I am going to rebuild my AFB carb this winter. It is a stock AFB for a 65 Coupe with a 327/300. I am thinking of replacing the intake with a Edelbrock Performer. I would like to know if I have enough hood clearance and also is there any benefit to doing this? Any replys would be appreciated. Thank you in advance and I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
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Re: Intake Question
Bill,
Not a one-size-fits-all question as there were variations in hood clearance due to body mount shimming, frame mount variations, etc. Another factor would be the condition of the mounts and if any appreciable sag has occurred in the nose.
That being said, I can state that the Edelbrock Performer is about the same height as the 1970-72 LT1 intake, which makes it 1/2" taller than the 1965 L76/L79 intake and maybe 1 inch (wild arse guess here) taller than your current manifold. Make 4 - 1 1/4" diameter balls out of "dum-dum" and place them at 0-90-180-270 degrees on your air cleaner. Gently close the hood and latch it. Open the hood and measure the deformed balls.
I replaced my stock intake with a Z28/LT1 intake and have remaining 1/4". Others have also reported doing so, with enough clearance.
There is no need for you to make such a change, as by itself it will gain you almost nothing. In fact, it may even decrease bottom /midrange (torque) because of its larger volume runners, resulting in lower charge velocity at low RPM's.
Please give us more information as to your intentions for the car, as well as the current engine and drivetrain configuration.
Joe -
Re: Intake Question
Thank you for the excellent reply, Joe. When I orginallly purchased my 65 Vette, it had a 350 engine in it W/a Perfomer intake. The original engine was on the sellers garage floor. I rebuilt the original engine and put a stock intake back on. I obviously have a lot to learn about the subject because I thought I could get several more HP. I'll stick with the orginal intake after the rebuild of the AFB. Thanks again and Merry christmas to all.
BillComment
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Re: Intake Question
As has been discussed many times, porting the heads is always the best place to start if you want to increase torque across the entire operating range, with no tradeoffs. There is always a trade-off between torque and power............the only exceptions to which are prudent pocket porting of heads, and aggressive camshaft opening and closing rates. Camshaft rates introduces a durability issue: solution is roller lifters. Once that is done, and a more aggressive camshaft is installed, then an exhaust system, intake manifold and carb upgrade would provide an increase in power. For people who want to maintain the stock engine configuration (as with those who race their cars in the F.A.S.T. classes), then this fellow does wonders with stock parts:
In your case, I would simply plug the "hot slot", and restrict (not eliminate) the exhaust crossover passage in the cast iron intake. Port matching your intake to the heads, paying particular attention to the rooves and the long sides of the runners, while leaving a reversion step on the bottoms, will gain you perhaps a perceptible amount of top end (power).Comment
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