under hood clearance

[mbouse]

OK, who has a great method for determining how (for sure) much clearance i have between my air breather and the insulated hood?

i've gotta 1800 intake and a 32/36 carb on a two litre with a big bump hood. i wanna keep the 2" filter element on my "lunch box" breather, and wanna experiement with different size spacers between the carb and the intake.

but, i don't wanna crush the breather, or crap the carburetor when i drop the hood.

my daughter won't let me drop the bambino under the hood with a flashlight to hear his report

[So Cal Mark]

apply a large mound of whipped cream to the air cleaner, close, then open the hood and measure the height of the whipped cream. Then have dessert

[manoa matt]

If you got kids then do you have playdough, modeling clay or silly puddy? How about getting the "Mothers clay bar, you won't regret it, your paint will be as smooth as glass.

[Ernie]

I recall Denise said somewhere in one of the forums she used a ball of tin foil. I suppose you would measure how tall it is, close the hood, and measure again.

Ernie

[mdrburchette]

Yep, only because I couldn't find any playdoh in the house that wasn't hard as a brick. It worked just fine.

[mbouse]

the play-do trick worked. i snuck some of the grandkids stash out to the garage with a piece of saran wrap, rolled the play-do in the saran wrap and set the cone on top of the air breather.

i was surprised how well that little tidbit worked! i have 3" of clearance with my current set up; which calculates to plenty of room for a 1-2" spacer beneath the carb...which was the reason to need to know.

when i was done, i ditched the saran wrap and snuck the play-do back into the house.

[racydave]

Poor Mr. Bill! OOOOO! Sluggo strikes again...

[TulsaSpider]

Mike, Just make sure your motor doesn't move under torque!

[mdrburchette]

You could always cut a hole in the hood for clearance.
Or do what I did and have a solid left motor mount. This minimizes the torque movement.