[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by reacp911

but running a cast iron manifold strikes me as archaic

I mean, the Performer line of intakes dates back to I think 1982 from a quick Google search. Thats older than me, and Im in my 40s. So I think you are splitting hairs a bit when a stock iron intake seems archaic compares to a 40 year old aluminum design.

We can say Edelbrock missed the mark, but they sure have sold a lot of those Performers. So did they? And they are fairly big turds across all makes when compared to other offerings. They are just particularly big turds on Pontiacs because the factory intake is better than average.

40 years later we are better at the science of making power, and better at dispensing good information. At the time the prevailing thought was probably if its sold at the speed shop its better than factory. And who was there to tell them otherwise. This is also the same era of "my buddies 327 jumps coke cans in the rain" and "3/4 race cams". Its hard to fault the company for an old design (that strangely still sells).

They may have had some data that showed if you put it on a smogger head it picked up a tenth. When they go for a redesign in the RPM, making it taller for more performance potential is an obvious choice. Unfortunately that choice hurts the shaker crowd.