Britt,
Your clearance issue may be unique to your brand of car and if that's the case, I'll be of little help. But I have faced that issue in a different kind of car and I learned some things that may be useful for you. Here are some things that can individually or in combination affect spacing between the air cleaner and the hood.
- How high the body sits above the frame (e.g., mounting pads)
- The position of the engine up/down, left/right, forward/back, and tilt up/down
- Engine deck height
- Shape of the heads
- Shape of the intake manifold
- Height of the filter element
- Depth of drop base for filter
- Shape of the underside of the hood
In my case my final solution was a deep drop base air cleaner and having the top of the intake manifold milled down a quarter inch. But keep in mind that the spacing that matters most is the distance between the top of the carburetor and the top of the air cleaner. If that space is too small it will restrict the flow of air and reduce engine performance.