- Home »
- Catalog »
- Air & Fuel Delivery »
- Air Cleaners/Filters »
- Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers
Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers
Pontiac V8 Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers
Buying Back Clearance — Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers for Pontiac V8s
An air cleaner spacer lifts the air cleaner base off the carburetor flange. On a Pontiac V8 that is usually about clearance: raising the base to clear a choke linkage, a tall fuel line fitting, or the top of a throttle body, or getting the element up out of a drop base that is sitting too deep.
Butler stocks aluminum carb spacers in 1/4", 1/2", 3/4", 1" and 1-1/4". Each one has an O-ring seal on the bottom face and a recessed step on top for the air cleaner flange to drop into, so the stack stays located and sealed instead of sliding around on the carb.
Browse Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers Products
Popular Brands:
More About Air Cleaner/Carb Spacers
1. What a spacer actually solves
A spacer is a fitment part. It changes one dimension, and that one dimension is often the difference between a stack that works and one that fouls something.
| Fitting clearance | Fuel inlet fittings, banjo bolts and 45 or 90 degree elbows on a carb or throttle body can sit high enough to interfere with a base. A spacer lifts the base above them. |
| Linkage clearance | Choke and throttle linkage on some carburetors runs right where a drop base wants to be. |
| Element position | If a drop base puts the element lower than you want relative to the carb, a spacer brings the whole assembly back up. |
| Sealing | Each spacer has an O-ring on the bottom, so it seals to the carb flange rather than relying on the air cleaner gasket alone. |
2. Choosing a thickness
Butler stocks five thicknesses, and the right one is whatever the smallest amount is that clears the problem without costing you hood room.
| 1/4" and 1/2" | The usual answer for a fitting or linkage that is just barely touching. Both have the O-ring seal and the recessed lip. |
| 3/4" and 1" | For a taller obstruction, or where you want the element noticeably higher than a drop base puts it. |
| 1-1/4" | The tallest one stocked, with the O-ring seal and recessed lip. Check hood clearance carefully before going this far. |
3. Drop base and shaker limits
Two compatibility notes come straight out of Butler's product data, and both are worth reading before you order.
| Shaker cars | The taller spacers are specifically listed as not for use on cars equipped with shakers. Drop base shaker units only allow up to 7/8" of added height. |
| PTF drop bases | The 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" spacers are noted as working with the PTF drop base, with the caveat that you may have to fit the air cleaner base to the spacer. |
| Add it to your stack math | Spacer thickness goes on top of base height and element height. If the hood was already close, a spacer is the part that closes the gap the wrong way. |
Buy the thinnest spacer that clears what is in the way. Every fraction of an inch you add at the carb flange comes out of the room you have left for filter area.
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.