as most of you know the engine bay on the inlet side of an xh is a nasty crowded mess and is quite tricky to play with in regards to anything that is located under the intake runners. unfortunately i have only the 1 car and not alot of time on my hands so i cant just leave it in the shed ripped to peices which it really needs. i am trying to locate an aftermarket manifold that tucks in nice and close to the rocker cover thus making cooling, ignition ect components much more accessable. im on the hunt for such a manifold or a shop that will make 1 without any luck. any help will be greatly appreciated.
CHEERS.

Hi,

I don't like your chances. Most people want better performance, a smaller manifold will detract from that. A thought though, is buy a 2nd hand one and grind off all the sharp edges, and when you fit it remove all sharp bits under it. It will make it a bit easier as you wont be worried about cutting your hands. If you change the Leads and Cap once a year, you should be able to avoid having to rush to do it. A custom made one would not be cheap, it could be made out of steel tubing but I would save the money for something more useful. ( to me IMO ) Good luck with it anyway.

Hey there. The log manifold is a pretty big curse for us Australians with regular sized hands. I have thought much about the space when I had a log on my engine..

And the snail (EF-EL) isn't much better..

A few tips though when I did have the log manifold on..

I removed the water bypass metal pipe that wraps around the head. I haven't had any heating issues wit the engine so far.

Quick steel in the hole in the water pump (sealed in well and moulded to hold) and a bung over the stub from the thermostat housing.

If you don't use it, remove it I say.. With the metal pipe gone all the heater hoses can now go too.. This should now give you enough room to reach in there decently...

Next get a longer coil lead, remove and remount the coil to the strut tower and extend the coil wires to reach (can provide some pics or a diagram if you need) I haven't needed a new coil since moving mine.

A good tip for more space when working under the manifold is to undo the ISC valve from the throttle body, 2 10mm bolts and there is enough room to remove the cap and even the whole dizzy if you need.

I also remover the brace bar that supports the manifold to the block. I assumed it was to prevent the alloy cracking from vibration, I personally didnt have a problem, but maybe constant rough roads might cause a problem if you do much of that driving..

With these changes, bolting the entire manifold off was a 5 minute job, I could reach the 2 back lower with my arm under the manifold..

Or have a search for Dsyfer's individual throttle body project... Plenty of room with that setup lol..

If any of that was confusing just ask..