[b-man]

Originally Posted by pfilean

There are wing nuts and then there are wing nuts. When I got my swap met air cleaner of course it didn't have the three wing nuts for the carb studs. So I just went to the hardware store and got what they had with the proper thread. I didn't have an old ones left and they are not visible anyway. Now this thread makes me wonder. The factory originals are bigger and might not fall into the carb. But these hardware store items are smaller. I never worried before but now I wonder? Find some big old factory nuts to replace my small ones or maybe put a dab of silicone gasket stuff on the threads to kind of lock them on. But then a little bit of silicone might fall in when I take the filter off.

Or maybe I should listen to Dick and put the little chrome ones back on. He's right - that sound is nice.

I used the factory wing nut that secures the lid on my big car air cleaner to do my evaluation, I'll try again after I receive the original hardware from Dick.

I like the advantage of lower intake air restriction of the big car air cleaner plus you almost never see them under the hood of an A-body car.

The tiny chrome air filters used on the GTO Tri-Power certainly are more attractive and look like what you'd expect to see on a factory or even a home-built hot rod, but a quieter engine at full throttle does have its advantages. You won't garner the attention of law enforcement quite as easily when engaging in a little 'spirited' driving, and the added horsepower gained from the low-restriction big car air cleaner will make it worth having on there.

I remember reading about a dyno session that was done many years ago at H-O Racing during one of their open house type of events. There was a Tri-Power 389 on the dyno that gained 15 HP simply by swapping the stock air filter elements (not sure if OEM foam or paper) for a set of K&N elements. I would think the large paper filter inside the big car air cleaner would provide a similar increase in power.

[Stuart]

Just thinking...maybe some pieces of wire mesh cut into circles to fit over the holes in the bottom of the air cleaner. The mesh could be large enough to not impact airflow, but small enough to block any loose wingnuts.

[RR67GTO]

on my GTO I use a second nut as a lock nut on the stud, and a small lock washer below the wing nut. Also helps prevent over tightening. Just a thought

[Engine-Ear]

Originally Posted by RR67GTO

on my GTO I use a second nut as a lock nut on the stud, and a small lock washer below the wing nut. Also helps prevent over tightening. Just a thought

I would use a stainless steel flat washer under a stainless steel split washer under the wing nut. Stainless steel to prevent dissimilar metals issues (SS is less reactive) and it is smoother. Tighten until the split washer is flat + a little more. Golden.