Concerns about the Performer, B4B Edelbrock

Im wanting to put an Edelbrock intake on my stock 455.
I was thinking Ill go with the B4B over the Performer, but in my quest to find a used Edelbrock in descent condition, Ive shamefully become somewhat confused.
Ive read lately that a new B4B isnt as good as an older one. Edelbrock changed it somehow making it inferior to the older ones and also to the Performer. Is this true?

Then about the Performer. I recently watched a Performer go on eBay where the seller said the manifold had been port matched to stock size intake gaskets. Is this a concern?

What type of gaskets will I need with a Performer or with the B4B? Will I have modify the manifolds?
Im sure Edelbrock could answer these questions, but I thought Id ask the Buick Pros here first.
Thanks all, Billy

The TA212 or TA112 cam and Osborn built Qjet will be installed with the new intake.

 

Or scrap the Edelbrock idea and go with a TA Sp1 or Spx?

 

With the cam your planning on using I would stay away from the SP1 or SPX.
A stock intake or like you are planning on using will work great. I have the Performer and like it. I make 475hp with it.

I have not heard anything bad about the B4B or Performer so I'll leave that question up to someone that knows more about it.

The port matching is a good thing, but I would shy away from one on E-Bay. They could have messed it up and are trying to sell it.

No modifying is required. Just buy the intake and put it on.
You can buy a Intake Gasket Kit from TA Performance includes end seals. (Stock Valley Pan type)
Part #1736 for 67-71 & #1737 for 72-76. $27.00 each.

The Edelbrock Performer Intake is Part #1210 and sells for $275.00.
The B4B Intake is Part #1211 and sells for $275.00 also.
TA Performance - Phone# (480)922-6807

F.Y.I.
The Performer is made to fit the factory Ram Air air cleaner. The B4B is not. The B4B sits more centered than the Performer. To fit the Ram Air air cleaner the carb sits farther back on the Performer. This is so the air holes line up properly with the hood scoops when the hood is closed.

My recommendation would be use the Performer.
Sounds like your on the right track.
Later;
Mike

 

If alingment for a GS cold air hood is not a concern (your avatar shows a Riviera), I would go with the B4B. That intake is supposed to have a tiny bit better design than the Performer. Ther Performer works best on GS Skylark cars because it fits with the ram air breather better. As far as there being a difference between the old and new intakes, I can't help. I did buy a new one last year and it appeared to be a very nice piece. Old ones pop up on ebay from time to time and also on here. Heli-coils will assist with any stripped bolt holes in an old intake. I recommend a port matching job like mentioned above.
As for intake gaskets, I would go with a set like TA's gaskets. You use their's in conjunction with a modified (you cut it) original steel valley pan. I don't like using the cut up valley pan, so I would advise buying one from AMP in Kentucky. He has a simple drop in steel valley pan that is a much better fit and design. He can sell you a complete set of gaskets for your install. If your heads or block have been shaved, you need to tell him.

 

You will not feel any difference between old B4B, new B4B, or Performer. As stated, the Performer has the carb in the stock location to line up the ram air scoops on a 69-72 GS (which are worthless, performance-wise, anyway. Cosmetics only.) The B4B has the carb centered on the motor. The only difference I am aware of between "old B4B" and "new" B4B is that the earliest B4Bs (in the sixties) had only a Holley flange, others are dual (holley and Q-jet) flange.

 

Now you done it. When I bought car back it did not have the stock manifold on it, it has/had a B4B. You can't use a standard GS air cleaner system on it?

Len

 

The B4B will not line up properly with the intakes on the hood. A Perfomer will line up close but be a little taller. I never used the breather support bracket with my Performer. Using a Performer, your foam on the breather gets mashed badly. It's a good ideal to trim it a little and make it a little shorter.

 

You'll need the Performer for the stock air intake snorkle to line up. Then trim your foam seals in half with scissors (then you have two sets) and finally put a 1" spacer between the snorkle support coming off the engine thermo housing and the underside of the snorkel so it's supported properly. I used a 1" little wood block, painted it black, and epoxy to underside of snorkel. You can hardly see it. The other nice thing about this is now you can run a stock HEI distributer with no interfearance problems. While your at it, I would suggest doing a little port matching using the stock metal bathtub intake gasket as a template. Don't use silicone for the end rails like many will tell you. Use the stock rubber gaskets for the end rails. Also, spray the metal intake bathtub gasket with a couple of coats of copper coat before installing.

