So what do you guys think would be better for an intake, keeping in mind I want a stock look for my hood. I was thinking about a ram air setup like the dual snorkles you can get from some Irocs. On the other hand, I could just get a new open style air cleaner (edelbrock). The down side I would see for the new air cleaner is that the engine would be inhaling hot engine bay air vs a cold air intake, and if I could find some way to make a ram air setup, it would equal more power at higher speeds?

 

"Ram air" sounds cool, but it isn't descriptive.

It's really just getting cooler, denser air to the engine. I did an "experiment" a few years back going from a cool air set-up to open element on the '57 in back-to-back runs at the track. Even though the temperature at the track was warming up as the day went on, after 6 runs (3 each), the cool air consistently made a tenth of a second difference vs. the open element. And, the difference wasn't at high speed, as the MPH stayed consistent, but in the 60' times. The hot underhood air was more of a factor coming off the line than going down the track (which makes sense when you think through it).

 

you can get a nice fiberglass dual-snorkel, that fits a 14"x3" filter, from a company called Air Inlet Systems. I ran it on my last camaro, under the stock hood, without too much work. Some modification is required, including an offset-base air cleaner.