I have always heard that the turantula intake is the best sbc intake out there but i was wondering if this is an actual turantula

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...155&rd=1,1

 

personaly ive never seen one thats why im asking

 

looks exactly like the intake manifold my uncle took off my vette...so...pretty much what i'm saying is...it looks stock to me...

 

doesnt look like my stock intake

 

Define what makes it the best? I have built a number of engines and all intakes have their place and need to be installed on the proper combination eg . tunnel ram on a stock 350 , major throttle lag off the bottom and undriveable on the street, the runners would be too long and cause this , but the same engine could see improvements from a duel plane Offy . This said if you have built an engine witha mild cam ,headers and carb the duel plane Offy will net nice gains the stock intake would be restictive. a more pro street intake like a street master or torquer will flow betterat higher RPM ( cam choice considerations) If you are changing things try to match all your parts and remember "Air in ,Air out " if you improve these two things your engine will be a happy camper and so will you .

 

I'm not sure there was one "tarantula" manifold, I heard the term used years ago for any number of rise rise big port intakes. Like crash says, it's not necessarily better, just different: with the right cam, heads, and carb, it might produce more power, at least in certain bands, in others it might not. If the price is right (cheap) it might be worth buying and playing with. The problem is that, even assuming it is not warped, cracked,etc., and that it will fit your particular heads, unless you know exactly what it was meant for originally (what cubes, what heads, what carb, what cam, ignition advance curve, etc.) you're playing a guessing game with it and it might not work well.
Generally I think its best to buy a more modern aftermarket intake and carb set up, etc., because you can talk to Edlebrook or whoever about what its meant for and find all that out on it.

 

The e-bay item was an Edelbrock and was known as the Trantula. Holley made a couple manifolds that were similar. The Strip Dominator and the Street Dominator (Old Style). They are all aftermarket manifolds and would not have been a stock item on any production car. The strip and street dominator manifolds had straight runners. The top of the Strip Dominator was twisted so the carb would mount at a 30 degree angle. The Street Dominator was a little shorter and the carb mounted conventionally. I had a Street Dominator on my 75 Camaro that I sold last year. I had the car and manifold since 1983.

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