There's an idea, baddad. Port and shorten the 351 parts I already have, use the gt40p heads, and see where I end up at, though there's not much meat between the runners, maybe 1/4". As light as those pieces are, I'm sure there are voids there somewhere, tho. Decisions, decisions.





I ran across this design on the web somewhere. It looks easy enough to build. Picture two of them, with 4 runners each. One set starting from a head and reaching across over the opposite valve cover to end in a 4 runner plenum. One on each side with the runners interlaced over the center of the motor, rather like ones fingers. A TB on each plenum (yes, the linkages would be a concern but doable). A hose from TB to a filter box, then down to a scoop mounted beside the radiator, on either side. Good ram air/cold air inlets there.

You could get some good, straight runner length like that, and it would be pretty cool looking. Couple of problem areas, tho. Like the distributor. Although Ford does make a distributorless ignition system for 4 cylinders and a couple of them might be scrounged from a junkyard and made to work. There are also aftermarket systems with individual coils for each cylinder, but I'll bet those are pricey.

With the dist. out of the way, an open tube design like that, with the runners arching gently up and over the valley would allow some airflow from the fan to blow through there, if set up properly, keeping those runners relatively cool. Might need to add a light heat shield just below the runners over the valley, but maybe not.

I don't see the cooling system as much of a problem, add a tube from head to head, front and rear, plumb an inlet on the front tube and you're set, theoretically. I'd have to look at the coolant flow pattern of the engine in greater detail to be sure.

Efi engine controls would be a major concern. Dividing the engine in half like that would require two oxy sensors and two mass air meters. Perhaps smallish ones could be used if a certain amount of airflow is needed for accuracy. Maybe a couple from Ford V6's or something. I've actually thought about contacting the MegaSquirt guys to see if their system might be adaptable to such a setup.

But, these are just some thoughts off the top of my head. You guys got me started when you mentioned fabbing stuff. It's not my fault.

Rob