Intakes & Accessories
Pontiac V8 Intakes & Accessories
Feed It Right — Intakes & Accessories for Pontiac V8s
Intakes & Accessories is where a Pontiac V8 either breathes or gets choked. The manifold sets the rpm range the engine wants to live in, the carb pad height decides whether the hood closes, and the port face decides how cleanly air and fuel make the turn into the cylinder head. A stock rebuild and a ported-head stroker need very different castings.
Butler carries the full Edelbrock Pontiac line, from the Performer and Performer RPM through Torker II, Victor, Victor Jr. and Super Victor EFI, plus Butler's own Hurricane, Crosswind, Northwind and Polar Wind castings, KRE manifolds, CNC port matching done in house, drop base shaker assemblies, carb spacers, adapters and throttle linkage.
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1. Dual plane or single plane: pick the rpm range first
Edelbrock publishes an operating range for every Pontiac manifold, and that range is the honest way to choose. Butler stocks the whole line for 326-455.
| Performer | Dual plane, idle to 5500 rpm, for 1965-79 Pontiac 326-455. A good selection for stock or slightly modified heads, and it clears a stock hood. Satin or black, non-EGR or EGR, and the non-EGR piece takes a 4150 Holley or a Q-Jet spread bore pattern. |
| Performer RPM | Dual plane, high rise, 1500 to 6500 rpm, with a 180 degree firing order, larger plenum and larger runners to match high lift cams and free flowing exhaust. Dual flange for Q-Jet or Holley 4150, and it clears an HEI. It is 7/8 in. taller than stock. |
| Torker II | Single plane, low rise, 2500 to 6500 rpm, aimed at 389, 400 and 428 engines with ported heads that demand airflow. It works with Ram Air IV heads and stands .400 in. taller than stock. Also in EFI. |
| Victor family | Victor for standard flange carbs, a second Victor for 4500 series, Victor Jr. in carbureted or throttle body EFI and in multi-port EFI, and Super Victor EFI. Race territory, and it assumes a ported head and a big cam. |
| Multi-carb | Edelbrock's Dual-Quad reproduces the original P-65 low rise 2 x 4, idle to 5500 rpm, on the Carter AFB pattern. Read the fine print: no HEI, no Holley carbs, and it needs an aluminum valley pan or a modified stock pan. Offenhauser offers a low rise 2 x 4 for 1965 and up that requires a universal linkage kit, not included. |
2. Hood clearance and the Trans Am Shaker
More Pontiac intake returns come from hood clearance than from performance. Sort it out before you buy.
| Hurricane | Butler's answer for anything with a Shaker or a low hood. It holds stock carb height and angle, flows up to 300 cfm, has a dual flange for 4150 and Quadrajet, a deleted heat crossover and cast in bosses for nitrous injectors. It is an as-cast port match to the standard Pontiac port with enough material for a Ram Air IV port match, though it may not have enough to seal on a ported Edelbrock head. |
| Drop base shaker assemblies | The other way to keep a taller intake. Butler stocks PTF drop bases with a 3 in. washable cone element for 1973-79 Trans Am 326-455 running the Performer RPM, Victor Jr. or Northwind NW-4150 with a Q-Jet or Holley, a tall 4 in. version for engines over 450 hp that pairs with the Mega Scoop, and Blocker drop bases for Victor intakes on 1970-76 and 1977-79 Firebird and Trans Am. |
| Read the fitment notes | The PTF base works only on a Pontiac engine with a Pontiac 400/455 Shaker, not a 301, and not a 350 Rocket, 455 Olds or 305/350 small block Chevy Shaker even if the car left the factory with one. Those have different heights, offsets and base plates. You must cut the Shaker for the air inlet, it will not work on a 74 GTO, and it is not for high port heads. The fiberglass Mega Scoop, 1-1/4 in. taller and 1 in. wider than stock, is offered in 70-76 and 77-81 styles. |
3. Butler CNC port matching, done in house
This is the work that separates a bolt-on manifold from a matched top end, and it is the most valuable thing on this page.
