LS guys , what air intake and air filter combo are you using ? Have any of you used the C-5 Style air intake to get the air cleaner in front of radiator ? I have my 434 SBC/ With a sequential multi port injection w/coil on plug set up. ( A LS type fuel and spark system on a traditional SBC) And I am converting to a Edlebrock Pro Flow intake. It resembles a LS intake requiring a cone style front air filter Pics below .

Any help would be awesome , I have looked at the c-5 system and it looks like it would work ?

 

51 views and no ideas LMAO ... I figured it out , took a lot of googling ..

 

I tried a couple of over the radiator type cold air intakes. Someone tried an ls gto cai (vararam) and that worked the best for my ls swap after i modified it.

I tried a c6 factory intake and was way too large to fit. Plus even if it did, the hood wouldn't be able to open up fully. It's close enough to the ac condenser with the hood up and i have a trans cooler at front/bottom of the condenser.

You could possibly find some different hood hinges and modify upper radiator support to make room though.





after I modified to seal to hood, sectioned and insulated.

 

THANKS !

I decided to order one of the GTO kit after I had a lot of views and no reply lol .. Did you have to trim or cut the upper rad support to make a nice fit ?

 

That kinda shows how few LS conversions are done to C3's. I seem to read more LS conversions on the C1-C2 and C4 forums. You might have to wait a lot longer for a reply on the C3 forum.

The Edelbrock Pro Flow intake is pretty bad azz and I expect you will gain alot of mid-range torque over a single plane and maybe some top end too as it's pretty much a tunnel ram intake. Problem is the Pro Flow uses a single blade throttle body which most are right hand/passenger side throttle linkage while the C3 has left hand/drivers side linkage. Holley stealth Ram is similar and uses a left hand/drivers side TB. The SR has larger plenum but shorter runners ( I think) so while it may have less reversion it's peak torque would be at higher RPM. And I don't know what their power limits are - the Pro Flow might have the greater capacity.

​​​​ I don't know what controller you are using but many now support electric throttle which eliminates the cable but adds more complication configuring the gas pedal. So if your using a sequential injection you have a MAF sensor. Just a suggestion to avoid turbulent flow you what the inlet pipe/track to be straight for at least 2 pipe diameters in front of it.

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Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

I bought the GTO Vararam intake also. It didn"t seal against the hood same as bluegpt, so I used the it as a mold and made one from fiberglass. I did not have to modify the radiator support, just made the new intake to fit.

 

No trimming involved. I did chose to modify it it as said above. I also heated up the front lip and moved it downward to close the gap so air doesn't go under the tray. Pic below is when i was test fitting.

i tried a few setups. The 90* and filter sitting by ac or alternator sucking in hot air. I tried a 90* downward and try to pick up cold air from down low. I didn't like that idea because the fans angle downward plus rain/water and still not well isolated. I also test fitted a vararam for a g8 or newer ss (i think). Throttle body didn't line up as straight as i was hoping plus still had to fit maf in there somewhere. BUT it was sealed off well and i think could be a good option with a little modification (which in my case needed to be done to the gto cai too). Misc pics below.

 

That came out nice. I'll eventually do the same since i have so many plastic welding lines from making it taller and fitting to the l88 hood. Looks like your hood was much easier.

Do you know what kind of intake air temps you get idling in traffic? In 95* weather (without sealed to hood) and 20+ minutes idling it get up to 206. I sealed off and it dropped to 160s in mid/upper 80* temps. I insulated with some heat shield product (then painted) and now I'm in low 130s for iat's. I also added some heat shields on my headers and trackspec hood vent to help out with engine bay temps.

Ryan

 

Sweet ! Some good ideas for sure ,, I spotted the varaRam after hours of searching , and am totally excited to see my guess this non-corvette part was right this time LOL

I am curious why the need to seal it to the underside of the hood ?

Thanks !

 

You don't have to but my intake air temps were very high sitting in traffic and would go up very quickly at a red light. The hotter the iat's the ecm will pull timing to the motor which will hurt the performance. So, the lower or closer to ambient the better. Depending on cai setup, the more isolated the filter is from engine bay heat the better. I insulated my tray once I sealed it up to the hood.

Also, in my case I didn't have the upper radiator core area sealed off so I can get cold air to the filter. So I'm thinking I would get hot engine bay heat going up and rolling over and pulled back through the radiator since the engine heat/air didn't have anywhere to vent to when the car was idling/parked. Now that the hood is vented and air tray is sealed to the hood that should not be a problem.

 

Joining the thread a little late here, not sure I'm really adding anything new at this point, more just agreeing/confirming what others have said.

First off I'm glad you're asking/thinking about this. Pulling that hot air right from behind the radiator is HOT, and absolutely hurts performance. The amount of LS swap C3s I see that just pull in air right off the rad blows my mind, though to be fair it's not easy to find a solution (until it seems the GTO vararam that others have posted, that is slick!).

