Has anyone ever tried ducting cooler air to the carb on an early c3? Since there is no opening in the cowl it seems to me that the only air to the carb has been heated by the radiator first.

i have done this on other older cars but i have never seen it done on a c3, not to say it couldn't be done. I'm sure the engine will perform better with cooler, denser air fed into it.

I'd be willing to bet that someone out there has jury-rigged a double snorkel air cleaner with some flexible tubing (like is used for venting clothes dryer exhaust) to bring in fresh air from behind the grill.

The dual snorkel air cleaner sounds like a good idea to start with. I also want to be able to remove the entire system easily so that I can show the car with the correct air cleaner. I've been debating where to bring the fresh air in from since the grill is pretty much inaccessible as it is essentially ducted to the radiator. I would think that a low profile scoop could be placed just below the radiator. Of course the smartest thing to do would be to fit a cowl induction hood but I want to keep the appearance stock. Hmmmmmmmmm I wonder easy it would be to change hoods before shows........... naw, still wouldn't look right.

You could always put an L88 hood on the car which is a "stock" corvette hood. You could also take a stock "big block" hood, pop out the orniamental strips and remove some of the fiberglass from behind where the ornimanetal strips mount and run duct work to the top of the carb. Remove just enough glass so you could push the ornaments back into the proper guide pin holes and put the original air cleaner back if you want a more stock look.
I think the snorkel units only have an inch or two opening so either of these "fixes" would probably provide the same amount of air flow to the carb.
Good Luck.

If your car does not have a/c, you can run an intake pipe down under the washer fluid tank and through the panel right behind the passenger side vent on the quarter panel. There is no ram air effect but it is clean, cool air.

Oldsmobile had a cold air induction setup in 68 and 69 that fed the dual snorkle air cleaner with flex hoses that went to two short wide scoops that mounted under the bumper. maybe you can find an aftermarket setup of this.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I think Garry is on to something with the oldsmobile style set up. Breathing through the gills (ironic how that works out) is a good idea too, unfortunately I do have A/C.

By the way Garry, add the gills, luggage rack, and P02 wheel covers to your car and we'd be twins!

If that AC compressor is in your way, i have room in my engine compartment for it.