I have a chrome aftermarket 14" air cleaner that is supposed to be for an Olds 455, but the darn thing hits the throttle cable bracket. I have a Quadrajet carb.

The 0icturrs below show the bracket I have and what my current air cleaner base looks like.

Do I just need to get a spacer or a flat air cleaner base to raise it up?

Thank you!

 

Some easy home fixes to consider:

You can stack the carb-to-air-cleaner circular gaskets 3-4 deep to get some clearance short term. Assuming the air cleaner doesn't hit the hood, you can gain 1/4 - 3/8"'s that way. Which may be enough.

Or twist (orient) the bottom of the air cleaner so that the indentations allow for throttle travel. I've sharpie painted an arrow on mine pointing at the qjet vent stack with a matching line on the carb to be sure I orient mine correctly without thinking.

Or go back to a factory style base from earlier years. They have a lip on the bottom to provide some vertical clearance. For reference the qjet began in '66, so that's a starting point.

Or if it's hitting the PCV piping, it may be ok to swap that interfering piping from the driver's to the passenger side and just have a vacuum line to a PCV valve on the driver's side where the throttle cable is.

Others may have better ideas than me, these are just things I've tried over the years.

Chris

Or if it's the top of the qjet throttle "ear" hitting the bottom of the air cleaner and you have some margin between the top and where the throttle cable connects, trim the top of the "ear" off the car with a dremel.

If you modify the qjet, don't grind too hard. The "ear" connects to the primary throttle rod and butterflies which have a strong influence on idle quality and throttle response

Hope that helps
cf

 

How much room do you need to gain to clear? Can you bend the bracket down a little, it doesn't matter if the cable twists a little.

 

The fact that the ad claims this is for an "Oldsmobile 455" doesn't mean that it has actually been verified to work. This is a generic Chinesium aftermarket air cleaner. I'm sure the only engine it has been verified to work on is a 350 Chevy. Welcome to the Chevy-centric aftermarket.

 

Probably the only thing that fits an Olds 455 is the diameter of the hole in the base. Like Joe says so goes Chevy, so goes the rest of the world.

 

I made clearance on my stock air cleaner base for the throttle arm on a non-Quadrajet and you can do the same on your base to make bracket room.

The air cleaner metal is fairly thin (even more so being Chinesium).

I marked the area I needed to clearance and then I placed the inside of the air cleaner base over a folded towel and lightly peened the metal with a small flat-faced tack hammer. It takes only a little work to stretch the metal a bit. And the result, while visible with the air cleaner top off, is surprisingly subtle. Just go slow until you get the hang of it.

Good luck.

 

I would put a spacer on it but that is just me. Of course it has to clear the hood.

 

Yes, The 2 flats in the air filter base show it is designed for float bowl clearance with a Holley carb.

You can add a spacer to raise up it some.... just verify clearance before you slam the hood.

A couple gaskets work for a small amount or this for greater height.

 

I looked at that drop base and wondered if it would work on my 455 w/ q-jet as my hood clearance in the 80 cutlass was extremely tight . I opted to modify the old toronado air cleaner .it had a nice drop to it and I already knew it would fit the carb

 

Thanks for the replies. I purchased this air cleaner two years ago when I first took the block in to the machine shop. I knew it was Chinesium but assumed it would fit based on the description. Whoops! I'm sure the filter is crap, too.

As for room under the hood, the 455 is in my '64 c10 and looks like I will have some extra space before hitting the hood.

I'd like to get a different air cleaner but not sure which. I do love the batwing type!

 

I like this drop base air cleaner, it clears everything on either a quadrajet or holley style 4v carb. It will not work on an Edelbock, not sure of other types.
https://www.ss396.com/chevelle/ATE-3...hevelle&year=0

 

In case it helps, here are some shots of my carb with the multiple gaskets

Carb to air cleaner gaskets stacked 3-4 deep

Also here's a shot of my usually-hidden sharpie arrow that helps me quickly and accurately locate the air cleaner base to leave room for throttle movement.


Arrow for quick clock-locating the air cleaner base on the carb