I had a few iterations of intake plenums on mine. I did try a C5/C6 plenum over the rad (I even lowered my rad and cut the support!) but its just not the right angle, at least for my setup. Unfortunately I don't have photos of it.
So then I mocked up this with a silicone elbow, it worked, but I just wasn't happy with it. And the radiator was so low that the lower coolant hose was interfering with the front sway bar.


Then a buddy of mine and I made this aluminum intake air box that pulls air in from in front of the rad, its more or less the same thing the GTO vararam intakes do. It worked great actually, temps once you're moving were basically ambient, though if I sat in traffic a while it did get warm, but not crazy. You could stop at a solution like this and be perfectly fine as far as I can tell.

However, I plan to make a radiator extractor (similar to the C7), where it has a duct on the back of the rad that forces the air out the top of the hood (instead of under the car/out the gills), and this style intake is in the way of doing that.


So I went to a carb style intake (gasp! its still PFI) and will be making a cowl induction air box. Even without the air box its essentially ambient temp when you're moving down the road with the L88 hood I have. With a stock hood I'm not sure that would happen. Though at idle it gets warm, but not even as warm as the front plenum pulling behind the radiator.

 

I am glad you added to this topic , I Have Not Settled on any one design. I do like the GTO Vara Ram but have not pulled the trigger yet/ The unique situation I am in. That Fit's into the make it yourself category because my best friend is a fabricator. He has done all my mods ,I do the pre-mod research like i did with the 4 link or the 4L80e swap. And he executes my ideas. I am now thinking I may come off into a Y from the T/B . And then duct it left and right to the radiator and build the air diverter heat shield similar to the one you have and the Vara Ram.. !~! You guys rock

Ill take ideas any one has used . Thanks

 

I ran mine down behind and then under the radiator to the area in front of the radiator where there is cold high pressure. I made a box to enclose the filter. It is kind of a pain in the *** to take in and out, but i think it works well. I had a 60 degree difference between the air temp behind the radiator (where a lot of intakes are mounted) and the intake temps read in my MAF. That was in town. On the highway the temp difference was less.


I made this for another engine. It was simple and sealed up against the bottom of the hood, but I think they had a hard time tuning the engine since the MAF was so close to the throttle blade. It did require modifying the core support.

I had a hard time getting the box to match up perfectly with the hood and since the engine is not centered it made it even more challenging. After I made a rough mock up of the box I used a piece of cardboard with some finishing nails in it and taped it to sides of the mockup and then closed the hood and pushed down the nails to measure the profile.

 

Nice................. I don't have MAP I have a speed density system from Holley so tunning will not be an issue for my system.

Ok how about a all who posted vote ?

Vara Ram style
Or other

I am about to pull the trigger on Vara Ram ,, Anyone have any idea who has a deal on these ?

 

Based on what I'm seeing here and your needs, seems VaraRam is the way to go.

 

anyone remember the SLP SS Camaro setups? Used a flat (rectangluar like) upward facing filter that was directly under a subtle hood scoop...could be tastefully done. Real cold air!

 

I think you're talking about the 4th gen LT1 camaro. Could be done but would have to cut up hood and fit some kind of scoop. Plus build in baffles to keep rain out. The LS camaro/firebird might be an option. They were bottom breathers too coming in in front of the radiator if i remember right. Might be kinda large though.

To the op.... might not be the best price but buy whatever off Amazon and return if unit don't think it'll fit.

 

I ordered one today , Plus I ave bad news for edlebrock . The pro flow XT 4 intake is very disappointing. Not only is the port work shitty and small but the injector inlets bulge into the runners. And the 48 LB injectors I have. Are to fat for the cut made in the exterior runner walls to accept them. So I am welding the injector bungs closed. So the injectors can be lifted out of the inlet and remounted. And adding to the upper edge at the top of the gasket area. Ya a lot of damn work.

But this will allow me to grind out the injector bulge completely , relocate the injector properly , port match to 1206 and have enough sealing surfaces to allow for a good fit to the AFR competition 220 heads.

Damn u elebrock , great idea yet a **** poor delivery

 

This thread is so timely I'm in the process of dropping in a 383 stroker with Edelbrock Pro Flo 4 XT-Style EFI. I found this thread looking up air intake solutions, and now I think I'm going to try to go with something like the GTO Vararam Intake, or maybe try to make a tradition LS style intake from a newer Corvette work somehow. Next step is to install a Dewitts Pro Series radiator and Fan setup, and then will see how much clearance / room there is to move around the radiator to see what's possible. Some most recent photos below:




(NOTE: the engine is sitting back a bit as the transmission is not installed in these photos, actual angle of the engine will be slightly different and lean forward a bit more)

 

Does anyone know if a C4 / C5 style intake would work with the Edelbrock Pro Flo 4 XT-Style above, with a L88 hood? I'm thinking about running a straight snorkel overtop the radiator just like they do for the C5. Something like the below - do you think there would be enough room? @diehrd do you know maybe?