223 Intake performance. Offy or Clifford

I couldn't find anything addressing my exact question with the search, so forgive me if this has been done to death already.

I just bought a 1960 F100 with the 223 motor. It was recently rebuilt with the Clifford blueprint kit with a single webber intake manifold and split exhaust.

My question is;
Would a 2 x 1 or 3 x 1 Offy intake manifold perform better than the Clifford single Webber setup?

Im no professional when it comes to performance, but I am an auto technician by trade and it seems to me that a single carb intake manifold wont balance out very well on the cylinders. I would expect a dual carb or triple carb manifold to perform better because it doesn't have a longer distance to fuel the outter cylinders than the inner cylinders. I am also a fan of the more traditional look (or period correctness) of the Offy manifold with 2 or 3 single barrels.

Thanks in advance.

Punkrock Gearhead":rt6yk0mf said:

I couldn't find anything addressing my exact question with the search, so forgive me if this has been done to death already.

I just bought a 1960 F100 with the 223 motor. It was recently rebuilt with the Clifford blueprint kit with a single webber intake manifold and split exhaust.

My question is;
Would a 2 x 1 or 3 x 1 Offy intake manifold perform better than the Clifford single Webber setup?

Im no professional when it comes to performance, but I am an auto technician by trade and it seems to me that a single carb intake manifold wont balance out very well on the cylinders. I would expect a dual carb or triple carb manifold to perform better because it doesn't have a longer distance to fuel the outter cylinders than the inner cylinders. I am also a fan of the more traditional look (or period correctness) of the Offy manifold with 2 or 3 single barrels.

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

The Clifford intake is a very good one (Ram Flow design) this improves the fuel distribution over the log type design. It should also have the ability by the changing the carb adapter plate to bolt on a 4 barrel Holley as well as others this would give better performance over your Weber. So to answer your first question the Cliford intake performs better then all the others, they also made a duel carb intake too, these when setup with a pair of 2 barrel carb's like your Weber it would also perform very well.

The 2 X 1V offy's and many others brands used in the past (Fenton, etc.) all perform quite well, and when matched against the original intake where a huge improvement even giving better fuel economy. So in answer to your other question yes with these early log style intakes a 2 or 3 X 1V carb intake dose give better fuel distribution when compared to a stock intake setup. I also like the looks of these traditional setups using the Holley 1904 carb's with glass bowls. Hope that answers some of your questions good luck

Thank you. It does. I didn't think about the shape of the manifold, ie. ram flow design, having a big enough effect to counteract the distance between the carb and outer cylinders.

I have an intense internal dilemma deciding between the performance of the Clifford and the looks/period style of the 3 x 1 setup. I mean, who doesn't want to haul ass around in their badass old car/truck, but when you pop the hood and it looks just like they did in the 50s and 60s, that cool factor is strong....

yes those old intakes just look right on these 1950's and early 60's cars and trucks. That was the way I was also heading on my 1954 Customline build and had collected many vintage parts for it. Like a new 2 X 1V Offy with linkage, Brass plated valve cover, Mallory duel point distributor, Fenton 3 speed shifter, set of new high ratio rockers arms, vintage tach, and much more. Good luck on your 223 build and post some pictures of it when you can.

just an FYI, I saw this.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/offy-offenhauser-1954-56-Ford-223-6-cyl-3-carb-tri-power-intake-manifold/232029579535 $230 BIN (not mine)

IMHO,you just can't beat a 3 x 1 intake with small single barrel carbs on a street inline 6. It will give the most power as well as the best gas mileage.

I'm looking for one for my 226 flat 6 Ford.