| Why it is needed | An intake manifold and a cylinder head are cast separately and never machined to meet each other. Even a brand new intake and brand new Edelbrock heads carry extra stock and a mismatch at the port face, leaving a step right at the doorway to the cylinder, exactly where you least want turbulence. |
| Why hand grinding is not the answer | For years the only fix was a gasket scribe and a die grinder: slow, inconsistent side to side, and easy to over-grind into a reversion step that costs flow. |
| How Butler does it | Every port match is modeled in 3D from the actual head port, programmed into repeatable toolpaths and cut on a 5-axis Haas UMC machining center with fixturing that locates every manifold the same way. Each opening is machined to size and shape, then blended back into the casting so the transition is gradual and identical on all eight ports. |
| What you can order matched | Manifolds port matched to out-of-box Edelbrock D-port and round-port heads, to Butler 310/315/325 or 340 CNC heads, to Butler wide port heads with plenum work, to Victor pro port heads, or to your own ported heads. Port matching is also sold as a standalone service for the Crosswind, Performer, Performer RPM, Torker II, Victor, Hurricane and Tomahawk, and the KRE Northwind 4150, Polarwind and Tradewind. |
4. Butler and KRE castings
Beyond the Edelbrock line, Butler stocks manifolds built for Pontiac guys who have outgrown a catalog part.
| Crosswind | Based on the Performer RPM casting, in satin or black powder coat, heat crossover deleted and blocked, dual pattern for Holley 4150 and Q-Jet, 7/8 in. taller than stock. Important limit: the port size suits port-matched out-of-box Edelbrock or cast iron heads only, not Butler CNC ported 310, 325 or 340 cfm heads. |
| Northwind | In 4150 and 4500 flanges, each with or without the water crossover, and available port matched to Butler 310/315/325 or 340 CNC heads, wide port heads with plenum work, or your ported heads. |
| Polar Wind | A 4500 series manifold for Edelbrock wide port and KRE 380-plus cfm heads, with versions port matched to Butler wide port or Victor pro port heads. |
| Valley pan clearance | Butler's warning on the Crosswind applies broadly. Check valley pan clearance, because casting differences and block deck heights vary. If the intake sits low, custom Butler gaskets from Athena can raise it. |
5. Air optimizers, turtles and the parts around the carb
Single plane manifolds trade low speed fuel distribution for top end airflow. These parts buy some of it back.
| Billet fuel and airflow equalizers | Butler makes two sizes, one for the Hurricane and one for the Northwind, Torker II and Victor. They aid atomization and distribution of fuel, especially at lower rpm, on street and street/strip engines with high flow intakes, heads and larger cams. They bolt through the bottom of the plenum and come drilled and tapped with the 5/16 bolt included. |
| Intake turtles | Turtles for the 850 or 1050 Victor, Torker II and NW4150, and for the Warrior, for better fuel distribution to each runner. |
| Spacers and adapters | RPC aluminum air cleaner spacers from 1/4 in. through 1-1/4 in., an Edelbrock 1 in. cloverleaf spacer for the Victor, Moroso open spacers for 4150/4160 and 4500 Dominator, and square-bore to spread-bore adapter plates. |
| Linkage | Holley throttle stud kits in GM long and short, kickdown brackets for 200R4 and 700R4, Speedmaster cable bracket kits with return springs, a FAST universal EFI or carb throttle and trans cable mount, and 24 in. and 36 in. throttle cables. |
6. Fitment rules worth memorizing
A few constants keep coming up on Pontiac intake orders.
| Pre-1965 heads | The Performer RPM, Hurricane and Crosswind will not fit pre-1965 heads. |
| Line exceptions | The Edelbrock Pontiac manifolds are designed for 1965-79 326-455 and specifically exclude the Ram Air V and the 265/301 V8. |
| Head match | Port size is not universal. Matching the manifold to the head you actually own is the point of the port matching service. |
Start with the hood and the heads. Those two facts eliminate most of the catalog, and what is left comes down to how high you plan to turn the engine. Butler can port match whatever you land on before it ships.
Drop Base Air Cleaners for Pontiac TA Shakers Air Optimizers/Turtles Edelbrock Intakes Polar Wind and BOP Intake Crosswind/Hurricane/Tomahawk Intake Intake and Carb Spacers Northwind Intakes Linkage and Linkage Adapers
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.