Bolt a 2bbl adapter to the intake w/ right orientation!

I got to looking at my H/W 2-bbl with Stovebolt adapter sitting on the Ford carb spacer plate, and said to myself..."Self, why not drill some holes in the 2-bbl adapter and mount it straight to the intake without that Ford spacer?"

So that's what I did. Bolt the two adapters together, then turn them over and use the intake manifold bolt holes in the Ford piece to locate the new holes (they'll end up about 3/8" offset from existing holes.).

Drill from the bottom, and: ta-dah! Actually, the holes are so close to the edge of the flange that I went ahead and cut them out into slots, then used some short bolts with washers to hold it all down. It's a bit tricky getting the bolts started, studs might make it easier.

The end result is a 2-bbl adapter sitting directly on the manifold, which lowers the carb, gains hood clearance, and makes it look more original (no more carb sitting way up in the air).

Pics to follow.

Sounds holy. Can't wait to see pics, you genius.

I may have to try that...

$30 vs $80 is worth it to me.

Steve-O

That's what I did with mine too a few months ago. I didn't know it was different from what every one else is doing.

Yeah, after reading the webpages about the Stovebolt vs. Clifford adapters with/without the Ford spacer, and seeing all the stress people have with stacked adapters and hood clearance, this is pretty blindingly obvious (in hindsight, of course... )

The Stovebolt adapter only needs two holes offset a bit to mate up with the Ford intake holes, and then it bolts right on. I did have to dig through my bolt box to find some bolts long enough to catch threads yet short enough to get in under the "funnel" of the adapter, but that's no biggie...

Oh, and when I pulled mine off, the gasket stuck to the bottom so I left it in place - which is why you won't see it near the bolts, and can see it peeking out from under the old bolt locations. But it's still in there sealing just fine.



Below is a closeup of the front bolt installed, the rear is identical (except I used the old bolt hole for the throttle spring - handy!)





A little broader view below, with the rear bolt just visible. I used a square spacer until I got a proper washer under that back bolt, which is why it looks funny. That's the throttle spring going back from the old bolt hole.





Here's how high the air cleaner was before I removed the Ford spacer. The air cleaner is tilted slightly to the rear in this pic, but I've since taken a BFH and adjusted it so the whole thing is level on the carb. But the tilt only made up for about 3/8" of height at the front, and you can see how much higher it was compared to the original air cleaner housing brace.




Below is how high the air cleaner is now, only about 1/2" or so above the original '62-carb-and-spacer location.




Here's how the whole thing looks when you open the hood, which sits about 2.5 inches above the top of the cleaner housing. LOTS more normal/stealthy!

Nice job.

The BFH is my favorite tool, very versatile

nice job. hindsight is always obvious.

That's a great writeup. Thanks!

You're welcome! One of the reasons I'm loving this old car is because all of the tricks haven't been "recipe'd out" yet like the sbc, there's lots of room still for ideas and innovations. Hope this helps somebody else out...

buzzA4, the BFH is one of my best friends, along with Mr. Acetylene Torch and his buddy Sawz-All.

Really nice....have you ever though of grinding off the non-used portion of the flange where the old bolt holes were. (Obviously not grinding off enough to get into the intake area!)

I like the low look and setup....really good work. I use the BFH for all close tolerance work. That and my universal metric wrench.

Hmm, hadn't thought of taking off the extra flange ears. If I ever have a reason to pull the carb I'll prolly do that, but since it's running so well it may be awhile. 8)

Now, all you need to do is to consider mounting the Weber directly to the log using a universal 2-barrel spacer (or adapter as some manufaturers call it).

But that can get tricky. Nevermind, don't listen to me. What you have is very cool and effective. Good job!

Man, I miss my car.

Not that we didn't warn you!

I'm glad I found this post - Clifford just let me know the 2.75" adapter I ordered isn't available for 30 days, so I may CX and go with the stovebolt...I did send Clifford an email asking if they have anything that will mate directly to my manifold, I'll see what they say.

Regards,
James

Anyone know if this concept would work on a vintage inline 6 (223)? The Holley 1904 1 bbl that comes stock is a pain in the tial, so I'm looking for a something a little more reliable and a performance boost, too.

someone should tell Steve at stovebolt and he can modify adaptor for those of us without the proper tools......

chazthephoenix":mlzpbqhw said:

someone should tell Steve at stovebolt and he can modify adaptor for those of us without the proper tools......

Click to expand...

You don't have a drill? I just used my trusty Sears variable-speed, and used the side of the large bit to hog out the holes into slots (i know, i know - "proper tool for the job" and all...)

My only question is, where does the PCV hose connect to?

I want to do the same thing with mine, I think what you have done is just great.

In one of the above pics (with the fuel line in the foreground and showing the throttle rod), you can see it coming straight out of a large brass fitting threaded into the intake manifold. The line coming out the front goes to the distributor advance. The pcv hose loops around to the back of the valve cover.

Would it be possible/smart to drill and tap a hole in my stovebolt adaptor, then attach the PCV here? I don't know if I can add any more lines to my vaccum advance, simply because I also have a line running to the C4 at the moment.

Would having too many lines create a loss in vaccum and a problem for the engine?