[Tommy]

When I encountered a similar problem on another car, I realized that the most critical dimension is the distance from the lip of the carburetor to the lid of the air cleaner. A well designed drop base will allow you to run a good size air cleaner, but all that air has to squeeze through the gap between the lid and carburetor. It also has to make a hard 90 degree turn that can cause turbulent air in the carb. I eventually had to mill 0.25" off the top of the intake manifold to get a little more room. Other solutions get more complicated - lowering the engine or raising the body. And, of course, there's the ever popular gigantic air scoop.