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  #11  
Old 11-21-2018, 08:33 PM
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So the "factory" element was 16"x4" tall? What is the clearance from top of carb to bottom of lid? If you go to 3" is there enough gap?

Different depths for Galaxies, Fairlanes, Torino's 427 429 351c I would think

By the way, nice buck. Wish I could do wood work.
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  #12  
Old 11-21-2018, 09:09 PM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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I have two original Ford 14" open element hipo breathers- one chrome hipo and one painted 428PI- which both use a 3" tall element. I ran the chrome one on previous 289 and 428PI engines for 15+ yrs. I used one of those bases to pattern the bottom radius hammerform to help ensure the same carb to lid clearance. Same drop, same filter height, same clearance...

It's pretty typical to find these breathers to have a heavily modified base half in order to use it on a given carb. Pop riveted street car breather bases, hand formed & welded mods. Anything to make it fit and stay on the engine. Some do have to trim the airhorn or vent tubes, but I think I'm ok,

These breather assembly use elements having a rubber/plastic top flange that is approx 2" wider than the filter diameter. The flange keeps the filter from dropping down into the assembly while the lid traps this flange against the top half to hold it in place and presses it against the bottom half to complete the seal. Racers used duct tape to both hold the lids on and seal the incoming air pressure for intake efficiency. One of my project goals was to make accurate parts to produce the right fit and function, not just have something look ok.

Proper original Fram 16x4 filters can be had, but they're generally decades old and not cheap. 59 Cadillac (maybe Buick as well iirc) uses a very similar top flanged element that's 16x3 that is readily available for <$15 because repro Caddy breathers have become a popular custom part.

This thread is only about the buck. In case you didn't see my project thread under Beginners Projects, I posted the link. It shows a lot more about this effort, including pics of the above mentioned 428PI breather base. http://www.allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=18299. Lots still to learn, especially about planishing & metalfinishing. I'll add to it as I get more done.

Thanks for the good words and interest. I do appreciate them very much.
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  #13  
Old 11-21-2018, 10:23 PM
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Thanks for the link to other thread. Interesting!

I hope to build a couple units for Galaxie 427 and Boss 429 Torino using a different method but see much value in your hammer forms. Are you willing to share a print of the cross section of an original? I am looking to verify a few dimensions I have collected.
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  #14  
Old 11-22-2018, 05:30 PM
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As far as I know, there were simply minor manufacturing variations in the original units. From period images, they seem to occur concurrently during earlier use on FE engines. The later Boss 429 variants seem more likely to be cut & welded for clearance near distributor, which leads me to believe the same-pattern parts from earlier engines were being used on later cars. They generally look to match one of the earlier versions.

None appear to be unique to Boss 429 use vs FE/427 use. They seem to have been made and then fitted to whatever vehicle & configuration being used, not manufacutred to fit a specific car/engine like an oem part. Some were flared wide at the back. Some were not. That seems to be the only significant difference in versions.

There's usually a good selection of modern cf copies of 14" and 16" cowl,plenum breathers on eBay that look to have been done in molds pulled from original units. They are retired real modern race parts. They assemble differently as two halves but look to function the same way. try searching NASCAR air box. I thought of ordering one for reference, but copying a copy isn't what I wanted to do.

Email sent. Call me if you would like to talk.
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  #15  
Old 11-22-2018, 07:28 PM
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Check this out. The photo is the interior of a housing I suspect was used on a boss 429 because the center was around 7" for a 4500base 1150 Holley Dominator. Then there was an insert welded to fit a 4150 base 750 Holley into it for the 427. It looks as if the adapter was made on a lathe. I wonder if HM sold an adapter for retro fit to one size or another?

443Crop.jpg
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Last edited by Steve Hamilton; 11-22-2018 at 09:55 PM.
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  #16  
Old 11-22-2018, 08:26 PM
cliffrod cliffrod is offline
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Every HM version breather I have owned or seen either in person or in pics was either

1. a NOS unused part with a straight cone taper from the air filter floor portion to the central carb circle. These had two small dormer-type clearances in front center and rear center to clear bowls on the carb. The center circle for the cab was simply flat, waiting for the user to cut to fit. They look like there is no room for linkage, probably because they were expected to be cut to fit so they weren't made with room for linkage.

2. A used part with some manner of modification from crude to well done- circle just cut out, bigger hole with base of another factory-made breather or some homemade center attached with rivets, screws, welding or ?? I've got a pic of one modified for 2x4 instead of typical 1x4 use. John V, mentioned somewhere in these two threads, has a corvette breather base pop riveted to his original cowl plenum unit to run on his 1x4 427SOHC street car. Think he also has a shorter filter element with foam filling the gap between bottom and filter. Whatever works is correct because it works.

My opinion- The pic you posted is just what somebody made, maybe HM but it's probably just what they could do that worked. Original units were hacked into uselessness, especially as they passed from one racer to the next.

The various GM factory cowl plenum breather versions- NASCAR "mystery engine", Chevelle, and Camaro versions- were a finished part, ready to bolt on an engine without mods or fabrication other than cutting the firewall. Lots different than the HM Ford-oriented aftermarket parts.
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  #17  
Old 11-22-2018, 10:29 PM
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Great information, it all adds up to ingenuity of the Stock Car builders of a time long past. Make it work.
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