Wrong? I can’t imagine what, unless it user trouble, lol. Maybe if I was taller, I could reach over the side and underneath the manifold easier. Of course, you can’t see the spark plug holes hiding under there. The heat shields do seem to interfere a bit more than they should. I bought a repop manifold set, so maybe has less exterior clearance in some area. I form fit the heat shields with a hammer to allow the spark plug socket avoid binding. The other thing I jury rigged was the dipstick tube when I changed to dual exhaust. I just made my own bend, so maybe it’s not in exactly the right spot.

Just to be clear, the type of manifolds I have are the rams horn variety. I think they are Mumford’s as I recall. Maybe the rams horn are more difficult than others.

By today’s standards, 5’7” is definitely short. But for these 61-66 Fords, it’s a great height for cab comfort. I’ll have check into the heat shield question. I wonder if @NumberDummy could help me out.

Rams Horn manifolds used a different kind of heat shield, that protects the valve covers. I haven't found spark plug access particularly bad. Maybe plugs 3 & 4 are kind of a pain. I start with the plugs at the rear and finish up with the easy ones. #5 being a sweetheart. I envy the 6 cylinder folks sometimes. Now there's a well thought out design. Fuel pump, distributor, coil, plugs etc etc, easy to get to, plenty of room.