After the hassle of either working around or having to remove the big original Fiat air cleaner every time I do anything in the engine bay, I decided to fit something a bit more compact.
I went for the oval mesh covered type over the K&N rectangle sandwich, mainly for ease of fitting.
The K&N sandwich would have been with a blank base that would need cutting to shape and size.
Anyway, I like the look of the oval.
Aside from the crankcase breather, fitting was easy.
The problem with the breather was the adapter on the filter was 1/2″ and the pipe 3/4″.
Consensus seems to be that fitting a reducer adapter can cause more problems than it fixes, potentially causing oil leaks back in the case.
I also wasn’t too fussed on the idea of returning this dirty air through the carburettor.
In the end I opted for a K&N breather vent filter – quite a neat installation.
I’m not 100% clear on the theory of how it’s happened but there’s a noticeable increase in power and the overall noise is great with a real throaty rasp.
I guess it’s a combination of all of the recent additions – new fuel pump, regulator, 34ADF carb matched with the air cleaner and the crankcase breather.
Another welcome improvement is better oil pressure shown on the gauge.
This was always a bit flaky and unreliable but now it’s fairly consistent and a definite plus!
Next up on the agenda has to be sorting out that rat’s nest or wiring and pipework in the engine bay….to be continued…