I also have an old Magnesium Chrysler Cross Ram Hemi manifold that has all of the old Ray Barton tricks before Cross "Tunnel Rams" became legal. I have not tried to run it on the street yet for anything.

The Barton single 4500 manifold is 35 lbs.! It's way heavier than most think.
Compared to the Indy 426-3 at 19 lbs. and the 426-4 at 22 lbs., plus 3 lbs. for the valley plate.

I thought the drivability is pretty good on my cross ram after we got the carbs dialed. I’m just not wild about the weight or the distribution. I’m thinking an indy tunnel ram for the next go around. I already have a pair of 6109 Holley’s, should make a good street/strip set up.

Lee, is hood clearance an issue? Is full out horsepower more important that driveability? How much does the budget play into the decision?

As you answer these and a few other questions, your best choice for an intake may be clearer. Lay out your priorities and then you should get some more focused responses.

I don't have anything to add, but just thought I would pipe in with my stuff. I have Stage V heads prepped by Tim, and a Stage V with 2 650 Thunders on it. The engine did 712 @ 6000, and that was at 34 degrees. It was making about 6 more HP at 32 degrees, and around 6-8 HP/100 RPM, so theoretically it was close to 750 at 6500. It was the end of a long, long day, and 712 was good enough for me!

I know there are other intake combos that would get more HP out of my setup, but one of the things I wanted was a stockish look. If I had 2 AFB's, and an air cleaner to fit the additional spacing on the Stage V manifold, I would have done that.

As Andy said though, finding a stock like air cleaner can be a pain. After trying a few different setups, I finally found someone who fabricated one for me from a stock air cleaner base. (Actually, it occurred to me long after I got it, something that he said that I hope I misinterpreted. He usually used repop 6 pak bases to do the mod, but couldn't find one, and so used a Hemi one! I pray he didn't destroy an original air cleaner base to make mine!!). This thing is a work of art though, it is gorgeous.

At the moment, I have a 6 pack on the engine, which I did just for the novelty of it. It is a really cool setup, (I've had a few guys roll their eyes when I tell them I have a 6 pack Hemi), but it is noticeably down on power. Just what you would expect: 935 CFM vs 1300, a dual plane manifold compared to the design of the Stage V.

I'll keep it on for a while, but I do miss the power of the other setup, so will go back eventually.

Once again, it always comes down to figuring out what you want, and what is most important, which obviously changes. I gave up a good amount of power for the novelty of the 6 pack, but when that loses its appeal, I'll be back to the 2 4's. But, for example, I won't ever put 2 Holleys on. At least in my current frame of mind. That may change some day, but I do want the stock look.

Dave, hood clearance is a potential issue in the future as I may swap the Hemi out of my 69 Satellite with A-12 hood and put it in my wifes 70 Cuda with a Shake hood. I will probably always lean to drivability, that is reflected in my choice of a small solid roller cam. While I don't have an unlimited budget, I can afford to get whatever I think will be best within reason. I have thought long and hard about FI and had a long talk with Rich Nedbal a few years ago. Like you, I am just a little leary of long term product support on some of the stuff out there. With input from here and a long talk with Dwayne, we ordered the Indy/Vanke dual plane- Dominator flange. I also had a very productive talk with ThumperDart and will commission from him a 1200 dominator that he builds and feels that with his mods, will meet my needs. All told, I will have 2K output and I think it will work out great, but I can always fall back to two fours and possibly go to the new Edelbrock single plane 2x4. I have high confidence that the Dominator setup will work well and will report on the results as they occur. Thanks for all the help. Lee.

Good choice! That combo will do what you want it to do.

I have basically that same set-up under the Shaker on my Cuda and couldn't be happier with it. Another good thing about going with a single Dominator is that there are drop bases out there that can be grafted onto a repop Shaker base to get it all to work together. I did that and then had a new air cleaner lid made of fiberglass that just touches the inside of the Shaker bubble.

The carb is actually at hood level. And the orange air cleaner lid is clearly visible through the Shaker grills. COOL STUFF!

With the oil shield under the intake and with a 1/2" wooden spacer under the carb, the carb is substantially cooler than the intake.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Was going to put that in my post and forgot. Have a friend who had a wicked 71 Cuda with a 528 hemi, single dominator and shaker. It was an awesome car!

I know all about making a custom base to make things work. I am currently making a drop base for my dual Dominator carbs with the tunnel ram & and a long & taller custom shaker scoop to fit my shaker hood.

Drop base, custom air cleaner,? Do you mean something like this?