SPICA air boxes

[Joe Martin Cantrell <agiyo@domain.elided>]

SPICA air boxes came in several different configurations.  Perhaps they 
should have been painted "Italian Racing Red" to help people recognize how 
good they are; I'll bet the dull gray has predisposed many to junk 
them.  But that's the artist talking.

For those who have not fully appreciated them, the SPICA boxes feature cold 
ram air intake into the inside of two air filters.  Air passes out through 
the filters to the outer plenum, where belled intake horns lead into the 
intake manifold.  I don't pretend to knowledge of all, but this is 
obviously an extremely well thought-out system.  The one I refer to, is off 
about a 1972 Berlina.

This one has two nipples on its bottom, one between #1 and #2 intake horns, 
one behind #4.  They are about 6mm diameter, and lead directly into the 
outer plenum which leads directly into the intake tubes.

Obviously, if there was a negative pressure in the outside plenum,  they 
allowed unfiltered air into the engine.  At high speed, ram air might have 
overwhelmed the unfiltered intake, but at low speeds, on dusty roads, these 
babies would have sucked sand.

Does anyone know what they might have been connected to?  The front one 
might have had a tube to the vapor separator, but I have no idea what the 
rear one could have lead to.

I plan to cap them, but if there's something I've overlooked, please say 
so.  Maybe there's another 50 hp in here.  Maybe 51.  Or not.

Cheers,
Joe
'72 Spider, PIR slut again in a month
'72 Berlina.  Klaatu barada nicto.
2002 Eudora, which warns me against "don't pretend," "nipples," "slut" and 
"sucked."  Thank yew, software.  "Don't pretend??  There, I've said it again.
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