The "Deltawing" is Chrysler as these were the only ones that had the four ribs running fore and aft. There was a difference on the interior of the pods between C300 & 300B but I can't tell from the photos.
What doesn't make sense to me is how this fits his Caddy. As I recall the necks on the bottom side of the wing were taller and spacing was different.
Here is an article that I wrote some years ago and was published in one of the 300 Intl. News Letters:
CHRYSLER
C300 & 300 B
DELTA
WING OIL BATH AIR CLEANERS
by
John
Lazenby
I
was asked by Andy Mikonis to write this article in reference to
questions and replies that were in recent e-mails on the club’s
list server. First I must state that I’m sure I don’t have all
of the facts as things are constantly being learned regarding our
Letter Cars. Keeping that in mind this is what I can offer. The
common name for them is “Batwing”, but Delta Wing is actually
correct.
First,
I’m fortunate to own examples of both a C300 (3N551881) produced
April 13, 1955 and our 300B (3N561382) built February 17, 1956. Now
for comparison the C300 is just about mid way through the production
numbers of the ‘55 model where the ‘56 is around 35% through the
run of B’s.
It
always amazes me on how many people think these cars are pretty much
the same except for the fins being grafted on the B. Over my years
of ownership and having these two cars sitting beside each other in
my garage I’m constantly finding differences. Some very suttle and
some not so. I guess I could write many stories about each of these,
but for this one I’ll just stick to the Delta Wing.
In
the process of restoring our B and having at that time just purchased
the C300 I was working on both at the same time. I ended up taking
both Delta Wings to my painter at the same time for metal work and
paint. It was not until we started looking at each piece that the
differences came to light.
Now
I’ve pretty much been of the opinion that the B is a better car
than the C300 simply because there was time to work out issues with
the earlier example. Hey C300 owners don’t get me wrong as I love
those also. Andy uses this same theory on the F / G relationship and
refers to the F as the “proto type G”. I still hold to my
opinion on this with the exception of the Delta Wing.
The
difference is not in the wing, but in the pods themself. We
discovered at the paint shop that the two pieces of the pods, an
inner and outer will not interchange year to year. Also it was
discovered that the guts of each was vastly different. The C300 is
more detailed in the construction and the actual filtering contents
seems to be much thicker with far more construction to hold it in
place. I guess from a performance standpoint maybe this is why the
change was made as it might have been more restrictive.
The
wing itself is the same from everything that I’ve been able to
learn. Delco produced these units for several cars during this era.
They were Caddy Eldos, Packard Caribbeans, De Soto Adventure’s in
1956 only and certain Chevy’s. Possibly there are more, but these
are the ones I’ve personally seen. The major visible differences
in all of these is the wing. Only the Chrysler version has the four
ribs running fore and aft. The location of the pod holes are
different and also the necks to the carbs and the spacing associated
with them. Makes me wonder what the inside of the pods look like.
Next time I encounter any of these at a swap meet I’ll do my best
to look and report the findings.
Other
interesting facts are that some examples are mounted 180 degrees from
what the Chryslers are which looks really strange I think. Also they
used a variety of attaching hardware that looks like it should be in
a 1950's kitchen. In closing I would say the next time you find one
of these rare items be sure you know what you are buying before you
realize it won’t work. Happy hunting !!
On Wednesday, March 26, 2014 9:32 AM, Ron Waters <ronbo97@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Not sure if this is for C300 or 300B. Somebody chime in.
Looks to be in good condition.
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