Sam Posey #76

[IRON MAN]

Back in 2014, Hemming's ran an article on Sam Posey's T/A Challenger #76. The article shows pictures of the T/A. The Keith Black engine's single 4 bbl carb air cleaner does not have a base plate that seals against the T/A hood. The carb has a conventional open air cleaner system with chrome lid. Did his racing team find this produced better results than the base plate sealed against the hood scoop? 

[HP2]

I've seen vintage pictures that show an isolated air filter, so I'd say this is just for simplicity sake now that wringing ever last possible pony out of it is not required.

[6bblgt]

did you ever try to find one of these? 

[IRON MAN]

That's only one piece to the puzzle. Part two, the hood plate, is needed to complete the package. I have found both pieces to be like trying to find a distant place located beyond the "borders of the known world."

[RUNCHARGER]

That K&N really looks bad on there.

[IRON MAN]

The air cleaner looks worse than bad... it is fugly! Spectre makes a better 14" air cleaner in a pan with different filter heights. See pic. With a T/A hood-under-scoop plate it could be functional. I've given it some thought because my Challenger  has factory a/c and the original 1970 six-pak T/A base plate will bump into it.

[HP2]

Are we talking race or stock set ups here? The TA and AAR race efforts did not use factory parts for scoop isolation. They  used simple pans and seals. The factory used pieces that allowed air flow while retaining  cold start heating and allowed for the evacuation of water that might  be encountered on the street. These were extensively engineered pieces that were produced in minimal numbers and  abused and thrown away often making them pretty rare.

As to why the current iteration of the #76 uses a non isolated system, you'd probably have to ask the current owner why they do that.

[cuda hunter]

/

[RUNCHARGER]

Ahh: That looks way better!

[IRON MAN]

The Hemming's article states John Miller developed the V-8s for Gurney's AARs and Keith Black built the V8s for Posey's T/As. So one would be comparing apples to oranges when making comparisons of the two.

[cuda hunter]

I see. 
So what I don't see is an original picture of a posey motor circa 1970. 

Anyone have a pic? or two?

[IRON MAN]

I like your plausible explanation. The Hemmings Daily article dated Nov 10th, 2014, is titled "One of two Sam Posey-driven Trans-Am 1970 Dodge Challengers heads to auction."

[6bblgt]

here's a couple engine pics from the '70 Trans Am season

Bridgehampton, NY (Marlboro 200) June 21, 1970
Sam POSEY Challenger DNF 20th
Gerald ROBINSON Barracuda DNF 21st
Swede SAVAGE Barracuda DNF 22nd

Watkins Glen, NY August 16, 1970
Swede SAVAGE Barracuda 6th
Sam POSEY Challenger DNF 29th

[cuda hunter]

Both the dodge and the plymouth top plates look very different than the one Ironman pictured.

The ironman one looks to have been made by factory due to the provisions on both sides (squarish cutouts), it has a rounded inner that points up towards the hood. 
  Whereas the other ones appear to come straight down 90* from the top plate.  They also look to be riveted far less than the ironman one.

  Also, it appears that the t/a top plate is larger than the aar top plate.

  So how many of those top plates would have been produced over the period of the t/a and aar?

[RUNCHARGER]

Great shots 6bbl. Race cars evolved, sometimes if they fabbed 6 air cleaners each one may have been different.