Hi guys,

I've a Quadrajet on my stock '82 Trans Am and I'd like to install an open element air filter on it. However I'm having trouble finding a solution for this.

I borrowed a drop base setup off a friend's car which had a 3" filter. My car didn't like it (transmission would shift at 3500 RPM rather than 4500RPM like it should, and it wouldn't kick down and just felt sluggish), and I think it was because the lid on the filter was too low and blocked off air. The base of the filter didn't sit flush nicely on the carb either, because of a plug on top of the carb. This caused the front of the base to come off the front of the carb a few millimetres.

I tried what I would call a flat base setup with a 2" filter that did sit nicely on the carb but I couldn't close my bonnet without it hitting the lid of the filter.

Only the factory snorkel seems to work, so how am I to install an open element air filter in my car? Sure heaps of people have done this before?

 

I believe I measured the drop on mine at 1-1/4", back when I used one.

Much, much prefer the dual snorkel.

 

I'd rather a dual snorkel unit as well but over here they're even harder to come by. I could get someone to modify my factory snorkel and turn it into a dual I guess. But it wouldn't be as wide as a factory dual snorkel, and an open filter would be cheaper, if only I could make one fit!

How much extra HP is a dual snorkel worth versus an open filter?

 

I never quantified it on the Camaro. In runs where I switched back & forth between the open and cool-air on the '57, the open cost about a tenth - not sure what that equates to in HP. But that was with an engine that was deliberately cooled between runs, so with a hot engine, the difference will be even more.

 

Goodness, it certainly sounds worth having the dual snorkel then. Would there be benefit in modifying my factory snorkel and installing a second snorkel on it, given that they are narrower than the proper factory dual snorkels?

 

Enough that there's a tech article on it.

 

Ah! So there is! Thanks for pointing that out, reckon I'll go and build one now.

Thanks again.

 

Most parts-store drop-base air cleaners the lower portion of the air cleaner (the drop base) doesn't clear the accelerator pump arm on the top of the QJet. 99.9% of the time that's what holds up the show. It also means the accelerator pump doesn't work properly becuase of the interferece. Bogs and sluggish "throttle slams" are the result.

Getting short (1/2") spacer or using a stack of air cleaner gaskets to space up the air cleaner a little to clear the accelerator pump arm makes a WORLD of difference. Holley sells extra-thick air cleaner gaskets for cheap. Yes, it will still fit under a stock hood using a stock intake (or Edlebrock Performer or similar intake).

Most cheap parts-store 14x3 drop base air cleaners are built with Holley carbs in mind. QJet's a little different in this respect.