[540Hotrod]

I was at the Pate Swap Meet in Dallas last weekend. I was there to pick up a new car trailer I had ordered. Anyway, while wandering around, I saw a really nice looking Edelbrock C-454 intake for sale. So I had to have it!

Not exactly sure what I will do with it...it's really not suited for my 540 in it's current state...but it will get used somewhere someday. It's in perfect shape, all threads good and no porting has been done to it.

For those of you unfamiliar with them...it's an old dual plane that resembles the factory 396/427 aluminum intakes. Edelbrock made a C-396 that was for oval ports with a 4150 Holley. Then there was the C-427...it was for rectangular ports with a 4150 Holley. Then the C-454 was for rectangular ports with a Dominator. They look like the factory ones, but the runners and plenum are much bigger.

Many years ago we did a back to back test on a low 10 sec 454" Camaro drag car. We were running the C-454 with a 1050 Dominator. The Weiand Team G single planes had just come out and were the rage....everyone just HAD to have them! So we took the Camaro to the track, made a few baseline tests and then installed the new Team G. After a lot of jetting and trying different tuning, our experience was that the C-454 was a better intake for that car. The Team G ran well and has proven over the years to be a good design, but the C-454 ran identical MPH as well as slightly better ET's. You could hear the difference right off the line in the response of the engine.

I had friends running high 9's with the C-454's back then.

So anyway, just had to have it! Might be fun to play with!


JIM

 

[BillsCamino]

Nice intake...great find! :thumbsup:

 

[The_Punisher_454]

Those things kick ass! An idea that sort of faded away in the aftermarket for about a decade and a half, and was then "re-discovered" with the "innovate" new Preformer RPM series.

I had an old used C-396 for a while and loved it! kicked ass over a TorquerII as well as a VictorJR on my 396.

Funny how how old ideas get re-cycled and called new.

 

[Bomber '67]

I run one of those port matched on my 496, the power and performance of that manifold is very nice. I actually have several of them sitting in my garage. That manifold will pull real well through 7,000 rpm on engines ~ 500 cubes and less. I wouldn't run one on a 540. On my 496 the power is only down 14 hp at 7,000 rpm vs peak at ~ 6,550 rpm.

Thomas

 

[71454Chevelle]

Hey Guys,

How would one of those 4150 intakes (C-396 or C-427) stack up to a comparable RPM or RPM AirGap?

 

[Mike Feudo]

We ran one on assorted combo's. Always worked well on anything from a 4000 station wagon to an 8sec dragster. Like you we tried the Team G on the dragster and found it to be far too much trouble for a bracket car. With the change back to the C-454 we were able to go from 4.56s to 4.11s and have it run exactly the same as the Team G but not be nearly as hard on the motor.

 

[engineguy]

We used to build a lot of BBC engines for marine use, in flat bottom boats - both v-drive and jet drive. The C-454 manifold was the best choice for these applications and out-performed Weiand Team G on 468 engines with a 1050 or 1150 Dominator and fairly mild roller cam.

 

[427L88]

Cool, never saw a 454. Love the 427.

Yeah, its like fishing lures I guess, always newer/better. Likely very same.

 

[Bomber '67]

As to the C427 vs. an Air Gap or Performer RPM: the C427 should have just a little more plenum volume, but the A/G & RPM will have a better runner shape.

The C454 stands alone - there are no other large plenum 4500 series dual plane intakes that I can think of.

Thomas

 

[Guest]

Question???

Just how just a rect port Stealth fall in here??

Anybody know....................

And I'd never heard of a C 454 intake before so learn something everyday!

pdq67

PS., I think I did see a cheap NEW oval port Strip Dom. with a Dom. bolt pattern top on it one time at a big Swap Meet once.......... Plenum looked as big as a "mop-bucket"!!

Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

 

[427L88]

PDQ, to my mind's eye, the C427 and the Weiand stealth are just slight variations in the original Winters GM high rise.

 

[Bomber '67]

The Stealth will have more plenum volume than the GM intake, should carry power to a higher rpm. I think the C427 has less plenum volume than the stealth.

There is enough "if" factors in manifolds that even with all the theoretical math, that many engine builders still swap off manifolds to see how an engine reacts to differences in plenum and runner design.

Thomas

 

[Demon'73]

no parts wanted ads in tech forums, please use the free classifieds.

 

[ratuned]

i run a c-396 intake on a mild 454. i emailed edelbrock tech asking about upgrading to a performer rpm. his reply was that he would use the old intake and he didn't think i would feel a difference. i do block the heat risers and use a splash shield. mike

 

[Bob West]

No way a dual plane can run that good

 

[BillsCamino]

Pssst...this original post is over 4 years old...

 

[Bob West]

I saw that Bill, it seems to fit right into some other discussions going on right about now

 

[40Coupe]

Jim's testing must have been seriously flawed.

 

[Demon'73]

no parts wanted ads in tech forums, please use the free classifieds.

opp sorry.

 

[540Hotrod]

Wow...here's an oldie huh?

If you recall...I tested this intake on a 555" motor last year. With a solid flat tappet and an out of the box Holley 1150 it made 740HP@6200 in untouched form. There was a pretty big mismatch to the Dart 335 heads.

It was down about 15-20 HP against a seriously ported Wilson Vic Jr and a 1000 HP Holley.

A little work with a grinder would have evened things a little. Obviously a 555" is a little big for what it was designed for..but it wasn't terrible, fits under hoods and would be great for a 496 sized combo I bet.

I understand you will be seeing at least one of them resurface this year with a big name engine builder in the Engine Master's competition!

JIM