Air Cleaner Clearance Issue with Export Brace and Maybe the Hood

[Ferf]

Well, warm weather is starting to approach here in Northwestern PA and I am getting anxious to finally get my '65 on the road. After all, it has only been over a decade since this project began!

My uncle got the motor dropped into the car late last week and got everything pretty much wired up. Today was the first day that I got to stop by the garage and take a look. While the fenders and hood haven't been installed yet (coming this week), I am concerned that the hood will not clear the front of the air cleaner.

My second concern was that the export brace would not fit due to the air cleaner. We mocked up the export brace and sure enough the rear of the air cleaner sits too high and hits the export brace.

After looking over everything, we have come up with a solution that may work. Looking at the last image, we have already trimmed down the adapter (#1 in the pic) that sits on the carb so there isn't much we can do there. However, there is about a 1/4" to 1/2" lip on the bottom portion of the air cleaner (#2 in the pic) that sits onto that adapter. We may be able to grand down that lip so that the air cleaner sits a bit lower on top of the carb.

Grinding down that lip probably still won't give me enough room to have the export brace clear the air cleaner. The only other thing thing that I think we could do is to put a shim between the cowl lip and the export brace. However, I don't think that this would look very good.

Here is a bit more infomation on my setup:

- 347 stroker
- Edelbrock Intake
- Edelbrock 600 cfm carb
- Ron Morris Adjustable Motor Mounts
- Tremec TKO 5-speed Transmission

Any suggestions on how to get this all to fit?

 

[2+2GT]

The air cleaner isn't supposed to go below the brace. It should be in front of it, and above.

 

[DailyDriver_68]

Is your engine sitting "level" (is the transmission installed or the back of the engine supported at the proper height) in the car? If not, the engine could be tilted toward the rear of the car and that would cause this issue.

 

[2+2GT]

Good point. It the trans installed? What trans is it?

 

[Ferf]

The transmission is in the car. The tranny is a Tremec TKO 5-speed. The transmission actually fits very well in the car the the shifter is mounted dead center to the factory hole in the floor.

Looking at the second picture that 2+2GT posted, I don't believe that my air cleaner sits that high. However, it seems that the back of my air cleaner sits closer to the cowl lip then the one in the picture.

I guess that I will have to wait and see until we get the hood on the car to see how much clearance there is with the air cleaner, if any at all. If there is some room then we may be able to raise the air cleaner up some to clear the export brace.

 

[jerry S]

your Ron Morris mounts are adjustable up and down as well as back and forward. Do you have them set for as much downward adjustment as possible?

 

[NMEMJCM]

yep.... I bet your engine mounts are adjusted so your engine sits back in the engine compartment. I know you are attached to your air cleaner but there is a better option. I imagine it it out of the question to move your engine (shifter location changes, driveshaft changes etc...). K&N makes an offset 14 inch air cleaner base that scoots the air cleaner back an inch and a half or so. This will give you the room you need to clear your distributer and with a standard 2 or 3" element it should fit just fine under the hood. It should clear the export brace as well. I have this on mu car.... it fits perfect. Be sure to buy the carb sted with a bend in it (or make one) to compensate for the off set base.

Here is the link... just scroll down to about 1/2 way down and look for
the 14" Offset Flat Base Plate

K&N Custom Air Filter Assembly Lids and Base Plates

hope this helps.

 

[mustangmutt]

Some export braces aren't stamped the same and are wider at the rear. The one in 2+2's pic is stamped with deep groves, if yours have shallower groves it might be wider and interfere with the Air Cleaner.

 

[hipo_p51]

Looks to me the motor is set back To Far back in the engine compartment. You need to adjust the mounts forward.

 

[zookeeper]

Some export braces aren't stamped the same and are wider at the rear. The one in 2+2's pic is stamped with deep groves, if yours have shallower groves it might be wider and interfere with the Air Cleaner.

That makes sense. I have a Shelby 2x4 intake and bought a Mustangs Unlimited export brace and it wouldn't clear by a longshot, but the guy I got the intake from says he had it in his GT350 and it cleared the original Ford unit. Who knows?

 

[2+2GT]

Did you have the cheapie or the good Drake repro? I ran a Ford 3-2V with Ford oval air cleaner for years with a real Ford export brace, no problem at all.

 

[zookeeper]

El Cheapo here, and I'll bet that's my problem.

 

[mustangmutt]

I had a car that the owner had bought the El Cheepo brace and it wouldn't clear the Filter. I took a Crescent wrench and carefully bent it up along the rear portion and was able to gain the clearance that way. It was on a painted brace though and I would not recommend doing it to a Chrome one. By the time you got it re-chromed it would be cheaper to get the El Mucho Dinero one. I have never had a problem with the good Drake repos.

 

[2+2GT]

I had a car that the owner had bought the El Cheepo brace and it wouldn't clear the Filter. I took a Crescent wrench and carefully bent it up along the rear portion and was able to gain the clearance that way. It was on a painted brace though and I would not recommend doing it to a Chrome one. By the time you got it re-chromed it would be cheaper to get the El Mucho Dinero one. I have never had a problem with the good Drake repos.

El Expensivo is $15 more.