Printable View
The airbox? Isn't yours the WS6 style? I have the WS6 top piece from Mark's car but it doesn't fit onto the Firehawk lower box unfortunately. The one that says Firehawk at the top is so flimsy it's a joke.Quote:
Originally Posted by SSlowBoat
I have one of those SLP leather shift knobs people go ape for. Gotta list that too lol.
The hood and airbox on the Formula are the SLP "Ram Air HO" package. The hood and airbox were identical to the 96+ WS6 items, except the lid did not have the "Ram Air" and "Pontiac" logos cast in and the lid did not have the rectangular rubber seal glued to it. Instead SLP supplied a couple lengths of weatherstripping that I applied to the hood. I had a genuine WS6 box at the time (received it in trade for some other parts???) and otherwise the genuine WS6 box and the Ram Air HO box were identical.
I cut the grid out of the lid, then reinforced it with thin threaded rods running front to back, because it would distort without them. The outlet of the box was drilled and reinforced for two nitrous nozzles. The engine was running speed-density so it had a 3" filler piece for the missing MAF sensor. Originally I ran the SLP bellows between the filler and the TB. But and the difference in elevation and the distortion appeared to be negative with regard to air flow. So I tried the Fernco, and it worked well. The baffles were also cut out of the area behind the hood nostrils. If the car was sitting outside, or on the trailer in the rain, I had a foam plug to keep the water out.
As far as I know the airbox was free of damage when I sold the car in 2022, and it had been in place for 22 years at that point.
Attachment 40612
My Camaro was originally a SLP SS. A original ram air box gets stupid money on these too. All of the SLP stuff was long gone when I bought it. It was a nitrous drag car in it's earlier life. I took the shifter with the leather knob out and put in a slightly longer Hurst stick and black knob. The original "joy stick" was just a little short for me as far as leverage on gear changes. I kept missing 3rd and sticking it in 5th. All thats left of the SLP options is the door and under hood stickers.
So the Firehawk box is something entirely different and the uppers/lowers do not swap with the later WS6 stuff. There are no manufacturer, material, and date codes on the earlier 93-95 boxes whereas the later WS6 parts are covered in markings and look like legit OEM parts. My guess is that SLP had low volume tooling made without GM's involvement on the earlier parts, hence the lack of markings as this is a huge no-no in the OEM world and can create problems with importing/exporting vehicles and parts globally (look up IMDS). I'm guessing GM stepped in with the reintroduction of the WS6, redesigned the airbox to make it less shitty, and moved production to Canada where our cars were made. If you think the WS6 stuff is junky, you'd be amazed at how much worse the SLP parts are. Little Tikes cars feel more robust than this.
Here's what the WS6 box looks like. Notice 4 fasteners at the top of the lid and 5 nubs/slots at the bottom so the forces are distributed better throughout the part. Also, notice how the lower edge of the upper lid has a radius on it right under where it says "Pontiac" and "Ram Air." This is a very subtle design change, but it really stiffens up the front wall where the nubs/slots are.
Attachment 40613
This is the Firehawk airbox. Notice there are only 2 fasteners at the top and 3 large nubs/slots at the bottom.
Attachment 40614
Firehawk upper lid on the top and the WS6 style on the bottom. The top plane of the lid itself is nearly wide open on the Firehawk box and is flimsy as hell whereas the WS6 piece is very stiff in comparison. Also notice the lack of radius near the front wall where the nubs are, see how insanely bowed it is. If you look closely at the Firehawk lid, you can see where some genius PO screwed deck screws into the lower corners since the nubs wouldn't hold the lower edge down.
Attachment 40615
Both of these airboxes use the same C4 Corvette filter. The WS6 box is perfectly sized for this and clamps down the edges fine. The Firehawk box is too wide and doesn't clamp the smaller edges of the filter well... if at all.
Attachment 40616
I plan on reconditioning this one and modifying it to actually seal, then sending it to eBayland where it belongs.
The irony of these early SLP parts is that they're actually hot garbage. The hood was a similar story since it delaminated and the 2OTL looked like it was bent and welded by Stevie Wonder.
In other news, I got the RE71RSs mounted. Caddy was doing SUV duty lol.
Attachment 40617
Attachment 40618
Dam, that caddy looks clean as hell!
Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
Love the Caddy-hauler!
Cool info on the air boxes too, I've always coveted the SLP stuff, but I guess that wasn't warranted. I've never been able to get a clear answer on what my airbox is. It has the attachment points of the WS6 box but doesn't look like the one you pictured and doesn't have any logos on it. Given my bird is a '95, someone must have added it and the hood after the fact.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...6f53b196_c.jpgDSC_0005 by Rented Mule, on Flickr
That looks like mine did (post #382) before I cut the grid out of the top. It looks just like the WS6 box without the logos. Came with the SLP "Ram Air HO" aftermarket hood, which was totally identical to the 96/97 Ram Air hood, with different decals, and without the big rubber/foam molded sealing gasket. Bought it direct from SLP in Toms River. As noted, I had a real WS6 box with the logos that I got in trade for some wheels/tires. They were identical except for the logos. I didn't look for part numbers or markings inside. Sold it, because had no need for it.Quote:
Originally Posted by rentedmule
Awesome, thanks for the info. There's a seal on the underside of my hood that matches up with the box.
Ditto... I explained that in post #382. That's the cheap weatherstripping that was included with the SLP hood/airbox.
Attachment 40619
The hood baffles have been cut out.