When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My 1969 H/O untouched original car - air cleaner paint is not red like most but it's in the "are some" category it has a orangey red color it's kinda red but has a orange shade. Does any parts house carry that shade of orange/red? since my research on the origins/history of my car I've been researching for 5 years so I'm 99% it's untouched so I believe it came from factory that way besides the typical Oldsmobile the assembly line never stops if it needs it we get it mentality lol. Any ideas
Alsmith787
I have had 4 1969 Hurst Oldsmobile and all the flappers were flat black. First car was purchased in 1974 from original owners brother. I don't run the cars with the flapper because I feel they choke the engine and run much better being able to breath, I have 2 of them in my garage and 1 Ford flapper assembly. Might get them out and put pictures up when it gets a little warmer.
I don't run the cars with the flapper because I feel they choke the engine and run much better being able to breath,
While pics are always welcome, you just hit on the exact reason these air cleaners quickly became in short supply. "My engine can't breathe" ruled the day and people tossed them in the scrap pile for seemingly "better flowing" air cleaners or none at all (dumb). I haven't seen any emperical data to show running the stock air cleaner was too restrictive. I've personally never felt like the car faltered running the flapper. Sure, it's a slightly shorter air filter, but not by a ton. Maybe 3.91's out back cover that up a lot. I've never heard the Poncho owners complain their Pontiac engines starved for air running the same filter, or the Mustang CJ guys either. Their air filter elements were pretty shallow, too.
As far as the flapper actuator motor, I've seen many have the long tube on them. While they work, you originally got the short tube on them, so cutting off most of that tube would suffice. National Parts Depot offers up the "correct" tubed flapper motor, if anyone's looking for one. Same rough price as the others.
The ram air cleaner was a plus for the big bore engines Olds 455 Pontiac 455 Chevy 454 Ford 428 & 429 the reason I say this I remember a discussion with either Car Craft or Hot Rod Magazine that the flapper closed increased temperature in the Chamber and when full throttle Flapper opened the outside cold air meeting the chamber hot air had a boost to the engines intake air. Ford found this out in 1957 with the Supercharged 312 they actually mounted the intake box on the exhaust manifold the reason hot box cold air being brought in created a dynamic mixture improving HP. At least that's what I remember.
Well this post was about flapper assembly color. All 4 of mine were a flat black and I will contest the phosphate color as the only correct color until I die. As for lacking air to engine look at size of rectangle hole and the flapper assembly. Way more air went to engine with taller air filter and lid turned upside down. ( Longer lid stud) This is how it was done in the 70s for street racing and it sounded good too. I raced my car on a regular basis. 455, Holley 850 DP, and Edelbrock O4B and 3:42 posi on the street. As to intakes and flappers being thrown away guess I was lucky to be a pack rat and saved mine, they were taken off because they were not the best options at the time. Now cars are valuable, not so much back then.
I get it. If you're modding for racing, you're engine needs change away from stock components. There's always variances in how they did things as well, especially Tier 1 suppliers like Demmer. It's never beyond any manufacturer to change up in the middle of things. When I bought my car, it didn't have an air cleaner with it. I've had 1 phosphate gray top from an unknown numbers car (sold later), and a complete air cleaner unit I got from a wrecked out May build car that's currently with a black topper. The phosphate gray one was more of a coating, not a paint. These were a biotch to find even in the mid-late 90s. Guy who wrecked it said he kept it stock and didn't do anything to the car, but he bought it used in 1974 in NC. I bought the engine and transmission from it as well. It didn't appear it's been any other color before, either, but I'm not a professional. But I did give it a light coat of satin black to touch it up after buffing off a tad of surface rust when I got it. It had remnants of a yellowish foam seal glued to it, so I'm thinking that was an original seal. Again, not verified anything. I'm not going out on a limb and say the flapper sections all must be phosphate gray, as I've seen a few black ones myself. Mostly gray on original cars I've seen, though. There are some who swear they were all supposed to be phosphate gray, but I simply don't know what the original plans were or if they changed up during production? I never bought one new so I don't know. I personally don't really care. I might get mine phosphated anyway, or just paint it cast gray to keep people from weinerng to me about it, not sure.