 

Port match

Yes a port matched intake is a concern! If the intake ports were enlerged, you'll NEED to port match your heads too. If not the port openings in your heads will be smaller than the intake and SEVERE turbulence will result. :blast: This is a big power killer! Todd

 

Yep, the intake is going on a 72 Rivy, so Im not too concerned about air cleaner clearance.
Im also very leery of a manifold from eBay and would rather get one from the Buick faithful here.

Maybe I was over thinking it.
My heads or block havent been shaved or had port work done, so a new B4B should drop in all matched right with a TA gasket set. Right?

Ive read suggestions of milling out the flange inside, looking down. If I understood it right. Thoughts?
And how do I get a hold of AMP in Kentucky for the steel valley pan?
Anyone sitting on a B4B, dont want?

 

Finally!

I have been trying to find out the main differences between the Performer and the B4B for a while now. Since matching up to an air intake is not a concern for me, it appears that the B4B is a better choice.

Thanks for the info guys!

Paul

 

Ports

I noticed that even unmodified the the port openings on my Performer was a little bigger thran my '74 heads in a few spots. Enough to be anything to worry over? No. The runners in a Performer/B4B are actually a pretty good size, they just neck down at the flange to kind of match the stock head. You can open the opening up quite a lot, that's why I mentioned the potential for a matching problem with a modified intake. The intake ports are substancially larger now on both my heads and intake.
The B4B when it came out, it didn't work with the stock GS aircleaner because the carb pad is moved further to the rear on the stock intake. When the came out with the Performer they moved it to the rear like the stock one so a stock aircleaner could be used. Then there's the height issue because they're taller than a stock intake. That's the primary difference.

 

Here's an old post about this subject. One dyno shows the intakes are very similar. Another post states a slight e.t. gain with the B4B.

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=48640&highlight=dyno+b4b+performer

 

Ports

Larry, does the intake opening vary depending on the year of the head? Do the '73-74 heads have slightly smaller ports in stock form? Seems like I remember reading this in a Torque Tech sheet like 10 years ago.

When I started doing my heads, I wanted a starting reference point. For this I laid masking tape over the gasket surface of the intake, and trimmed it to exactly match all openings and then laid this out onto poster board. Then I cut it out to match the tape. Then I had 2 exact matches I could lay on the heads to compare the match. On my '74 heads, the ports narrow near the top. The Performer is wider here. Also, I'd say overall, just bolting on the intake that the port match would be pretty poor. It's time consuming, but you see the alignment different when you do it this way. The head openings should be slightly larger than the intake to help cancel out reversion pulses. Maybe this will benefit someone out there. :TU:

 

Well, I guess it is off to Parts for Sale/Buy for me.

Thanks for the information.

Len

 

Ports

Larry,
Wow that pic really makes the factory heads really look lame, don't they?
I wasn't referring to your heads, I meant putting an intake on the factory heads being a little mismatched.

 

I'd like to install a B4B or similar on my 72 model year 455, mostly to get even a slight bump in power, and the ability to use a Holley carb. . . but also to "clean up" the look of the top of the engine... i dont need, nor really want a HUGE increase in power really, the stock 225hp (if i have read the specs right for the engine i have) my engine has will prolly be MORE than enough to push a lightweight early 50's pickup cab and box around in FAST fasion :laugh:

everything i have read on the edlbrock intake is that it can be used for "non EGR engines" and wont work with the smog and EGR junk on the later mills.

any truth to that? or is it simply a matter of plugging the EGR/air pump passages on the heads and bolting the intake on and tune 'er up? o No:

the only other mods i MAY do to the engine in the future is a mild street cam/lifter package. anything about heads and intake i need to consider with that thrown into the mix?

many thanks, and sorry if this has been gone over before in the past, but i had VERY little luck searching the archives, and i'd rather post here and not clutter the board with a new thread. ou: