Had two options for bodies.
67 T-bird big block version offered a couple of things...it takes the same element as the stock Goose air cleaner! It is 17" in diameter (smaller than the stock by about 2") and is short, plus had a good drop down amount. Clearance was looking good for the interference with the shields too! Bad news: These are hard to come by! (Unit on the right.)
Second option is a pretty generic 1968-1969-1970 Ford 302-351W standard air cleaner body. Used on many trucks of this vintage too. It offered 1/8" more drop down than the T-bird version and is 18" in diameter, closer to the stock version. Good news: These are easy to come by! (Unit on the left.)
Here they are side by side:
A couple of shots showing the difference in height. About 1/2" or so.
Element on left is non-Goose, right is proper Goose element. I measured the difference to be .475".
With a handy dandy carpentry tool I have no idea where I picked up, I was able to scribe a line in the paint to use as a guideline for cutting. I figured in the thickness of the tin (1/32" or .031") and a radius at the top that would prevent the ring from fully seating, and came up with .525" and "cut above the scribe mark."
Used a small Dremel with a 1-1/4" by 1/16" cut-off wheel. I used the long Dremel extension cable drive thing, but it wasn't necessary. The Dremel and small cut off wheels worked great once you got going! Took 4 cut-off wheels to do the job. Finished the edges with a round sanding drum attachment so as not to cut the heck out of myself from here out.
Here is the scribe thingy:
Worked great using the top edge as a guide!
Probably about 45 minutes of staring at it and 20 minutes of cutting/sanding, and I had two pieces of air cleaner body.... Measure 50 times, calculate 25, and cut once!
Now, I placed the small top ring inside the body of the lower piece. I had to start it on one side of the existing snorkel opening, and work it around carefully until I could push it all the way down. Here you can see that I have not quite got it all the way seated down yet, but it's going!
In place, and now lower in profile than the T-bird unit!
I have this much space to the top of the element now, or potentially the smallest space to the top lid. Good thing the lid has contours in it too!
Once I can get this all figured out, decide what my snorkel units will look like, and cut the opening etc, I will go back and either spot weld or weld completely, all the bits together. Then bead blast it and crinkle paint it to look like the stock unit!
More options that could gain me some room:
1) Make a sheet metal top (still 1/32" material) with a simple 90 degree bend on it vs the large rubber seal that the stock Ford lid has on it (or I could take the seal out!) Form it to resemble the stock Goose unit. (Were these spun or stamped????)
2) Install a tapered carb spacer to level out the carb a bit. Since it sits nose down now, and is just causing the rear of the air cleaner to touch the engine covers, if I dropped it an 1/8" or so at the rear of the carb flange, that would translate into closer to 1/4" at the outer reaches of the air cleaner lid! If I had not been in such a rush to get this danged thing running again, I would have had the intake flange milled about 4 degrees less tapered. (That is what my magnetic dial protractor told me today when I was playing with it!) I can mill my spacer......for now. Ford actually made a tapered carb spacer that is found on some Lincolns I think.....have only ever seen one.....and of course cannot remember what I saw or found it on!
3) Install a Performer intake. Flange is shorter...but I would still need to port match the intake ports, and then would probably need to remove the automatic choke...something I really do not want to do.... yet....
I am trying to keep in mind why I am doing this.....
A) Get cool & clean air into the carb...for those "stuck in Vegas traffic" days. Install a stock or stock looking air cleaner body.
B) Gain the electric/automatic choke function. Once I get the carb dialed back down (real rich now) I will need a choke to start it! Fast idle thing.....
C) Raise the engine enough to gain ground clearance for the oil pan. Stock pan sticks down about 7 1/2", my custom pan was 7", and I need about 6" to be ultra safe, and still carry 6-7 qts in the sump area.
D) I can't possibly get a break on any aspect of putting this car back together...so why not!
More as I get there! Need to get some .031" sheet material now!
Will also post pic's of stock air cleaners too.
Steve