Just aquired an A15 from a fellow member and i just had a look around to start building it up for my turbo project and when i took off the manifolds and i noticed that the H89 head has water passages for the manifolds but the A14 hasn't got the same water passages(from memory).

My question is can the water passeges be simply be blocked off?

the reason i ask is because the manifold that i'm using has been modified to be able to fit a 350 holley and just thinking about using the A15 manifold that came with the engine or use the manifold that i already have? or should use the A14 head? but i would like to use and modify the h89 head? decisions,decisions!!!!!

Any help will be appreciated as always!

yeah they can, just thread them and screw a slug into em, or ive heard just a bit of silastic in there will do the trick.

Yeah just block them.

what do you think the benifits of running the watrways through the inlet manifold while running a blow through turbo set up? i'm guessing that it helps cold start-up and not the fact that it cools the manifold itself?

Yeah Steve thats what the water holes are for,but for what it,s worth all our heads have been tapped and screwed,plus if the crappy manifold gaskets available lately are going to leak this is where they weep.
We have had no ill effects with this mod.
Cheers

For a carbed street engine, constant temps allow tuning for maximum fuel economy. That is the carb can be run on the lean side with less risk of problem due to changing temps.

But for a race engine you can make more power with a colder charge. Just jet it rich, or rejet before each race based on the conditions.

EFI can adjust the mixture automatically based on air flow and manifold temp, so that's OK.

just had another look at the a15 manifold and it worries me with all the pollution gear thats hanging off it, not that it matters i'm thinking of just going with the A14 manifold that i already have modified to suit. But...... in the case that i use the A15 i can block all the pollution stuff off?

I'm seriously thinking about running the water passages just to aid in cooling the mainifold aswell as running an intercooler. its just an idea at the moment.

Be VERY wary of some of the late A15 vannette manifolds. They actually dip down to give more clearance on the underside of the seat in the van. So the charge needs to travel uphill, which is very undesirable.
We got very few emmissions equiped motors here. (Thank goodness!)

just plug galleries in the head, and run your A14 inlet.