As Keith said, it is a tapered snorkel for noise reduction. It also is a controlled opening that allows the factory to use a valve to control the temperature of the incoming air. Using exhaust heat on the heat riser instead of cold under hood air in the early mornings makes the car warm up faster.
That said, open element air cleaners were only used on 400 HO cars in 1967 from what I've seen and been told. Everything else had a snorkel.
|