses to the manifold.  On a 56 car they had these really cool pressed metal fresh air intake ducts for the heater intake.  They pulled through the front support and curved up and were hidden between the inner fender and under the outer fender.  I just disconnected the heater air hose, and added a 90 degree elbow to supply the fresh air for the carb.

I never did a back to back test to figure out what was the performance gain.  But it looked cool.

[59meteor]

I plan to try something similar with my 59. Unlike the 57 &58s, a 59 Ford gets the air for the heater and air vents from behind the grill. There are 2 sheet metal ducts mounted below the headlights, and curve up above the front tires, where they are connected to the air intake ducts at the firewall with flexible hoses. The openings behind the grill are quite large, almost a foot wide and 4" tall, and taper down to about a 3 1/2-4" round tube, which ends in the open space behind the inner fender between the tire bulge and the firewall. So there should be plenty of airflow available.

[Fairlane62]

Regarding the dropped air filter base, one of the hot rod TV shows did dyno tests of various air filters and bases, and the dropped base lost several horsepower compared to a flat base, so you should pick up some horsepower with your fabricated base.

[rmk57]

  Even with a flat base pan I still have room for a 1" spacer or more if I want to experiment with them also. What I need now is for out local drag strip to reopen.

[FiveSevenLiter]

I can meet you on Latimer Road, Saturday night at 11, like the old days.
Or Dixon Road on Sunday afternoon.

[rmk57]

  Now that would be a be a blast. Throw the slicks and floor jack in the trunk and have at it. As my dad used to say "have fun and don't get caught".

I should have mentioned, that is a fantastic photo.