Here is the direction the air intake is taking, and is completely hand fabbed and tacked together at this time, so it will still need finish hammering,
straightening, welding, grinding, etc. This should give the idea of what we are going for here.
I am trying to go with a look that similar to the early Ferrari and Lamborghini carburated cars.. Project Saint Marie, will look very stock in appearance of the body and interior, so I am wanting an engine bay that is clean and a bit retro. It will be done in a 60's era Black Wrinkle finish, with the fins exposed.
The air cleaner brings the air from the windshield cowl vent, and directs to the throttle body in the front of the motor.. I have modified the Volvo heater/cowl duct, and have made a filter system for the inside of the cowl vent, that is protected from the weather with a baffle system.. The filter is also very easy to change, so service and maintenance will not be affected. The cover will also hide wiring, throttle cables, and other items under it, so you can get a real simple and clean look.
We plan on using these intakes on our build cars, but it is up to Paul if he wants to go this direction on our Project Saint Marie build also. The concept behind this is, the P1800 is not the most forgiving for space in some area's of the engine bay, so space is an issue for the more conventional Stainless intake tubes and cone style filters. The cowl vent isnt being used for the heater/fresh air any more, because it is not necessary for the Vintage Air Unit. Rather than cap it off, and change the styling of the car, I wanted to go the direction of making the vent useful again.
If you look how nice and compact the LS motor fits into the engine bay.. With our crossmember kit, you can remove the LS engine and Keisler 5-speed as a complete assembly, along with being accessorized, from the top or bottom of the car with ease. The mock up headers are being sent to Sanderson Headers for our exclusive kit, and believe it or not, these headers lift right up from the bottom to there mounting place, with no jacking of the motor or parts removal.. With the motor in place, you can service all the part like the starter, altenator, ac compressos, water pump, power steering pump, ect, with out any issue at all.. Just unbolt them, and remove them without any funny jacking or wiggling motions.. LOL
Here is the style cowl vent we are using, and I think it is very fitting in appearance to function..
