Most V8s (and V6s) circulate coolant through the manifold, primarily because it’s a convenient path from the heads, back to the (top) of the radiator. This also serves to bring the intake up to temp once the thermostat opens.
(Yes, I know about “reverse flow” in the Chevy LT1 and later..)
Older v8s often had “exhaust risers” through the intake to quickly heat the manifold (especially under the carb) to help keep the atomized fuel from dropping out in cool/cold weather.
In a fuel injected engine (and here I’m talking about real sequential fuel injection, with the injectors in the runners or even cylinders, not a “glorified carb” like the Sniper setups), it’s not a problem, because the fuel isn’t atomized before entering the cold intake plenum.
So if I ever do the 2F intake I mentioned above, you can be sure there will be designed in “bosses” which could be drilled and tapped for individual injectors. The problem then becomes one of timing. One really wants crank and cam position sensing at that point, so the injector can fire very close in time to when the intake port is open.
For the crank position sensor, it’s straight-forward to attach a 36-1 wheel to the front of the crank and mount a Hall-effect sensor nearby. My concern here is that the whole thing would stop working in the presence of water or mud, so I’d like to find a way to install all that inside the crankcase.
For the cam sensor, I figure I can retrofit something in place of the mechanical fuel pump. The camshaft has a handy lobe to run the pump and it should be possible to mount a Hall effect sensor in a fuel pump block off plate.
If that doesn’t work, then the distributor could be modified, with the ignition run from individual coils, but that’s even more complexity.
