My '68 Barracuda convertible has undergone significant changes from the Slant 6 car it started out life with over the last decade + including dropping in a 500 hp 2000 EFI'd Magnum based 408" stroker with massaged Eddie heads, moderate Hyd roller cam ground on 108* LSA an port matched Airgap intake, 45 lbs an hr Ford Racing injectors and a Big Gulp throttle body.

The throttle body to hood clearance is limited due to the adapter that is needed to fit the 2bbl throttle body onto the 4bbl intake. I had been running a low profile Jeep Cherokee air hat with a short factory corrugated tube hooked to a K&N air filter until I could figure out something better. I didn't realize how restrictive this set-up is until a well-versed Magnum swapping member from A-Bodies only pointed it out. The inside diameter of this set-up is only 3" at the narrowest point inside the air-hat feed. It was a pretty restrictive set-up for even a stock 5.2 Magnum, but it kept the dirt out of the motor.

I stumbled a crossed a cool small company (RamAirBox.com) that makes old school airbox systems that feed cooler air from outside the engine compartment to the engine. After calling them and talking with the owner, I ordered up one of their airboxes and picked-up the appropriate K&N filter from Summit.


The installation was quick and simple. I didn't have access to the front end of the car to source cooler air without putting the battery in the truck and moving my surge tank, so I cut two 4" holes into my cowl as a source the cooler air.

I had the car out for a little testing last night and it is noticeably quicker in all gears. If I had a bit more hood clearance, I would have ordered the next size larger airbox and gained even more flow. As it is, the new system made enough of a difference for a significant seat of the pants performance improvement to more than justify the $400 expense. Even at that price, the hp per dollar ratio is some of the cheapest power I've bought and paid for on this car.