Reply to "New engine/low HP"

> If you look at the A331 Ford Motorsport Torker, you will notice that it is
> basically a Edelbrock Torker with approximately 5/8" of the bottom of the
> port runners and the plenum filled.

Gotcha. Here's a few pictures comparing the A331 and standard Torker:

http://www.bacomatic.org/gallery/album17

> That's what I mean by deporting.

If it matches an A3 port, I bet Dennis at PPC would buy it. He's
always on the lookout for the Edelbrock A331 intake.

> The two versions are for Holley square bore and Holley Dominator.
> The carb mountings were the only differences I saw.

There was also a low profile Shelby intake that looked like the Ford.

> The Shelby vendors have always referred to the Blue Thunder as a copy of
> that manifold not the Holman-Moody.

Many of Art Francis intakes are based upon the Holman-Moody tooling.
All three of them look very similar. I believe the Holman Moody intake
was introduced first. They may have cast the Shelby intake. There were
only a few places doing the casting (Buddy Bar, etc.). The Blue Thunder
came many years later, after both the Shelby and H-M were out of production.

> Yes I saw the lower Blue-Thunder Pantera version.

It's not so much lower as the carb pad is level.

> Sure you can make all this fit under the screen but how restrictive is it
> going to be? Just removing the air cleaner gives a one to four tenths
> improvement in the quarter.

That's a good point. If you go to a taller intake but end up restricting
it with the air cleaner, it's not going to buy you much. Likewise, giving
up the stock air cleaner case (with cold airducting) for an open element
that sucks hot air can be a losing proposition as well.

> The main thing I see here with these intakes is their all within +/-5 Hp
> +/-5lbs tq.

I don't think those results apply. Those are all intakes of approxiamtely
the same height and port size designed for low-mid range RPM on an engine
that is cylinder head limited. On a 351C-4V, the Performer is lower with
smaller ports and the engine is not cylinder head limited.

> My question would be would a blue thunder really make that much a difference?

On Jack Butler's 377C, there was something like 60 HP difference between
the worst and the best intakes. Also, in the Weiand thread, I mention
a drag test where the guy picked up 4 tenths with a manifold switch, that's
a big change.

Dan Jones