Ever seen thoes big obnoxious trucks with the Mad Max looking pipe sticking out of the fender and wondered what the hell that thing was? Well, Its called a snorkel, and It's purpose is to reroute fresh air intake into the carb. Why? Let's say you were out wheeling and needed to cross a stream and the water is deeper than your stock intake/carb is tall. As you crossed, your engine would suck water through your existing intake, down into the carb, the engine would die, and you'd be stuck somewhere inevetably near the middle and you would probably be getting wet!
This is where the snorkel comes in. You can drive in deeper water (though I don't recomend it) than you could without it IF its built water tight. I have seen kits sold for as much as $300 bucks for these things! Thats just sick, I dont know about you but I have better things to spend that kind of money on! So this is how I did mine. As you can see by the pictures, my truck gets its fresh air from up near the top of the windshield. The snorkel is constructed of 2 1/2 inch PVC pipe with a slightly larger cap on the top to protect from rain, snow, birds nests etc.
PVC is really coo stuff to work with because it is light, strong, cheap, is available in almost any hardware store, and can easily be cut with an ordinary hand saw. I use a miter box to get the cuts straight. The hardest part of this project is cutting a hole through the fender to route the pipe into the engine compartment. Your not just dealing with a thin sheet of fender here. In my case it went almost 3 inches to get to the inner fender skin. Do yourself a favor and measure this out like 3 or 4 times! I drilled a large hole in the fender, then used a jig saw with a metal cutting bit to cut this hole. I cut it 1/4 inch larger then the 2 1/2 inch pipe so that I could put a "gasket" in between the fender and the pipe. For my "gasket" I used a piece of fuel line slit down the middle. I simply slid the fuel line over the edge of the metal around the hole in the fender to protect the PVC from having a hole chewed in it 2 months later. The fuel line works a lot like that door trim crap you can get at the auto parts store, but fuel line will conform to the tight circumfrence of the hole better. Once you have that done, start cutting your pipe.
In addition to the length of pipe you buy (usually 8ft) you'll also need some 90 degree and some 45 degree bits. These are cool, they slide right over the end of your pipe, look pretty good, and you don't need a pipe bender! Once you have all your pieces cut, piece together your snorkel. Mine consists of like 9 pieces. Once you test fit everything for the 10th time and are content with the fit, mark everything and as much as it hurts, take it all apart. While you were at the hardware store getting materials for this you also got a can of PVC cement.... Didn't you? Ok, smear the cement over the portions of the pipe which will meet. *NOTE* work fast! this stuff sets QUICK and they dont call it "cement" for nothing! ALSO Don't cement the part that goes through your fender you won't be able to get it through once its all together!
Now, induce vomiting, flush your eyes with warm water and lets finish thing. Once its all put together slide it through the hole in your fender, you might smear a little oil on the fuel line to help it slide through. Now you can cement the parts that go on the back side of the fender, see why it wouldn't have gone through now? Grab the two large hose clamps you got while you were out and slide them down the top long part of your snorkel. Find a couple good firm places to mount them to the cab. I used two hose clamps and attached them with self tapping zippy screws. Once the hose clamps are attached to the truck tighten them up. There, It's mounted.
To top it off you'll need a cap that is a little (or a lot - personal prefrence) bigger than your pipe. I used a 3 1/2 inch cap with 4 long self tapping screws to attach mine. Don't let the cap touch the pipe anywhere, sides or top. Especially the top, then it wouldn't get any air! Once this is together you'll need to attach the bottom part that goes thru the fender to your air cleaner. The previous owner lost the heat shield for me, so I cut air cleaner housing just before the vaccum operated door and attached it that. Attached what you ask? I used black, heat resistant, preheat hose found in all different lengths and diameters ant the local Checker. And that's basicaly it!
I wouldn't trust this setup to go scuba diving or anything but it works, it looks cool, only took a few hours, and the whole project only cost 27 bucks! The batteries in my digital camera died as I took these pix, but I promise I will add lots more soon. Good luck! |
