Hi All,
Still thinking through my new car.

I plan to use this as a half time driver. Therefore I will get caught in the rain at some point.
How bad is driving in the rain when you have the OAI?

Opinions please.

 

The factory 70-72 OAI bottom had I believe 5 small holes drilled in it to drain water. I drove a 1971 with OAI for about 10 years without drain holes and never had a problem. That was in Oregon, but depending on what part of the country your in that may or may not be an issue. During high school I lived near Tampa Florida for a couple years and remember the summer rain storms. I've kiddingly said you could be three steps from the door when the first drop hits but before you can get inside you'll be soaked to the skin! If you drive in tropical storms like that you may need drain holes

John

 

Don't tell your insurance company you may be driving it to work

 

I don't understand, what is OAI?.

Roger.

 

to add to what john said, the plastic top also has provisions to address this. what little water gets that far down the hood will mostly land on the plastic top. the top is made to run water down to the edges and then runs it all to the back. the back of the top has a drain hole on it that drains right on top of the distributor cap. it is a bad place to drain but is ok if you add a short hose to run the water down behind the distributor. any water that gets past the OAI flapper wil get out the holes that John is talking about. if you don't run the original setup the water will run on top of the engine.

 

OAI = outside air induction...Oldsmobile's term

many people call it ram air but that is Pontiac's term

 

GM did not design its air induction system so that the car could only be used when it was sunny.

- Eric

 

X2... i was in high school and that happened to me one time. after that i always had the hose on it.

 

The issue is when NOT using the car!

The 5 holes in the air cleaner base were an afterthought they learned the hard way after releasing the '69 H/O. Without them, the air cleaner base would fill up with water WHEN PARKED and the flapper door is sitting open (due to no engine vacuum and the seams around the scoop that the 70-2 don't have to worry about). The water would then drain into the carb. Turn over the engine with water in a cylinder or two and bend a rod (happened to me with an aftermarket air cleaner on mine before finding the proper one).

Olds put out a dealer service bulletin for the 69 H/O to drill the 5 holes in the base. I gather they had to warranty some engines before learning this lesson the hard way.

 

Thank you, I know a little more than I did yesterday.

Roger.