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I believe i have a 68 w30 aircleaner. not sure. if its a repro or original. Is the difference between the 68 and 69 Dual Snorkel air cleaners the Breather tube on the passenger side of the 69 ?
it does have what looks like the connector elbow for the hot air tube. Is this what i have a 68 OEM or maybe a reproduction
. please help identify.
Chevy.
The rolled lips on the intakes are one give away.
The intake tubes spacing wrong.
Hot air on wrong side.
Base has an extra hole in it.
The lid says Chevy.
Last edited by droldsmorland; May 11, 2025 at 07:29 PM.
that’s correct. A customer of mine just picked up the same one. Came off those year vets
it’s going on a 69 442 . The one snorkel is angled down quite a bit which I’ll make level like other. The inlets are shorter and the overall diameter is also different…not much is the same
I may also spread the snorkels to get the correct look of the wider Olds style. it’s not an original W30 car or a show car.
Last edited by CANADIANOLDS; May 12, 2025 at 06:28 AM.
Who knows why the design change was made? Design changes are usually due to engineering processes or performance enhancements with the part, the assembly line, or OEM that made them for GM. By enhancement, it could have to do with something working better for evacuating crank case gas for ever-tightening EPA laws.
Joe. Would you mind pointing out the differences between the two years 68-69 and why GM might have made changes?
Changes are done for a few reasons. You need to do something new. Something else is new and needs the spot that part was previously in. Problem with the part. Cost savings.
My money on this one is cost savings. The 68 is a two boot and rigid pipe part, the 69 is a hose.
There are actually several differences between the 68 and 69 air cleaners, and that applies to all of them, not just the O.A.I. air cleaners. As part of the new for 68 closed PCV system, the air cleaners used a plastic crankcase breather filter element inside the air cleaner housing and a rigid metal pipe that went from there directly into a grommet on the driver side valve cover. The PCV valve was in the passenger side valve cover.
The crankcase breather element has a square feature where is passes through the air cleaner housing to prevent rotation, thus the square hole in the housing.
The 1969 cars were the first to use the conical metal breather in the valve cover grommet, which was mounted in the passenger side valve cover. The round hole in the air cleaner accommodated the rubber elbow that the short metal pipe fit into. PCV valve was in the driver side valve cover.
IMO, most Olds air cleaners have a "flatter" lid. Still lots of peaks and valleys but nothing too high or low, especially the lip edge. This only applies to the 68 to about 1980 Olds engines.
While we are on the subject, the two vacuum valves there.
The right one is under vacuum, thus closed, when engine is on and cold. Once it warms up, the switch in the air cleaner shuts off vacuum, and the car breathes through the right snoot from then on. Or when cold and booted temporarily, it will breathe through the snoot sooner briefly.
The left one is hooked straight to vacuum, and, if booted at any time, will open the left snoot and the car breathes through it, too, until you get off the gas and vacuum reestablishes itself.
While we are on the subject, the two vacuum valves there.
The right one is under vacuum, thus closed, when engine is on and cold. Once it warms up, the switch in the air cleaner shuts off vacuum, and the car breathes through the right snoot from then on. Or when cold and booted temporarily, it will breathe through the snoot sooner briefly.
The left one is hooked straight to vacuum, and, if booted at any time, will open the left snoot and the car breathes through it, too, until you get off the gas and vacuum reestablishes itself.
Am I correct in this?
Pulled my air cleaner off for a few reasons, and looked. The 68, at least, is plumbed from manifold vacuum to thermal switch, then it tees after the switch and runs both snoots. Cold, the engine gets air from the right snoot over the exhaust manifold. Warm, the engine gets OAI from both snoots. There is no "open only on vacuum loss like the 70-72" and now that I thought about it, I don't think those thermacs respond that quickly.
