Hey Guys, I just ran across a 1957 chevy dual quad batwing air cleaner. I am curious if anyone knows how to determine if a batwing air cleaner is an original or reproduction ? I know that at the moment no one is making them but in the past there have been some reproductions available. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
I am sorry to say that I do not have any photos of it yet. I am actually buying a complete 1957 chevy 283 that is built to 270 hp specs. I may be able to get photos this weekend.
I'm not positive but I think the early (10-20yrs ago) where fibergl***. Somebody ought to know more. I had the entire engine with aircleaner in my 36 Willys P/U truck and sold it for around $200.00 in the mid 70s. Pat
I only remember a fibergl*** repo also. The Cadillac batwing was slightly larger and some were cut down to fit Chevy's.
This is the only picture I have at the moment. I do know that danchuk was offering a steel version but they were discontinued at some point. They still show it in the current catalog at $1560.00. fibergl*** version was obviously a reproduction but I have never seen one of those. This one is steel but I don't know how to distinguish the steel reproduction from the original.
Call Joe at 407 585 1957 He is my nephew and is the founder and co-owner of realdealsteel. They build new 55-57 steel bodied chevys and if anyone on the planet will know it will be Him. Tim
I can remember "junking" at least two of these back in the day for two chrome Cal Custom air cleaners. Good grief. Both came off 270 hp Chevies.
Look for some stamped in lettering. It should say something along the lines of GM Motor division or Delco Remy. A repop won't have anything to do with the original lettering and it will be stamped into the sheet metal.
Technical question, was there any performance gains or other good reason for the batwing configuration, or was it just for looks? I think they look really cool, just wondering about the "theory" behind the design?
The theory behind the design is that it fit under the hood and got clean(ish) air to the carbs. No one ran open element air cleaners stock that I am aware of, they made too much noise, back then it was not about noise pollution per se, it was about making the car more comfortable to ride in. There was probably way more to it then that but getting air to the carbs and all of it fitting under the hood probably played a big part.
Man you guys are great, thank you for all the useful information . I will say that I would love to cruise into the local s**** yard or see one of these beauties laying curbside because they were discarded for being too ugly or changed out for loss of performance ! I own a Driver Quality 57 belair hardtop (red) and a 210 sport coupe (Black) undergoing a frame off restoration. I have been looking for these Bat wing Dual quad air cleaners for well over a year now. I occasionally run across a caddy version. They sell for around 1000.00 Give or take . The Chevrolet version is very hard to find and the asking price is from 1500.00 to 4000.00 depending on condition. it doesn't seem to matter if its the 1956 style or the 1957 style that has the offset breather element. Maybe I am not looking in the correct places or know the right people. And as for the days when they were removed and discarded for whatever reason, I am just not old enough to have been around back then. I was born in late 1977 and by then I believe the 1957 Chevrolet was already a successful cl***ic car that people were buying up and restoring back to original condition. Any way , Thank you for the great information and I look forward to hearing everything there is to know about these once seemingly infamous air cleaners that are now so desirable.
Maybe someone was restoring them in '77 but anyone I knew was still bearing on 'em. I remember tossing lots of things over the years that I would like to own today. I won't give an arm and a leg for that **** though, there is just too much living I still have to do and living costs money.
Remember when everyone threw them away. Sometime back a guy up North of there that has a dyno said on a 270 HP car the Batwing cost about 25-30 HP over the less restrictive Corvette style
The batwing in the picture above turned out to be a fibergl*** reproduction. That was the first One I ever ran across. The quality was okay but the seam between the top and bottom triangle parts was very rough and ugly I p***ed on the engine completely.
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