I'm working on an oddball hot rod, a first series Austin FX4 London Taxi, which has a very narrow frame. My Chevy 350 block fits into place fine, but I don't have much space around the sides of the engine, as the frame rails and steering box are in the way. I've found a suitable manifold for the passenger side, and I'd like to find a similar model for the driver's side. What I need may not exist, but it's worth a try: if such an animal exists, the gang here is sure to point me the right direction. Here's the manifold I found for the passenger side, off a mid-eighties pickup/suburban. It works well because it rides so high on the heads, and the exhaust exits out the back. Unfortunately the driver's side manifold from the same vehicle exits right down onto my steering box. Can anyone suggest a manifold that will fit a SBC that exits out the back on the driver's side? This will be a driver, not a show car, so I don't much care whether it matches visually, side to side, as long as it will function properly in my engine compartment. If I can't find a factory manifold that works, I may have to use a set of twin turbo manifolds, which ride high and exit rearward, but I'd love to find a factory manifold that will work, and spend the money on more important parts. Any suggestions?
No problem running them to the front if you have more room there. You could make your own log header too.
The Dorman website is your friend and has a complete listing of the manifolds they sell for you to peruse for your application.
Thanks. I found a discussion in another thread as I was researching my options, and someone suggested this very solution. UNfortunately, those early small blocks were smaller displacement, from 265 to 283. I understand that those manifolds would be very restrictive for a 350, which is the small block I'm working with. (Sorry, I should have mentioned that in my original post.)
What year model 350 do you have? The manifold you showed uses a different bolt pattern (rear manifold bolt) than most "standard" 350s.
That manifold you posted a picture of is as bad or worse than the 55-56 manifolds. I have a '56 Chevy with a 350 and a 4bbl with the original '56 manifolds on it at present. It runs just fine. If performance is that much of a factor you should be looking at some kind of header. Or making a smooth tubing manifold as someone else stated.
I'm glad to hear that. In truth, performance is secondary in my world. Mostly, I just want the car to run well, so I can drive the wheels off it. If yours runs well with those old tri-five manifolds, I may go that direction, as they come closer than any others I've found to solving my fitment problems.
As you suspected, I have early heads, so the bolt hole will need to be drilled and tapped if I use that manifold. I'm surprised how many people I've found on the net who claim they bolted up later manifolds to early heads, and simply left that rear bolt out, without ever having leakage trouble. I'm not thrilled with that prospect, and thankfully I'm in no hurry.
I have built many Rods in the past and have a large collection of factory manifolds. You can use a passenger side (American) manifold bolted on with the outlet toward the front then build a pipe that runs down and back. Your manifold is for a 305 and the rear bolt holes won't line up with a 350 head.
Some 350 heads have the extra hole, I think it started around 1981. I have a 87 350 with the extra holes in it. Sounds like a fun challenge...let us know what you figure out to do.
Use caution with some of the above manifolds, they work fine if your dipstick is on the right hand side, but can be a problem with a left hand dipstick.
Yeah, I'm having trouble with some of the possible manifolds because they interfere with the oil pressure and coolant temp senders too. If fitting hot rod engines was easy, everyone would do it!
No, most headers stick out too far from the engine, and then exit straight downward. They interfere with either the frame or the steering box. I'm looking at factory cast manifolds mostly because they are compact and fit right up next to the heads. What I really need is something that fits tight to the heads and then exits rear-ward, though I might have to settle for an upward exit on the driver's side.
I wish you were nearby, so I could try some of your collection to see what works best! I like your idea, exiting out the front. It would be tricky to make an exhaust pipe snake past the oil pan, but it might work.
If you need to get inspired or talked into to do goofy shit with your Chevy- try looking at some ford stuff. Lol I don't see it being really difficult ( not as easy as bolting on OEM manifolds) to build something like this to suit your needs- just really hard Squint hard and see it on the head going up then acros the rear port going down.