So I might have done something foolish...

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Single_Reel

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 20, 2016
7
21
3
Ontario, Canada
Just over a month ago I took my Cutlass in for a carburetor rebuild/tune-up and a transmission shift link seal against my own better judgement. As it seems finding mechanics who work on these cars (and actually can for that matter) has always remained elusive to me, as to why I normally rather do what I can myself. I took it somewhere an hour north of where I lived as I was told about their good reputation for working on classics. Needless to say it took 2 &1/2 weeks for the job to be done?! And When I went to pick up the car he tells me he never got around to the transmission seal (and after I paid) the mechanic looks at me and says, "We have something to tell you". One of the nights my car was in the shop there was a break-in and among the things stolen were, my complete vintage Chevrolet chrome open air cleaner, K&N filter, in addition they scoured the inside of my car and stole my original Bausch & Lomb Raybans down to the Maglite! Well need less to say I was not very happy about this. The mechanic replaced the air cleaner with a similar Edlebrock assembly, but it had no charm for me. And it got worse, when I got home and took of the bullet cap he tightened the new air cleaner down with, I noticed he did not give or install the breather tube attachment onto the air cleaner and just left my breather tube folded down the back of the engine! Really...really.

So needless to say after the dust has settled the Edlebrock air cleaner had to go. And I embarked on a mission, an idea I had for a long time but honestly thought was going to be too hard to track down, crazy, and well foolish. But some how I succeeded and this one just seems to have the charm for me!

Let me know what you think!

cutlassl69.jpg
 
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mr evil

Moderator
Moderator
Aug 4, 2009
857
544
93
Sooke, BC, Canada
I like it. I'm pretty pissed about your experience with that shop though.....I'm really tired of "Yes we can! and We sure will!" only to get well, they couldn't really and more bad news to top it off. Least you got your chin up! Welcome to the site from the far west coast SR
 

Texas82GP

Just-a-worm
Apr 3, 2015
7,981
18,676
113
Spring, Texas
Just over a month ago I took my Cutlass in for a carburetor rebuild/tune-up and a transmission shift link seal against my own better judgement. As it seems finding mechanics who work on these cars (and actually can for that matter) has always remained elusive to me, as to why I normally rather do what I can myself. I took it somewhere an hour north of where I lived as I was told about their good reputation for working on classics. Needless to say it took 2 &1/2 weeks for the job to be done?! And When I went to pick up the car he tells me he never got around to the transmission seal (and after I paid) the mechanic looks at me and says, "We have something to tell you". One of the nights my car was in the shop there was a break-in and among the things stolen were, my complete vintage Chevrolet chrome open air cleaner, K&N filter, in addition they scoured the inside of my car and stole my original Bausch & Lomb Raybans down to the Maglite! Well need less to say I was not very happy about this. The mechanic replaced the air cleaner with a similar Edlebrock assembly, but it had no charm for me. And it got worse, when I got home and took of the bullet cap he tightened the new air cleaner down with, I noticed he did not give or install the breather tube attachment onto the air cleaner and just left my breather tube folded down the back of the engine! Really...really.

So needless to say after the dust has settled the Edlebrock air cleaner had to go. And I embarked on a mission, an idea I had for a long time but honestly thought was going to be too hard to track down, crazy, and well foolish. But some how I succeeded and this one just seems to have the charm for me!

Let me know what you think!

View attachment 53056
Looks great! You really have that dual snorkel setup fitting nice. Looks factory. Sorry to hear about the problems but glad it wasn't worse.
 

clean8485

Comic Book Super Hero
Dec 18, 2005
2,860
2,136
113
Ontario, Canada
That air cleaner setup looks good. It must have taken some searching to track it down, because those setups are few & far between here in the great white north.
 
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85442/86buick

G-Body Guru
Feb 12, 2013
746
1,118
93
Perth Country , Ontario
hello ,
in total agreement with all the above comment , so where in Ontario are you ?

Dave
 

Single_Reel

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 20, 2016
7
21
3
Ontario, Canada
Thanks for all the welcoming and feedback thus far! In all I must agree, I'm glad it was not worse...at least the rest of the car was there or the car it's self for that matter. It was quite odd in my logic, probably a quick idiotic smash and grab, in fact I'd imagine if the car was not inside the shop that particular night I might be down a window too! But it did inspire me to go forward with my L69 air cleaner idea! I did a deal of research to find out if there were any installation compatibility issues, and I was quick to find out my AC lines/hoses would pose a problem, more accurately the hard line bends coming off the compressor. Not surprising you need 3rd gen Camaro AC hoses, they have the proper aggressive bends to allow for the driver's side snorkel. After a little magic with the duct mounting at the front and converting the battery to a ratchet strap hold down all that is left is to make the AC hoses look pretty. I measured many times to make sure it looked correct, I was really aiming for the illusion of a "factory" look. And I must agree that going into the project I knew that hardest part would be finding a complete L69 snorkel assembly in very good condition, or one at all. I was very persistent and attacked the search day and night through every avenue, it paid off... with what I would say was pure luck, maybe the universe balancing my loss at the shop, but never the less I paid decent money for the assembly. Even crazier luck it was a 20 minute drive away for where I live (Simcoe county, Ontario)! When I went to go see it I was amazed, I knew I would never find another as nice...while the owner tells me the story that he bought it from a guy who removed it from his Z28 (almost immediately) back in 85' for an open air cleaner! Unreal!

In all the 305 has responded well to the addition and just as I set out to accomplish, all the parts are GM and age appropriate for the car.
 
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85GPLef41

Royal Smart Person
Nov 14, 2008
2,210
159
63
Colorado
dude that dual snorkel set up looks sick!
 

LS WAGON

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jun 10, 2016
20
5
8
Bucyrus, Ohio
Just want to give you a shout out and say I commend you for keeping calm and handling it so well! Pretty sure I could not have done the same. Not sure why his insurance wouldn't have stepped up but that's another issue. Awesome job and the new setup looks great!
 

Single_Reel

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 20, 2016
7
21
3
Ontario, Canada
Here are some detailed pictures showing exactly how I fitted the entire assembly, they also help outline my installation methods I explained earlier. Hope it helps anyone considering the same setup, otherwise hopefully you enjoy! I'm really humbled that many of you have approved of this.
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