# Holley Street Dominator vs Edelbrock Pontiac performer intakes



## gjones (Oct 8, 2012)

Was wondering what intake to run on '71 Pontiac 455- Holley street dominator or Edelbrock Pontiac Performer? Have a 66 326 w/ Edelbrock, changing to '71 455 w/ a Holley intake already on it. Which would be a better choice? (Am pulling the heads on 455 anyway to change valve seals). Do I need specific gaskets to fit the name brands? Also, is there a gasket made to block off the exhaust crossover passages, if so, which ones?(am running electric choke). desperate for answers. Thanks.


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## fasterfiero (Sep 6, 2011)

I had a Holley Street Dominator on a 400, it sucked!!!! , Big ole single plane intake designed for a sbc & re-cast to fit a Pontiac. I went to a stock cast iron. I believe the 67-70 stock intakes are the best setup........ Also, I would say your Edelbrock is better than the Holley ( by FAR )and almost as good as a stock or about the same as a stock intake.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

On a mild to moderate street engine, there is no better performing 4-barrel intake than the factory cast iron dual-plane - preferably the earlier Qjet piece with no EGR - Period. The best you can hope for with any of the after-market dual plane intakes is something that runs "almost as good" as the factory intake. A good single plane intake will stay "in the power" a little higher up into the rpm range, provided you've got the cam to support it, but it will give up some torque at lower rpm compared to the factory dual plane. You've got to take the time to port-match the intake and smooth out the bumps that are a couple inches in from one or two of the ports. There are also a couple of modifications you can make to area at the carb mounting flange. It's worth the effort. You'll have a manifold that's guaranteed to fit, not cause any clearance issues with ram air systems, and will run better than anything else out there on the street.

Felpro 1233 intake gaskets come with provisions to block the heat passages. These are for the larger Ram Air IV intake ports, but I'm sure there's also a Felpro set for regular heads that have the same provision - I just don't have the part number handy.

Bear


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## ALKYGTO (Mar 29, 2010)

National Parts Depot sells an aluminum reproduction of the 68-70 4bbl intake. MANIFOLD INTAKE ALUMINUM | C-3265-218A | NPD 

Its not cheap though at $399!


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## gjones (Oct 8, 2012)

Thanks for the great responses. I would really love to install a correct original intake on this 455, but having two aftermarkets on hand and having already run the Edelbrock on the 326, I was already leaning towards that anyway. (not to mention that Holley intake was painted a hideous FORD puke blue, of which I removed the paint and was in the process of polishing when I noticed a "w" symbol that was surrounded by what looked like Chinese lettering. Double puke. Edelbrock, it is.


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