Hello All,

I have a 1971 442 with 455 & the OAI hood. Engine has an Edelbrock Performer RPM 4 barrel & chrome air cleaner. Will the Edelbrock accept the stock OAI assembly?

Thanks in advance!

 

Aren't they a excact replacement for the GM Qjet? If so, I see no reason why it would not work.

 

Thanks Harv! I was not aware of that. I'll check into it.

 

You may have a clearance problem b/n the plastic flapper assembly and the hood screen on the underside of the hood....so....check carefully instead of slamming the hood shut. The Performer RPM is much taller than the factory intake.

One alternative is to see if the metal replacement top that Mark Cornea sells will work....he goes under the name Dr. Decal but apparently doesn't make it easy to find his site on the 'net as I just tried.

If you can locate this guy then he may be able to provide more info.

 

If you have a standard performer (not the air gap RPM), with a quadrajet carburetor then you may use the standard issue factory air cleaner housing (non OAI flapper lid) with barely enough clearance to close the hood w/o contacting. Probably 1/2 to 1/4 inch of clearance. If you want to use the OAI lid with this combo, you must cut the base of the housing and weld in a more recessed carburetor base into the factory housing to lower the housing enough to make clearance. You want the foam ring to seal against the debris screen, but not crush or distort it. This project is kind of a challenge to get it to look nice and professional as well as calculating the exact dimension you need for the base for proper clearance. When I bought my OAI lid from Thornton, he explained this to me over the phone. Of course you also have to be willing to sacrifice a perfectly good factory 4 barrel air cleaner to do this as well. My results were great, looks clean and professional, fits good, with no contact. If you do in fact have the RPM air gap intake,........well I think you will be much more limited for options. The height of that intake has got to be significantly more than the regular performer.

 

On the back page of Prescription Performances book (4th edition) it states that the Edelbrock Performer 2151 is 1 3/4" taller than stock.

Don W

 

All good info here. However, he was asking about the Quadrajet carb that edelbrock sells. Summit racing carries them.

 

I am confused Edelbrock is now offering Quadrajet based carburetors under the "Performer RPM" title??? I've only known this as a name for high rise intakes and matching high lift camshafts. I was unable to locate any more info today on my lunch break. Please advise......

 

Listed as performer.
http://www.summitracing.com/search/B...ge/Spread-bore

 

If you want to install the factory OAI flapper & breather assembly,with the Edelbrock intake,no it will not fit.However,there is a drop base available,like the one mentioned,from Mark Carnea.Someone else recently said that a base from a 454 chevelle will work,or is the same as the Mark Cornea part.I have not had one in-hand to try.

 

Hey Funky,

If you get the chance, could you post a few pictures of
your configuration? Thanks

 

Guys,

I went out & took some pics. Manifold is not an Edelbrock. Only the carb is.

 

Are these pics of the carb any help? On the repair order from when the previous owner had a bunch of work done (2004) the carb part number is listed as 9974. Does that mean anything to anyone?

 

The OAI breather assembly will fit the the intake & carb that you have.However,the back of the aircleaner base might interfere with your HEI distributor.

 

Thanks Brian

 

You can do what I did. Get a 3/4" Edelbrock plastic spacer. It's a perfect fit on the top of the air horn on the carb. Lifts a stock air cleaner high enough to clear the HEI. I was lucky to find this from one of our members - TonyCutlassS

 

Interesting, yet simple solution. Allen, did you have to trim the foam ring or make any adjustments at the top of the air cleaner assembly after adding the spacer?

 

My air cleaner is the 71/72 dual snorkel, not the OAI. I only wish I had the OAI setup. No adjustments were needed on mine between the top of air horn and bottom of air cleaner; even the heat stove pipe still fit ok.

My only concern would be the hold down springs on the side of the OAI. They may be a little stretched with that extra 3/4". If necessary, you can likely get some that are a little longer.

I expect that the foam seal will compress even with the spacer though. Sorry, but that's my best educated guess. You could always trim from the BOTTOM of the foam to make the fit better and keep the smooth upper surface if you needed to. The OAI foam isn't that dense or hard, is it?

 

With the aircleaner spacer,how close is the flapper top from hitting the hood?

 

Have not purchased the air cleaner asembly yet. Want to make sure that I have a plan before spending that chunk of change. Your responses have been very helpful. Thanks to all of you!