454 air cleaner clearance non stock manifold

[JanS]

I have a 71 with a higher intake manifold and Edelbrock carb. Because of this the back of the hood needed raised about an inch for it to close with the stock air cleaner assembly. You couldn't use the rubber seal either with this set up because there wasn't enough clearance for it. I was thinking of taking a 1 1/2" drop base and cutting the bottom off of my stock air cleaner assembly and attaching the drop base to it. Hopefully then I could put it back to looking stock. Has anyone done this? Is there an easier way to do this? Thanks for any suggestions!