Ram Air and Pertronix II Billet distributor question

[vintageman]

I remember seeing a post about Ram Air and Pertronix Billet distributors but cannot find it now. I have a 351 Cleveland with Edelbrock Performer Intake and Summit 750 carb with a 1 inch spacer, as well as the Pertronix II Billet distributor and want to install Ram Air this fall. I have heard that the Ram Air will not fit because the billet distributor is higher than the stock distributor but the Ram Air can be modified to fit. Can anyone shine some light on this area? Will the Ram Air fit as is with the billet distributor or do I have to modify the Ram Air, or will it not fit at all? If I have to modify it, what do I have to modify and what is the modification? Thanks for all advice, I am hoping to get this figured out before I spend the money and find out it will not fit. Thanks.

Tom

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Hey Tom,
You are correct that the Ram Air intake won't sit down over the Pertronix Billet distributor unless you use a spacer under the car. With the carb spacer, the ram air intake will sit up high enough to clear it, but then won't let the hood close. I had a 1/2" spacer to allow the air cleaner snorkle to clear my old valve covers, and the hood didn't want to close. (I got the Pertronix as cast distributor and lower valve covers, deleted the spacer and the hood now closes just fine.) You can try shorter foam sealing strips to allow the hood to close, though. I did see a thread where folks were suggesting different types of foam that seemed to work for them. Then you can keep the billet distributor and carb spacer, and still fit the ram air intake. Good luck!!

 

[vintageman]

Thanks 73MustangCoupe, I appreciate the response. Would it be too much to ask you to tell me the diameter and height (from the bottom to top) of the air filter housing without the rubber seal? I used the 71/72 motor mounts during engine install and I think it sits a little lower now. Thanks for your help and advice.

Tom

 

[73MustangCoupe]

Hey Tom,
The height is a little tricky, because bottom dishes down below the top of the carb/throttle body. I placed a ruler across the top of the air cleaner metal edges and found that the top edge is about 3-1/2" above the seat on my Sniper EFI throttle body. I measured the Sniper throttle body before I installed it and found it was about 1/8" taller than the original 2V carb. I don't know how much higher the carb is sitting on the Edelbrock Performer intake, but the hood closes just fine with the air cleaner installed, so I am guessing it is also pretty close. I measured the inside of the air cleaner box to the top metal edge and it's 5". As far as diameter, that is about 19-1/2".

There is an indentation in the front for the distributor cap, In the stock configuration, it's a tight fit. I am hoping that the plug wires touching the air cleaner box won't screw up the EFI signal to the Sniper. Anyway, I hope that helps. if you need anything else let me know.

 

[73inNH]

Just adding another data point. I have the same disty and can confirm that the stock air cleaner housing (not ram air) will not fit over the disty.

 

[vintageman]

Thank you both 73MustangCoupe and 73inNH, I appreciate the responses and will be doing some measuring tomorrow night to see if I have the room. More to follow on this, your info will definitely help with my decision to buy or not to buy. Thanks.

Tom

 

[Hemikiller]

A stock type distributor is your best solution, most of the aftermarket units are taller than stock as they have a GM style top mounted mechanical advance setup.

 

[Bobby]

I had the same issue with my 72. I installed an MSD distributor with vacuum advance. The distributor was too tall and the RAM air cleaner would not seat on the carb. It just wabbled. I had to go back with the stock distributor because of this.