Reason for FE manifold design
New User
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 24
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The story coming from folks who used to work at the factories & foundries was that, considering that most of the "port" was in the "manifold", it was very easy to make different manifolds, either as improvements or as vehicle-specifics, and it makes a lot of sense as the FE came out with the big-body T-birds with low hoods, and the Birds used a flat manifold for hood clearance and also a level manifold instead of tilted like the Galaxies (or Fairlanes back then). With most of the port in the manifold, the manifold could be reconfigured pretty easily, and made to run reasonably well with very low runners. Even the Bird 3-deuce setup is different than the one for the Galaxie, with all 3 carbs level instead of stepped like the Galaxie.
And there's always an answer, sometimes you just can't find it with Google
And there's always an answer, sometimes you just can't find it with Google
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 360
Likes: 3
From: Napa
Mean; you hit the bullseye dead center, this I found out thru my two uncles one in Fords design department the other in running engines. It was all about building a flexable engine as the intake was the one most important and simple part to redesign and cast as needed. I heard this before they both passed away over 28 and 34 years ago. There is a reason why my family has been into FE motors for over 45 years. Uncles as well dad and myself have gone beyond stupid forcing engines beyond the laws of physics before they started to come apart. Even then it took a long time not a half second mistake.
So much more accurate than "Just throwing things out there" with no basis whatsoever- that's sure a lot of help 
New User
Joined: Mar 2010
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Design anything you want but get it blessed by the bean counters they had they final word on a design with cost coming first.
One close friend of the family was a painter at the Milpitas Ford Plant which was tagged as the San Jose Assembly Plant when it was a city just north of San Jose. He hand spray painted thru the mid 50's era, was allowed only a couple paint runs or sags per shift. Talk about busting butt vs automated painting today. We had the Chevy Assembly plant in San Leandro just south of Oakland city limit I recall that plant as a visitor in the early 60's. For some unknown freak of nature reason two ready to drop in 390 motors came up missing from Ford's Milpitas asembly line off the motor carts way back then. One about a year later ended up in my 65 F100 after I found out the red on the tach wasn't a decoration. The best one was when I was contracted out at GM in Fremont now the "ex MUMI Plant as of today layoffs started. Under GM put in an order then word was out an employee would fill it be a starter or carb they would supply it for you dirt cheap in the parking lot.
One close friend of the family was a painter at the Milpitas Ford Plant which was tagged as the San Jose Assembly Plant when it was a city just north of San Jose. He hand spray painted thru the mid 50's era, was allowed only a couple paint runs or sags per shift. Talk about busting butt vs automated painting today. We had the Chevy Assembly plant in San Leandro just south of Oakland city limit I recall that plant as a visitor in the early 60's. For some unknown freak of nature reason two ready to drop in 390 motors came up missing from Ford's Milpitas asembly line off the motor carts way back then. One about a year later ended up in my 65 F100 after I found out the red on the tach wasn't a decoration. The best one was when I was contracted out at GM in Fremont now the "ex MUMI Plant as of today layoffs started. Under GM put in an order then word was out an employee would fill it be a starter or carb they would supply it for you dirt cheap in the parking lot.
Tuned
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 360
Likes: 3
From: Napa
I would guess that's why they put in a very extensive indoor & outdoor camera surveilance system at NUMMI 
- when we were in there in '89 grading & paving, they searched the toolbox of my company truck every day, in & out. I think Mare Island was near the top of the pilferage list, lots of tools at swap meets with CTR (Central Tool Room), Steam Shop, etc., engraved on them, and I saw more than one Harley with a submarine oil pressure guage installed- and tons of stainless, brass, & copper nutz & boltz.
I used to go to the swap meets at the Milpitas plant, now you shop inside- that's one big shopping mall
- when we were in there in '89 grading & paving, they searched the toolbox of my company truck every day, in & out. I think Mare Island was near the top of the pilferage list, lots of tools at swap meets with CTR (Central Tool Room), Steam Shop, etc., engraved on them, and I saw more than one Harley with a submarine oil pressure guage installed- and tons of stainless, brass, & copper nutz & boltz. I used to go to the swap meets at the Milpitas plant, now you shop inside- that's one big shopping mall
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 788
Likes: 0
From: Cascade, ID
ha ha ha ha.....
That is a reasonable excuse for a lot of the things that are bizarrely engineered......being a construction manager I see a lot of the stuff that engineers believe will work, just not in reality.
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