My 2-cents. If you are after the show car look, yes, the second link is the way to go.

If you are after performance with some decent looks. Nothing wrong with the 1st pic, open element.

For the best intermediate between the two. Look for a late 80's early 90's Caddy intake. It has nearly the same TBI hat along with some intake ducting.

RBob.

 

heres some Ideas

 

 

You could also run a factory L69 dual snorkel set-up. I have one I am trying to sell if you are interested.

 

Whats your price on that?

 

 

 

Some pics of the dual snorkle per request.

 

 

Every "carb hat" I've seen (and I have not seen them all) looks like an aerodynamic disaster. Too small, too short. The stamped-steel ones have the flange at the carb folded the wrong way, so there's a big ridge where the air would enter the air horn of the carb. They appear to promote turbulence. A dyno would tell that tale.

The nice thing about the OEM air cleaner base is that some thought has been given to smoothing the air-flow across it. It's not unusual for an engine to gain a little power simply by tossing an air cleaner base onto the carb/throttle body rather than having it go "naked".

Not wanting an "open element" air cleaner is wise. Nobody who cares about actual performance has used one of those since the world figured-out that ambient air is better for power than hot air. Lots of folks use 'em 'cause they're simple, cheap, and "stylish", though.

 

 

1. You need a curved base similar to a typical air-cleaner base. This functions as a (extremely short) velocity stack. It smooths air flow.
2. You need to diffuse the incoming air so it can enter the air horn with minimum turbulence. A typical air filter works great for this. Large diameter and tall is preferable...if there's room.
3. The top of the box needs to be tall enough to not restrict airflow as it turns 90 degrees (usually more) into the air horn. On some vehicles, it needs to be tall enough to contain the reversion/fuel fog above the carb.

A carb "hat" would have different design parameters, but lack of turbulence and therefore smooth air flow would be chief among them--and I don't see that in the aftermarket.

In short, the OEM-style air cleaner with ducting from a high-pressure, ambient temperature air source, is about as good as it gets while still retaining reasonable hood clearance. Two snorkels, or one large one is fine. Pull and plug the hose on the heated-air-intake sensor in the summer, so the engine isn't pulling air from the heat stove around the exhaust manifold. Reconnect hose in fall, winter, and spring to reduce carb icing and improve fuel economy in cool weather.

 

This post is from a current thread on a Pontiac forum I participate in. I'm jealous. The air intake is ambient, but it's not a particularly high-pressure area (middle of hood.)

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...7&postcount=19

http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...2&d=1526390210

 

Did you see Holley just came out with a TBI for the 305 and 350 motors I'm looking at one for my camaro and Firebird it would be interesting to see what they did differently

 

 

 

 

Yes, I get that. Throttle Body can be interchanged with "carb" in my post, "carb" takes fewer letters and for the purposes of an air cleaner/ducting that sits on top, is functionally identical. Either way, the air has to turn and drop into a centrally-mounted air inlet valve that also supplies fuel.