Bubba put an Edelbrock manifold on my '72. My mechanic friend says leave her on, the stock will make her run like you have an anchor tied to the bumper.

Problem is, the Edelbrock is a little too tall and it causes the air cleaner cover to touch the underside of the hood. And if I use the 3" air cleaner the cover does not contact the base at all. I found an STP cleaner that's 2 1/2 inches that seems to work better.

Maybe Bubba put on the wrong air cleaner cover? What really has me confused is whether there is supposed to be a gap between the cover and the base caused by the tall air cleaner. Or is the cover supposed to contact the base? If that's the case the 3" element can't possibly fit. So color me confused.



Any advice?

|UPDATED|2/24/2015 9:26:28 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

I called Edelbrock direct and they gave me two reason not go with Edelbrock. 1. Wouldn't be enough clearance between hood and sit cleaner. 2. My 1980 already has an aluminum intake and there wouldn't be any benefit to change it to Edelbrock. If you call Edelbrock direct they are very helpful and friendly. You give them the information model, year, motor size, vin and they tell you what the best combination carb and manifold is for your application. Most importantly they know if there will be enough clearance for the hood.

I just talked with Edelbrock. Thanks for the advice. They said the performer 2101 is the right part and is guaranteed to fit under the hood. But the cleaner does not fit properly and it does contact the hood. Next step...talk with willcoxcorvette or someone about the proper air cleaner element.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with an Edelbrock intake...but it may be the wrong one for your application.  

I have the 2101 on my 73. The problem I have did not come in to play until I replaced the carburetor with a Holley 4175 Spread-bore carb. The 73 air cleaner will not sit on the top without a spacer so I have a clearance issue. I had to remove the hood seal for it to fit.