1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
The factory filter has a round "can" about 9" in diameter that fits down onto the top of the carburetor and secures with a single screw that goes into a bridge piece across the carb throat. Coming out the bottom of the can on the side opposite the carb opening are two "snorkel" tubes about a foot long. They point down and back into the engine compartment into the space behind the block, over the transaxle. The filter elements mount on the ends of these snorkel tubes. If that's what yours is like, then you've got the factory air filter housing.
Replacing it with some kind of third-party filter is tough because there is so little clearance between the carb opening and the Sonett III engine lid. If you put in low-profile motor mounts you can use some of the flat air cleaners made on the aftermarket, but if everything is stock then it's hard to find anything other than the factory unit that will fit.
The factory unit shouldn't be too awkward if you've got the correct filter elements on it. The correct ones are about 3" long and fit INSIDE the metal cups on the ends of the snorkel tubes; a bridge piece ending in a bolt goes up through the center of the filter element and a round flat piece goes over the end, secured by a nut.
What seems to happen a lot of times (my car was this way when I got it) is that people don't bother to get the correct filter elements (NAPA has them but most places such as Autozone don't carry them) and instead just get any cylindrical filter element that looks about right; most of the time these are too big around to fit INTO the metal cup, so people just press them ONTO the cup, thread the nut on the end as best they can, and hope it sorta works. I guess it usually does filter the air, but since the elements are too big it takes up a lot of space in the engine compartment.
Also, the correct filter elements have a perforated metal shield around the outside, covering the filter paper. A lot of the not-right elements don't have this -- just some kind of screen. I had a scary experience once, before I found out I had the wrong filter elements on mine -- I had gone for a long drive and, just as I got home, smoke started coming from under the hood, although the engine was still running fine. When I got the hood open I found that, because the filter elements were too fat and didn't have the metal shield, one of them had slipped around so it was touching the rocker cover, and eventually it got hot enough for the paper element to catch fire. About 1/4 of it had burned away by the time I got it, and the rest of the filter was glowing like charcoal coals. Once I got the correct filters and put them on, I never had that problem again (!)
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