Edelbrock vs Stock 455 Intake Manifold

If I thought my septic system could handle the performer it would be in it!

 

Wow, tough crowd! Mike D.

 

If you are dead set on a performer I will sell mine already painted Buick red with choke and cover with rod and trans.vacuum fitting for $75 plus shipping. It is in good condition.

 

Does it have a valley pan set up on the manifold?

It's already set up for the thermostatic choke? I'll buy it and drive to your place to get it. No joke. Hey, you can check out my Riviera, too! :3gears:

 

of course this was directed at me since my used $200 one showed up YESTERDAY!!! tell ya what,i can carry it around with one hand...i had to use my cherry picker to pull the stock one. p

 

I'd agree with that I don't care how good the stock intake flows, my back was very displeased with me just removing it from the car ONCE. I have a performer on mine JUST for weight issues.

 

Chris, it does need a new valley pan gasket as the one I took off went in the trash. It does have the choke therm and rod on it. Its yours if you want it. Also how is this for a novel idea........ I would figure a company like T/A with foundry connections could make a mold of a factory cast iron intake for a 70 or 71 and cast it in aluminum and have it be identical to the original. The Olds w-30 aluminum manifolds are cast with this in mind as they were almost identical to their cast iron counterparts. I bet they would sell a ton of them as it would save weight and be very stealthful.. I can't be the first one to think of this.

 

:TU: I will certainly buy that manifold, Dave. Let me know what time and date is good for you and I'll swing by your place

 

Have installed the performer with one hand. Everytime I replace the cast iron I resign myself to the fact my back will be sore for two weeks. Still sore now as I am too stubborn to wait for help. Air cleaner sure fits nice now! :TU:

 

Eric....did you block or at least restrict the heat risers? An aluminum intake will cook if you leave the heat going thru it not to mention boiling the carb.
Did you jet up some? Better intake flow does nothing if you don't feed it more fuel......

 

Please clarify this for the fourth time...the B4B will line up (close enough) with the stock air cleaner and scoops? I am hoping to finish the engine before too long and want to know if I should put the manifold I have on; or, should I be searching for a stock manifold.

Len

 

What I would do is use a normal air cleaner and just keep the stock GS one in the trunk for car shows.. You'd do better performance-wise with a 14" open filter than the stock GS one..

 

Ya,Booger it up...

Ya, booger it up and put on the "lightweight" performer intake.
I guess if you are worried about your back then put on the Performer
but if your worried about your car then put on the stock one!
If you make a living replacing stock intakes on BBB with Performers
or B4B's or if that's your hobby then get the Edelbrock! :shock:

 

If you were refering to my post, all I meant was that IF you're putting on the B4B, you'll get better performance by using an open element air cleaner rather than the stock GS one, due to the ports not lining up correctly.

 

Correction:
You'll get better performance by using an open element air cleaner rather than the stock GS one, due to the fact that an open element air cleaner works better than the stock "ram air" system in ANY situation on ANY manifold. The stock "ram air" system does absolutely nothing for performance.

 

I have tried running the car with both types of air cleaners and realized very little difference at the track. Have found that just flipping the lid upsidedown on stock air cleaner was just as affective as open element. Probably barely a tenth of a sec. These are my findings anyway. Just checkout greg Gesslers car running low 11's with stock cleaner???

 

Hey man, just because I hate chasing around that iron manifold, that doesn't mean I'm a hack or a jerk or an idiot. Have a little consideration for your Buick buddies before you post like that

 

Hey Chris, I don't think your a hack, or a jerk, or even an idiot even if your opinion is different than mine. :beer

 

Oh hey, I know.

I just really disagree with the notion that I can be 'boogering up' a car, particularly MY car, by my choice of intake manifold. It's not as if Edelbrock is a bad company that doesn't know anything about cars...so what if the thing doesn't benefit me performance wise? Hell, my stock one is cracked, nice going Buick! My Edelbrock one ain't cracked...I'm ruining the car or something? Don't think so...just because it's not a Buick part? Gee then my TA heads must be junk and so are my roller rockers and my cam, too, not to mention my new timing cover...none of that stuff is factory.

I used to pick up all that stuff and lug it around, pairs of heads, cranks, manifolds, doors, my GS hood, 12 bolt rear ends, just pick 'em up, I never had help to do this stuff. Either I pick it up or it don't move, plain and simple, even my 455 engine block. I just picked it up, popped it in my Regal's trunk, and went to the machinist...but you know, at 35 I have sciatica now. It's great to be He-Man and all that, but you know what's even better? Being able to bend over and tie your shoes! I wish I could still just yank a 455 block off the floor, but these days it's not something I can do

I have my manifold off more than anybody but the racers, I imagine. If I'm not taking it off to check out the engine, I'm taking it off to blast and clean it. I know that not everyone uses the car like me, I know it's odd to take an engine out to clean it. My car's a street car, daily driver, but you can eat off the engine, it always looks brand new, and it takes work to keep it like that so- off comes the manifold for sandblasting. It's a no-brainer for me to choose a light manifold

I'd never tell anyone that it's "better" than any other part performance-wise, by virtue of it's design, hey aluminum's not magic and it could even cause corrosion issues from dis-similar metals. Even the famed '69 COPO 'Vettes and Camaros with aluminum 427s had no magic behind the block besides weight reduction

But I'd like to weigh my 462 sometime...aluminum manifold, aluminum heads...that's probably 90 pounds of weight savings, right there. What's a stock Buick 455 weigh? 636 pounds? So I have my bored out 455 down to 546 pounds all together? I use headers, too, they must save 5 pounds a pop over manifolds on the exhaust side

So my aluminum manifold helps get me down to SBC weight. Hey I don't think that could be bad. Plus the Edelbrock Performer re-routes one of the heater hoses, which cleans up the engine bucket, too! if you do like I do, and run the other hose a little long, by the inner fender, suddenly you have no heater hoses over the manifold. It looks better if you ask me, and it allows better access to the valve cover on that side, too

Anyone can run whatever manifold they like, that's why we have a selection to choose from- you aren't forced to run one or the other. Personally I put a lot of consideration to the parts I put in my engine, and whether I'm right or wrong in the parts I choose, I always have a plan to use the strong points of the part. For me- light weight is in my favor for the 4,000 pound car, and my achin back, plus it neatens up the engine bucket. So I lose 3 mph and a tenth in the 1/4 mile in the worst case because of a "bad" manifold design. What did I gain for myself and the car with the weight reduction program? 30 lbs is 30 lbs no matter how I slice it