THE GREAT AIR CLEANER DEBATE

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

I saw this car and didn't think much, just another one of the *VERY RARE* VIP's.
Texas located car but a little rust showing in the rear quarters so could be a transplant.
Seems to be pretty complete and original, 383 Commando (says Super Commando in Ad title) that's a plus but not much in the line of engine bay pictures so I passed over. It's comes back in another search and I noticed something unusual for a VIP. A no snorkel air cleaner.

Debate...

https://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/d/red-oak-1968-plymouth-vip-383-super/7119051949.html

 

[marko]

i would guess someone has put an air cleaner from a 440 Magnum on it

 

[69 300 vert]

I can't remember ever seeing a C body with an unsilenced air cleaner. Mid 1970's we had a customer who had a really loaded '68 VIP, 440 / 375 hp, ATC A/C, tilt / telescope, cruise, PW, PS, PL, disk brakes. Had the dual skorkel air cleaner. It was a white 4 dr HT similar to the example above.

 

[odcics2]

No debate!!
Someone put that breather on in the past 50 years!!

 

[69 300 vert]

Now I recall another car, again mid '70's. I bought parts off it on the other side of town. A '68 Fury III, H code engine, like the one above, had the dual snorkel air cleaner. I wanted to buy it but he wanted to sell it with the engine. Snorkels were not tapered like the above pictured, just round with bells on the end of the snorkels.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

No debate!!
Someone put that breather on in the past 50 years!!

I don't know, the reason I posted it up is that overall rust/patina leads me to believe it's the original air cleaner.

Patina Don't Lie

Even the engine chart above for the 440 Magnum says in the text double snorkel air cleaner but the picture shows a un-silenced or Road Runner air cleaner.

I can remember this debate and straining the memory brain cells as to what my 2nd 1968 PK21 with a 4bbl 440 had original back in 1971 when I got it was a un-silenced air cleaner as after putting the 440 6bbl in it I can remember using the air cleaner cover to sort out nuts & bolts and as a small parts wash pan. Too bad there aren't more pictures of the engine bay on this listing.

 

[Darter6]

Not sayin' it was done but working at a Dodge Dealership back in the 60's-70's we swapped parts all the time. Wheels/tires were the biggest but lots of things that the customer wanted.So a air cleaner swap,could have happened even when the car was new.Remember doing a mid 70's 400 CI truck swap 2bbl to a 4bbl. Guess where we got it ? a 69Road Runner that was on the trade in lot ! Somebody got a one of none 69 RR with a 2bbl.
Dodge trucks got the most swapped parts back then.
Favorite saying was "Robbin' Peter to pay Paul".

 

[PH27L7]

Now I recall another car, again mid '70's. I bought parts off it on the other side of town. A '68 Fury III, H code engine, like the one above, had the dual snorkel air cleaner. I wanted to buy it but he wanted to sell it with the engine. Snorkels were not tapered like the above pictured, just round with bells on the end of the snorkels.

Had a 68 Newport H code sedan with the same air cleaner!

Have had at least 2 cars that had air cleaners that did not match factory literature. Don't believe the assembly line workers cared a great deal on whether people would fuss over what was correct 50 years on, they threw on what was available. I have a 70 RR semi-survivor that has a litany of left over '69 parts including the air cleaner cover. It was an early build at the LA plant which was it's final year of production. Believe they just used up what they had.

 

[shooter65]

I would like to know the Scheduled Production Date or better yet, the engine build date. I think if the car is a late production car, it's highly likely that it is correct and original because, as we've all seen, late and early SPD cars have features from next or previous year respectively. The engine certainly looks consistent with the rest of the engine bay and unmolested.

From The 1970 Hamtramck Registry Library Page (1970 - 1974)

Looking at the 1968 Plymouth Dealership Data Book, it indicates that it should be a dual snorkel.

The 1969 Plymouth Dealership Data Book does show it was an Un-silanced air cleaner.

 

[FURYGT]

It looks like this VIP is a 383 2 barrel car so it would have come from the factory with a single snorkel air cleaner. In '68 & '69 a 383 hood ornament with a black background was used on the 383 2 barrel cars and the 383 4 barrel cars had a red background around the "383". This hood ornament looks like faded black to me.

A non-silenced air cleaner such as the one depicted was the factory air cleaner on a '68 Sport Fury L code 440 car. California cars may have gotten the dual snorkel air cleaner. There also may have been a mid-year change on the L code Fury models but I'd have to do some research on that.

 

[LeBaron1973]

I can't remember ever seeing a C body with an unsilenced air cleaner. Mid 1970's we had a customer who had a really loaded '68 VIP, 440 / 375 hp, ATC A/C, tilt / telescope, cruise, PW, PS, PL, disk brakes. Had the dual skorkel air cleaner. It was a white 4 dr HT similar to the example above.

What does PL refer to??? Must have been some car.

 

[commando1]

power door locks

 

[69 300 vert]

Power locks. it was quite memorable, most cars we got to work on were sales lot type cars, ordered by dealers for the mass market. We had a few special order or loaded cars that came through which made them memorable to me. An H code '68 Sport Fury, a '74 GP SJ, '68 Coronet RT 440 4 speed dual point car. 40 plus year old memories are fading but those still stand out.

My '68 Fury III convertible had ATC, PS, PB, AM radio and not much else, not even the light package. So I always noted the better equipped ones. And tried to get what I was missing at the junk yard, 5 year old cars were plentiful then. Picked up my AM/FM for $15.00. I think I paid $50 for the tilt / telescope column. The upper bearing in my column had gone bad and I didn't want to learn to work on columns.

 

[LeBaron1973]

Thx for the responses, I imagine if was a lot of extra $$$$ optioning up the car, though no doubt quite pleasant to drive.

 

[shooter65]

It looks like this VIP is a 383 2 barrel car so it would have come from the factory with a single snorkel air cleaner. In '68 & '69 a 383 hood ornament with a black background was used on the 383 2 barrel cars and the 383 4 barrel cars had a red background around the "383". This hood ornament looks like faded black to me.

A non-silenced air cleaner such as the one depicted was the factory air cleaner on a '68 Sport Fury L code 440 car. California cars may have gotten the dual snorkel air cleaner. There also may have been a mid-year change on the L code Fury models but I'd have to do some research on that.

Good eye, I completely missed that.