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Press the manifold tightly against the heads and feel inside with a fingertip. There should be no (or almost none) ridge where the manifold and the port meet. If they do not line up very closely then the manifold is likely the wrong size. Its hard to tell from the pic but it looks a little short to me.
If I were building this motor and I didn't want to see it come back with a holed piston I'd install the correct size o-ring style manifold with o-rings and aircraft style clamps and press on.
I understand that the technical discussion and the budget discussion must come together at some point. But, shovelhead intake manifolds do not leak if they are set up correctly. Do a search on this forum and you will see that intake manifold leaks are a common problem - almost always caused by mismatched parts and someone trying to save a few bucks. Cheap case is engine won't idle or tune and you don't ride the bike, expensive case is you get it running and melt a piston down the road.
Something to think about.
Good luck with it.
If I were building this motor and I didn't want to see it come back with a holed piston I'd install the correct size o-ring style manifold with o-rings and aircraft style clamps and press on.
I understand that the technical discussion and the budget discussion must come together at some point. But, shovelhead intake manifolds do not leak if they are set up correctly. Do a search on this forum and you will see that intake manifold leaks are a common problem - almost always caused by mismatched parts and someone trying to save a few bucks. Cheap case is engine won't idle or tune and you don't ride the bike, expensive case is you get it running and melt a piston down the road.
Something to think about.
Good luck with it.
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