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Northwind Intakes
Pontiac V8 Northwind Intakes
Height Without Compromise — Northwind Intakes for Pontiac V8s
The Northwind is the low-rise single-plane answer for a Pontiac that needs Victor-level airflow without Victor-level height. It is 1-1/4 inch shorter than the Victor intake, cast in 356-T6 aircraft aluminum and finish machined on a 5-axis CNC, in either a 4150 or 4500 carb flange.
Butler stocks it with or without the water crossover, as-cast or already port matched to Butler 310/315/325 CNC, Butler 340 CNC, wide port or your own ported heads, plus the crossover casting on its own.
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1. Why This Manifold Exists
A single-plane race manifold normally costs you hood clearance. The Northwind is a low-rise design that sits 1-1/4 inch shorter than the Victor, which is often the difference between a hood that closes and one that does not — without dropping back to a dual-plane the engine has outgrown. It is cast in 356-T6 aircraft aluminum and machined on a 5-axis CNC rather than left as-cast everywhere it matters.
2. Crossover or No Crossover
This is the first real decision, and it is about the cooling system, not power.
| With water crossover | the conventional choice for a street or street/strip car. It keeps the factory coolant path through the manifold, with the thermostat housing and the water outlet for the timing cover where they belong. |
| No crossover | the race configuration. Nothing runs through the manifold, which simplifies the casting, but the cooling system has to be plumbed for it. Do not choose this one to save a few dollars on a street car. |
| Crossover on its own | Butler sells the Northwind cross-over piece separately, designed as a stock replacement with the exact location for the T-housing and the water outlet for the timing cover. |
3. 4150 or 4500 Flange
Both flanges are stocked, and the choice follows the carburetor rather than the engine. The 4150 version takes the square-bore family — Double Pumper, HP, Ultra XP, the Edelbrock VRS. The 4500 version takes a Dominator. If you are not already committed to a 4500 carburetor, the 4150 is the more flexible manifold.
4. As Cast, RA IV, or Port Matched
The Northwind ships in several port configurations, and matching it to the heads you actually have is the whole point of the casting.
| Standard castings | the 4150 without crossover comes with a Ram Air IV port match. The with-crossover 4150 and both 4500 versions come with an as-cast port. All of them can be port matched to Butler ported heads. |
| Butler 310/315/325 CNC | those ports are enlarged, reshaped and repositioned against a stock casting, so an as-cast manifold leaves a genuine step at the port face. Butler cuts the manifold to that exact port map and blends it into the runner, identical side to side. |
| Butler 340 CNC | the larger, higher-flowing 340 port machined in and blended on all eight ports. Butler's port match service lists the Northwind 4150 as good up to 340 cfm. |
| Wide port | matched to Butler Wide Port, Victor Pro Port and Kauffman heads. The wide-port opening is relocated and enlarged, so it also requires the matching wide-port intake gasket — the SPM-5420PS family — not a standard Pontiac intake gasket. |
| Your ported heads | supply port width and height, or the head you are running, and Butler cuts to it. |
If the engine has outgrown a Performer RPM but a Victor will not fit under the hood, this is the manifold that solves both problems at once. Check the gasket requirement before you order a wide-port version.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.