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Air Cleaner Bases
Pontiac V8 Air Cleaner Bases
Hood Clearance First — Air Cleaner Bases for Pontiac V8s
The air cleaner base is the part that decides whether the hood closes. It seals to the 5-1/8" carb or throttle body flange and sets how high the element and lid sit above it, so a flat base and a 1-1/8" drop base with the same element are two very different stack heights on a Pontiac V8.
Butler stocks 14" round steel bases in flat, 7/8" drop and 1-1/8" drop in chrome or black, plus Holley Sniper 1" drop base plates in chrome or black for Sniper EFI throttle bodies. Add your own element and lid, or use one to change the height of an assembly you already own.
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1. Flat, 7/8" drop or 1-1/8" drop
All three bases Butler stocks in steel are 14" round with a 5-1/8" carburetor flange. The only thing separating them is where the filter sealing surface sits relative to that flange.
| Flat base | The element sits on top of the carb flange. It is the tallest stack for a given element and the base some carburetors specifically require. |
| 7/8" drop | Sinks the element 7/8" down around the carb, which is the amount most Pontiac drop-base setups are built around. This is also the depth the drop-base shaker units allow. |
| 1-1/8" drop | The deepest of the three at 1.125", for the tightest hoods or the tallest elements. Verify it clears the fuel line fittings and the choke linkage before you commit. |
| Finish | Each drop depth is available in steel with a chrome or black finish. |
2. Sniper EFI base plates
A throttle body is not a carburetor, and the fuel fittings are in a different place. Holley builds a base specifically for that.
| 1" drop, contoured | The Sniper EFI base plates are a 1" drop designed around Sniper EFI, with clearances cut for the front-mounted fuel inlets on Sniper 4150 four-barrel throttle bodies. |
| Fits a 5-1/8" neck | It works on carbs and throttle bodies with a 5-1/8" neck generally, and on Sniper 4150 and Sniper 2300 specifically. |
| Base only | These are sold as base plates. You add your own element and lid, and they come in chrome or black to match the rest of the stack. |
3. The fitment traps
Two of these come up constantly on Pontiac builds, and both are cheap to avoid and expensive to discover after the hood is down.
| Edelbrock and Carter AFB | Billet Specialties specifies a flat base, part RP1508, for Edelbrock and Carter AFB carburetors rather than a drop base. If you run one of those carbs, plan on the flat base. |
| Shaker cars | Drop-base shaker units only allow up to 7/8" of additional height, so do not stack a tall spacer under one. |
| Not for Dominator | As with the assemblies, the 5-1/8" bases here are not a Dominator-flange part. |
Measure before you buy. Bolt the intake and the carb or throttle body down, set a straightedge across the fenders, and figure out what you actually have to work with. The base is the cheapest way to buy back an inch of it.
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.