OK folks, I'll try to answer your questions in the order you posted:
DanEC: the chrome ring supporting the SS mesh was made from a Speedway air cleaner/funnel assembly that I covered in detail in my previous S&H thread.
Here are a couple of pics:
eschaider: yes, there is a SS mesh screen below the top foam to support the foam. The top and bottom SS mesh screen are "trapped" in the chrome ring by lips which are formed on the ring See above pic.
CSX3183: back to bling for you with the chrome tops back on:
cycleguy55: I'm surprised that it was only a 20 hp (6%) difference. Two equal cars with one having a 20 hp difference would be well outside the driver's skill differential on a typical track.
LMH: yes, a higher flow foam in the S&H air cleaners with the perforated sides might make a difference. But the perforated metal side have only a 36% open area. A lot of restriction. The SS mesh sides have a 79% open area, and that combined with higher flow foam (30ppi) and a screened top is a BIG improvement. Effectively a 368% improvement ( and probably more due to the higher flow foam).
So how did my car perform? Well I didn't dyno it. But on my drive yesterday there was a noticeable improvement in the crispness of the throttle response and the smoothness of the acceleration.
I believe my car was running too rich with the restrictive S&H perforated sides and chrome top, so I'm going into a tune-up shop the check out the carb settings and see what I can learn.
Cheers
Greg