I simply can't see anything even remotely resembling a "failure" of the filter in the supplied pictures. Oddly it has a hexagonal shape that logically comes from if anything the lack of "support" of the filter housing. I believe the filter element distorted into the hex shape as it naturally flexed into a comfortable position - in Jerry Seinfeld's famous words (not that there's anything wrong with that). I'm thinking the ID clearances may have been loose and did not make for a snug fit. It took on the natural hex shape - there is nothing at all wrong with minor deflection of the plastisol end caps as far as the shape of the housing base/lid. There is no evidence of collapsing, blinding, pinching, rupturing or breatching of the pleats. The plastisol end cap sealant in this case (orange color) is a standard of the filter industry and it is common for it to "crush or bite down" to the expanded mesh or wire cloth steel support. Have to say I LOL about the posters thoughts of his Big-Bad FE Motor Sucking the Filter to Distortion. -- Filters work like governors in that the suction generated by the motor trying for more air simply cripples the engines ability to rev..it just chokes instead You just can't pull serious vacuum by revving a NA motor.
BTW note how the bottom of the FoMoCo filter housing is nicely contoured to allow the air to flow into the carb and how the filter element is tall and actually drapes down over the carb. Unlike the o-so-wrong 67-GT500 flat filter base that shows everyone at the car-show the carbs, but has no height to the element or air flow as a result.
Ironically one of the two-times I ever was thrown out of a customers plant involved "crushed/collapsed air inlet filters. It was decades ago at Carlon industries Alachua Florida. A Motion Industries salesman had called me with dimensional sizes of numerous filters - no part numbers for roots type "blower" inlet filters. It was a major pain and took forever to price all the filters by just their dimensions. Weeks went by with no sale after I'd furnished prices. I called the Motion guy up who in turn turned the customer over to me. I made an appoint with the customer. The Main Mgr sent me out in the plant with his right hand guy. I saw 20-40HP cylindrical blower filters used to transfer plastic pellets that actually were buckled over/collapsed, filters with no lids, filters with plywood sheets and bricks on top as caps and even blowers with no filters at all - that you could look down the throats and see the inlet ID's caked up/reduced by about 1/2" with dust. I asked how long do these blowers last?.... The guy says "your not going to believe me". I said try me: " 2-3 months was his answer". Next I asked how much were the the blowers? - His reply about $2500-$4000ea. FYI: Blower inlet filters can produce high vacuum numbers by nature since the power from comes an external force - typically elec. mtr. unlike a car engine.
Walking back to the Bosses office, I analyzed the mess I'd just seen and thought about the mentality of someone/anyone doing this crap to equipment. Upon meeting the Boss again I asked him: "You ever heard of the you pay the filter guy or the guy that rebuilds your equipment?" His immediate reply: "OK wise guy you can leave right now!. That evening when I got back to the office they asked: how my day went?.... I told them about Carlon, they told me they knew, he'd called and complained about me to my boss/owner of company.
The other kick-out time was when I called a major utility's peaking power station that was located next door to a pulp & paper mill, that I knew used combustion turbines and asked why I was never getting invited to bid on their turbine inlet air filters?...The guy told me "they clogged up to much, so they stopped using them". I did a call, with the guy, standing beside me inside the large two door walk in filter house, seeing the rows and rows of empty prefilter and final filter racks. I said out loud - more then anything in pure freaking amazement, it was not a question just a statement. (I can't believe you are not running filters.) That's when I was kicked out of the plant. Within six months I heard from GE they'd blown a turbine to SMITHEREENS and the remaining 4-5 turbines were all shot. Weather it's some bozo selling a used car w/o an air filter or some gent who worked himself to the apex of the Peter Principle and runs jet engines bolted to the ground as vacuum cleaners. If you don't understand or care about debris going through your mills guts it's a given about the way the rest of the ride is.
