So the hot water moves from the therm housing driver's side port to my Clifford intake (built in chamber for hot water.). Exits the manifold and I bring mine back over the area where the spacer is and use a T (repro 60s corvette) to plumb it into the heater hose on the other side of the motor to the water pump return (heater hoses in stock configuration). That way I do not need to run my heater to get flow to the bottom of the manifold.
Tom Langdon walked me through this a good many years ago now when I first switched to pinto 5200 Holley/weber carbs. Used a 302 Gmc lower thermostat housing (which were a big pain to come by not too long ago). Made a big difference in drivability. I have plumbed my system that way ever since. Works like a charm.
Indeed. The gotcha of tapping into the heater loop for intake heat is avoiding the shut-off valve in the heater controls.
The plumbing has to address both form and function. The unpainted photos above were intended to be illustrative/instructive. Based on input from FTF I have since ditched the brass and re-plumbed in galvanized. Once painted it recedes into the background:
