Our 1965 Ford Mustang, known as Project “Biting The Bullitt” is moving right along towards its end goal of terrorizing the streets and strips of southern California. Much of the grunt work, including the construction of the 1,000 horsepower, 427-inch small block, is out of the way, and that’s allowed us to move on to the other essentials needed to complete the project and get it up and running.

As those familiar with the project are aware, Biting The Bullitt features a Paxton NOVI-2500 supercharger atop an AED blow-through carburetor on the mean little 427. We’ve utilized Paxton’s polished, show-quality PowerHat and polished tubing to connect the supercharger outlet to the carburetor, but now we need to focus on getting fresh air into said supercharger.

There are countless supercharger and intake inlet pipes and filters out there on the market, but the vast majority are pre-manufactured for specific engines and engine compartment layouts. Because our ’65 Mustang is very much a one-off project, we needed something more customizable – and it just so happens that AIRAID produces such a system.

AIRAID offers their U-Build-It intake systems with the custom car builder and the perfectionist in mind. If you’re struggling to find an air intake that fits your particular engine compartment layout, or you’d rather not settle for something that “sort of” fits, the U-Build-It is just the product you’ve been looking for. the U-Build-It allows you to create the air intake specific to the vehicle to your exact measurements and desires.

The UBI In Detail

AIRAID designed the U-Build-It (or “UBI”) kit as a be-all air intake system, consisting of multiple angles and straights, which the end user cuts and lays out as desired. As such, the number of intake variations are virtually endless.

“Where the UBI is really beneficial is when you’re building an older vehicle with a crate engine, a newer vehicle with an engine swap, or anything that’s really custom where a traditional air intake system won’t bolt right up,” says AIRAID’s David Edelman. “When you need something above and beyond, the UBI gives you everything you need.”

The UBI kit is available in separate peices, as tubes only, or as a master kit that includes a premium AIRAID air filter, couplers, clamps, brackets, and all the necessary hardware. Whether you need the whole package or just an essential component, AIRAID offers each of these options to help offset the cost of purchasing the master kit should you not need it.

The master kit – which we’ll be forming and installing under the hood of our Mustang – comes as a one-piece, pre-formed tube consisting of one 45-degree, one 30-degree, one 60-degree, and two 90-degree tubes. There are then straight tubes measuring 24-, 4-, 10-, 8-, and 7-inches. AIRAID also offers the kit in tubing circumferences ranging from 3-inches to 6-inches to provide sufficient airflow for everything from your typical economy car up to something pushing 1,000-plus horses as we are.

The pipe is designed to be cut to your exact measurements depending on where you want or need the pipes to navigate through the engine compartment and where you want the air filter to rest. Once the pipes are cut to spec, the supplied silicone couplers connect the entire air intake tubing system together.

The UBI pipe is made from a strong and durable polyethylene material that, according to Edelman, “…is built with the same quality as our traditional AIRAID intake systems that we engineer for specific vehicles.”

Adding to the customization, virtually any of AIRAID’s high-flowing, high-performance cone air filters are offered with and will connect to the UBI kit. “We have filters from six inches long to nine inches long for varied horsepower degrees, from something as low as 200 horsepower to 2,000. Whatever it is, we’ve got filters that can accommodate those needs and get the maximum amount of power from those specific engines.”

Continued Edelman, “The UBI can go as far as the mind can travel, and what you can develop is really up to the end user. We’ve seen some really, really cool  designs and some guys have done some great custom stuff with the UBI.” For those that simply need more, AIRAID does offers additional components and tubing “a la carte”, so theoretically if you need another piece to complete your puzzle, you’re not left out in the dark.

Size Matters

As described above, AIRAID offers the UBI kits in sizes from 3- to 6-inches, and selection is dependent upon your power levels and of course what you can feasibly fit under the hood of your vehicle.

According to Edelman, 3-1/2-inch and 4-inch pipe are perfect for most average vehicles out there on the road and will flow enough air for “at least a 500-600 horsepower engine.”

• 
• 
• 
• 

Step one is, of course, to cut the UBI tubing down to size. The formed material actually ships with cutlines for reference, so you don't have to go to the trouble of marking your cuts. Either a hand saw or a powered Sawzall or similar will do the trick.

Once you get a little more radical with bigger horsepower numbers, bumping up to 5-inch will provide the airflow necessary to keep up with your power adder and flow demands. Edelman describes the 5-inch kit (Part No. 101-501) as “about a large as you’ll want to go with a high performance vehicle.”

The 6-inch kits are more reserved for semi tractors and large diesel trucks pushing a good bit of boost through a turbocharger.

’65 Mustang Install

For our application, the type of power we’re planning to make, and the size of the Paxton supercharger inlet, we’ve chosen a five-inch kit for our Mustang.

The supercharger has been positioned to the drivers left of the engine, towards the front of the block, with the inlet facing to the rear. Our goal is to place the air filter behind the left front headlight, so all we’ll need from the master kit is a pair of 90-degree corners and a straight to rout the tubing though the fender cover to our intended location.

• 
• 

Here you can see the final design we've created, using two 90's and a small straight section (left), followed by the finished product plumbed up to the supercharger inlet on one and situated through the fender over on the other. The red lines you see plumbed into the air intake pipe is for the Snow Performance water/methanol injection that we're going to be running on the Mustang. One line is plumbed in before the supercharger to cool the incoming air, while another is plumbed into the PowerHat tubing between the supercharger and the carburetor.

With the kit all unboxed, we’re ready to get to chopping on the five-inch tubing. For this, a simple Sawzall or similar saw will do the trick. We cut the tubing along the provided and suggested cut lines, providing ourselves a pair of 90’s and straight sections X inches in length. From here, installing the kit is a simple matter of using the supplied rubber boots and a pair of clamps at each break to connect the straights to the 90’s. The filter, filter adapter, and the filter mounting brackets to secure the filter to the body are all supplied and easily installed.

With our ’65 Mustang serving as a prime example, you can see that AIRAID’s UBI kit is truly a do-all-be-all kit for your one-off or more specific engine and engine compartment needs. It’s got the clean looks and professional design that any more vehicle-centric kit offers, but with the priceless bonus of complete customization. If you’ve ever been unable to find a kit that’s laid out just the way you wished, this is probably the kit you were looking for.