I just bought the truck and would like to open up the intake airflow a little. It has the factory housing on it now. I thought about putting an open element on it but did not know if the heat would make for too warm of an air charge. Also since the factory housing has the PCV, heat riser coming from the passenger exhaust manifold, etc I did not know how that may work. Ideas or comments?

I also thought about plumbing some ducting from the grill to hook up to the open end on the factory housing. Has anyone got any links or pictures of a homegrown air duct kit attached to the factory housing? Joe Mcgee cold air intake.

 

Lots of vehicles use a duct to get air from outside the engine compartment. You can get the ducting at auto parts stores. Think mid '70s and later, '80s for sure.

While the open element idea seems good, they get dirty quicker due to all the goo thrown at them by the fan, and the PCV needs to function correctly or you will have goo inside the valve covers.

However, there are ways to do the PCV with an open element, and ways to shield the front of the open element. BUT, as you note, no cold air them.

 

On my old F150 83 302 and a couple of chevys I just went to the JY and picked up an extra snorkel and hose. A few minutes with a hole saw and self tapping screws and I had a dual snorkel system.
regards
rikard

 

Got pictures of this?

 

No that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away. At the JY I picked up a spare air cleaner after my original was damaged. After seeing a friends 50s Olds that had the dual snorkel set up I had to have it for my 63 Chevy Bel Air 9CI wagon.
After drilling out the rivets on the snorkel I placed it on the opposite side about 45 deg from the original, marked it and used a hole saw and cut two holes to match the opening of the snorkel. I used sheet metal screws to attach the snorkel. A quick rattle can paint job and I was done. I did this on several other vehicles as it always would get a positive reaction when opening the hood, and I ended up making a couple for friends.
I did the same to my 83 Ford. and connected the extra hose to the opposite side of the radiator.
BTW there was no real increase in performance except on a couple of vans that had real restrictive air intakes. Having dual snorkels with heat stoves did help with cold weather wamups especially on the mid 80s emission carbs.
Happy New Year
rikard.

 

Nothin wrong with the old open element filters. I've run em for years and they don't get dirty any faster than anything else. Really depends on how and where you drive it. MrGasket makes one (P/N 1480) that's a dead ringer for the old 289 Hi-po unit. K&N makes filters that fit it.