Quote:
Originally Posted by jhein
The question is, why? I'm sure someone here knows. Something about the fit of the Formula air cleaner assembly on that particular configuration? But in 73 those weren't functional, right? So that's probably not it. The shaker was also not functional in 73, but easier to convert than the Formula setup. Could that be it, easier to convert to functional? Somehow, I doubt that too. I'd love to know though.
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Here is an educated "guess" as to why the SD-455 cars had the shaker regardless of whether in a TA or Formula. To meet EPA emissions certiifications, the engine is treated as an "engine package", with all equipment as installed on the engine including the air cleaner. The shaker scoop, functional or not, must have been included as part of the engine package. Therefore, to install the SD-455 in a Formula without the scoop, a separate EPA Certification would have to be obtained for that "different", engine package. I know it sounds stupid, but I bet that played into the reasoning for just installing the few SD formulas with the shaker hood. It takes several days of testing and costs thousands of dollars to certify each "engine package" This is another reason so few cars are available with manual transmissions today. They also require separate certifications from automatic versions of the same engine. Now referred to as a "powertrain package including final drive ratio" Hope this makes some sense.