Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Clifford 4 bbl intake for 235

I am looking at buying a Clifford C-4500 intake for my Chevy. I have a factory split exhaust manifold, and I am wondering if the C-4500 will mate up to it. Does anyone know? This is the older Clifford manifold with the port on the bottom for exhaust heat (I assume), but there are no bolt holes in it for aligning with the exhaust manifold. What am I missing here?

Also, since my engine is stock, should I forget about going to the Holley 390 4 bbl and simply go with Tom Langdon's H/W 2 bbl setup? I am concerned that going to the 4 bbl may not make much of a difference at low end/midrange. Or do I have to change the cam? Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Bryan

No holes so, it won't bolt up. You would need to modify it. If you were to run Fentons, you could have a plate welded to the bottom of the intake, and run tubes from the fentons to the plate. Not sure how bad you need to worry about it in Florida, though.

As far the cam and carb, what do you see yourself doing with it long term?

Well, I only drive it occasionally, and usually around town, so I am not looking to dump a whole lot of money and time into it. I think my best bet is the Langdon setup, but I am looking to see if anyone can recommend the 4 bbl for a noticable improvement over the 2 bbl at low to midrange. I'd consider going to dual 2 bbls, but I do not think my sedan has the hood clearance with the hood cross member support.

The only reason I am thinking cam change is to support the switch to the 4 bbl, if it makes sense to go that route.

Finally, does anyone know what the design intention for this Clifford part was? With no bolt holes, what was Clifford envisioning with the bottom of this manifold? A heat plate affixed with hi-temp RTV silicone or something? Yes, I could go with water heat, but with my split factory manifold, I'd like to stick with the exhaust heat if I could. Don't know if drilling and tapping a couple of bolt holes into cast iron is feasible; it appears the shape of the casting might have bosses for this. Wish I knew how to insert a pic here!

Thanks!

I have one of those manifolds on a spare engine, so I know what you're trying to do. Have you tried calling Clifford for some help on it? I don't believe it was ever really intended to be hooked up to anything. If it has grooves cast into the floor, you may want to grind out the center area under the carb so the middle cyliders don't run too lean.

For 55-62 cars with hood clearance issues when going 2x1, there are other carbs, like the Holley one bbls used on Ford sixes which are much shorter. I believe carbs from a slant 6 were shorter also?

Comparing a 4bbl to the rather tiny H/W, I'd say yes, the 4bbl, when properly adjusted, will out perform the H/W regardless of camshaft profile. The H/W is fine for normal driving around town and under 3000rpms. Talk to Langdon about it.

You didn't say if it was a stick or automatic, but if its an automatic, you will want to stay conservative with the cam profile, something like the dual pattern cam that Langdon sells. better to just stay stock based on your intended usage.

It's a stick.

I will more than likely go with the "less is more" route, i.e., the Langdon setup. It's simple and inexpensive, and if I don't like the resulting performance, I can always upgrade to the 4 bbl.

Thank you for your input (although I am still scratching my head about the bottom of the manifold! lol )

Bryan