slantsixdan
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Exactly. It's not CAP, it's closed crankcase ventilation (crankcase breather ducted to air cleaner instead of open to the atmosphere). CAP is something else entirely and…
…wasn't available in '65.
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1965 CAP (clean air package) Air Cleaner Decal?
- Thread starter dibbons
- Start date
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Exactly. It's not CAP, it's closed crankcase ventilation (crankcase breather ducted to air cleaner instead of open to the atmosphere). CAP is something else entirely and…
…wasn't available in '65.
Lest we forget- here is CAP valve, circa 1968.
Cuda Al
Well-Known Member
CAP, Cleaner Air Package was a “package”, the air cleaner to breather hose was part of this package. Cars with CAP had it, those that didn’t, didn’t.
This hose became standard on all cars later. I don’t know the year of the change.
Alan
This hose became standard on all cars later. I don’t know the year of the change.
Alan
dibbons
Well-Known Member
While we are on the subject, since the hose is placed outside the filter medium of the paper filter element, what is the point of the hose in the first place? Since the PCV on the opposite valve cover sucks the air/vapor from the crankcase, this air cleaner hose is just sucking in unfiltered atmospheric air from the outside (not polluting anything whether it was hooked up to the air cleaner or not). Maybe I am missing something here.
The tall chrome caps that the hose connects to aren't vented. See the photo on post #20.
slantsixdan
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Yes. All cars with CAP have the crankcase breather ducted to the air cleaner, but not al cars with the crankcase breather ducted to the air cleaner have CAP.
The ducted breather first appeared on all '64 California-sold cars, and spread to all cars in '68 when CAP became standard equipment regardless of what state the car was sold in.
slantsixdan
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The purpose of the crankcase ventilation system (of whatever type) is to take vapours and fumes out of the crankcase, so there has to be an air inlet; it’s called the crankcase breather. Air flows in through the breather, sweeps crankcase fumes and vapours along with it, and out via one method or another. The out-via method is what began to change in California in 1961.
What was mandated on new ’61 cars in California (and ’62 in New York, and became standard equipment on more or less all vehicles for ’63) was positive crankcase ventilation: crankcase gases had to be ducted into the intake tract rather than dumped out into the atmosphere via a road draft tube. It was not a closed system, because the crankcase breather was still vented to atmosphere. But it was widely, sometimes even officially, and erroneously called “closed crankcase ventilation” at the time.
With an open-to-atmosphere breather, under zero-vacuum conditions (wide open throttle, e.g. up a long hill) and/or on an engine with high blowby volume, the crankcase gases flow right back out through the breather, i.e., the system reverts to a basic direct-vent mode. This causes objectionable odours in the passenger compartment, and releases unburnt hydrocarbons into the atmosphere, where they create photochemical smog.
So, starting in 1964 in California and 1968 nationwide, the (truly) closed positive crankcase ventilation system was introduced. On this system, the breather is ducted via a hose to the air cleaner. Most of the time, this is just exactly the same as venting to the atmosphere: air flows into the crankcase through the breather (which contains mesh to keep the spiders out of the crankcase), and out via the PCV valve. But under those low/no vacuum and high-blowby conditions when an open system just vents off into the atmosphere, there’s still suction above the throttle plate due to the influx of air through the air cleaner and into the carb, so the crankcase gases are still drawn off out of the crankcase and consumed in the engine.
The closed system constitutes an improvement, but in extreme conditions, high volume crankcase gasflow out of the breather can oil down and ruin an air filter element. Heavy-duty vehicles sometimes had a foam or gauze wrapper around the dry air filter element to stave off filter wetdown (until the wrapper disintegrated or got thrown out and not replaced). Obviously not a problem with oil bath air cleaners.
slantsixdan
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My original Commando 273 w/o C.A.P. had a "Do not wash or oil" decal on its chrome air cleaner. Not centered, but off to the driver's side. (The "pie plate" was glued on.) By 1969, the decal was gone (can't remember if it came off on its own, or I helped it off), but you can see the outline where it had been.
dibbons
Well-Known Member
You had those funky-looking (square) battery cable terminals!
I suppose that sticky could go on anywhere position-wise, depending on who was on the shift at that time.
I suppose that sticky could go on anywhere position-wise, depending on who was on the shift at that time.
In 1965, as far as I know, all Mopars had the PCV on the passenger side. On the driver's side, either just a straight breather cap, or California (?) cars had a nipple with a hose going to the breather. Later years, the sides were switched, and I've seen earlier models with the later positioning, i.e., pcv on the driver's side, breather on the passenger side, but that's wrong for mid-60s Mopars.
Tangentially related, in 66-67, all 426 Hemi air cleaner lids had a nipple, with or without California emissions package. Without, the nipple had a plastic cover snapped on it. With, a rubber hose going to the driver's side valve cover breather.
Yep, those funky looking battery terminals were the the factory original battery cable terminals.
I agree on the variable position of the air cleaner decals. All the max wedge motors you see today have the air cleaner decals exactly centered up front, but I don't think that's the way they came. And I think they look better when not centered in front. However, new, factory fresh max wedges were before even my time, so I can't say for sure.
33IMP
Well-Known Member
I know nothing about cap, or that vintage barracuda. I DO know there was a mandated NOX retrofit for older cars in california, sometime in the mid 70s. Maybe that is where the sticker came from.
My dad was working for the bad guys at the time, the california air resources board, CARB.
My dad was working for the bad guys at the time, the california air resources board, CARB.
Rustyfish
Member
My first car as a 16 yo in California back in the '70s was a '65 Mustang straight 6. Because of emissions standards it had all kinds of extra tubes and such all over the engine. Sure made a simple engine look ugly. But it all had to be there to get smogged and registered.
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