Oval air cleaner for 427 FE?
 

Can anybody please advise whether this air cleaner: Ford Performance Parts M-9600-C302 Cobra Air filter, is suitable for a 427 FE with a Quick Fuel 780 please?
I'm not taking about fitting, more whether 1.75" thick is enough. Or advise a more suitable product. Thank you.

There are aftermarket filter elements that are taller that would be a better setup. The lid and base are fine, you just need a little more surface area.

Like this: S&B Oval Air Filter Element (Tall)

I got a K&N filter that fit my base and top and it was a little over 2 inches tall, maybe 2 1/2 but I don't remember.

Ron

I use that air filter unit on my car and it seems to work fine. I don't know how much hood clearance you have, but in my case the taller filter element will not work. You may want to give the standard height element a try first and then you can get an accurate measurement to see if the taller element will work for you.

Ted

if you do run the 1.75 filter just make sure your carb vent tubes are not hitting the top of the air filter. I have a 445 fe and I use the s&b tall 2 1/4 it works fine.

I little creativity goes a long way...

Attachment 31139

Attachment 31140

Undy,

That is a great job on your air cleaner and I haven't seen anyone do one like that before. I like the fact that you have the top filter also.

Ron

Thanks Ron. Additionally to the increased filter surface area, you get a blast of fresh (cool) air directly from the hood scoop. That's evident from the dramatically increased debris that the top filter tends to collect. I would imagine there's a bit of ram-air effect too.

My 427 FE has a medium riser intake (Edelbrock Performer RPM) with a QFT HR-780 on it. I used a 14 inch round air filter which ended up having about 1/4 inch clearance under the hood.

The height measured from the top of the carb to the top of the outer edge of the air cleaner is 2 1/8 inches.

With an oval air cleaner you might have a little more clearance.

Thanks guys. To be honest it remains inconclusive, but the responses make me think its worth a punt. The air horn is 1 7/8” high, which is bound to be close on the 13/4 - 21/8” filter body, but I’ve decided to order the oval filter, as this is aesthetically how I invisaged the engine bay. I think the long filter sits well with the similarly configured valve covers.
I imagine I can raise the filter to clear but not sure everything will clear. We’ll see.

What Undy has is identical to what I had except he had the wisdom to cut out the top and I never thought of that. And it does get some ram air effect from the scoop the way he has it.

Ron

I measured the oval filter's inside measurement (between the oval filter's inner walls) and searched K&N's web site for the "right sized" filter. I believe it was for a 09' GM mid-sized V6. After I received the filter I took the required measurement and had my machine shop cut the lid with an end mill to my specs. The filter goes in the lid with a slight interference fit.

On a side note... as I recall, the oval filter is a SD filter. It's about a 1/2" taller than K&N's 1 3/4" tall unit. On the chassis dyno the filtered setup made 7 more HP than no filter at all.

Undy,

I noticed that too. That it made a few more horsepower with the filter than without it. Kind of downplays the old adage that no filter is better, plus you stop the dirt and dust from being sucked into the engine.

Ron

A filter tends to "straighten out" the air flow as it enters the carb's venturies. An unfiltered carb tends to suck air from all different directions, causing undue turbulence. This all is assuming you have a filter that flows enough to feed the engine.

Air Cleaners
 

Apparently the best in terms of power is something that flows straight down...Engine Masters did an air cleaner shootout and the winner was IIRC a salad bowl with a K&N flat filter on top...

Check it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkpsydS8JXI

Steve H
SPF 1768

Based on this i have a 9" round (that fits into the hood scoop) with a flow through top: Thinking actually of blocking the sides from the inside...

Undy, why do you have your rear linkage on backwards?
or am i backwards?**)

Yeah, I know... The cable offset in between the carb(s) and the firewall (where the cable penetrated) was to great and caused the cable to bind. Bringing it around the valve covers and back to the carb fixed the problem.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO MASS PRODUCE THIS LID! And yes, the salad bowl with an open top lid makes more power than no filter, it was #2 in the Engine Masters shootout, with #4 being no filter, so it made an extra 1pm on a 750hp engine. They concluded that air traveling down made more horse than across the carb. In one setup, 14" round filter, flat base, filter lid, they made more power when they taped up the sides and only let air in through the top.

Oh and flat bases made more power than dropped bases 100% of the time.


Ever since I got my car this winter, I have been searching and thinking of a way to get more air in there. I love the oval look, but hate that 1.5" filter, both for looks and performance. And my engine is set back pretty far so I can't just put a taller filter.

Based on that engine masters test and my other limitations, somehow getting a filtered top on an oval filter seems like the best solution.

I found this lid, but don't know anything about this brand. Does anyone know if this is a reputable company?

https://www.amazon.com/Powder-Coated...=fsclp_pl_dp_3


Pic of mine attached. I wonder if I can have a custom based made and offset the assembly forward, out from under the cowl, then I can at least fit a taller filter in. Might look silly that far forward. If they made this exact filter in 18" rather than 22" I'd be ok.

I want to dyno the car this year, so I'll test with and without the filter and see how much it's choking.

I took some measurements today and as expected, I can't get anything taller than what I already have. The center of the carb is so far back, MAYBE i can get something another inch taller. So Either I modify the lid like @undy did, it I do nothing. At least it looks cool as-is.

I do intend to dyno the car post-COVID-19, so I'll do a few pulls with and without the air filter so I know for sure what kind of HP I'm giving up.

What carb are you running?:confused: