The safe thing would be to install another cast iron manifold, and these should be readily available, weight is the big factor for shipping.
Having said that, however, I would be very tempted to replace both intakes with the Edelbrock dual plane Performer, which is a direct replacement for the iron intake. I replaced an iron intake on a SBC a while back and it was a no-brainer operation.
I am always an optimist about power, but power comes from numerous upgrades working together, so there won't be any "seat-of-the-pants" difference in the performance of one intake over another. Even if there is a 5-hp boost, you'll never know and neither will the boat.
If you're using a heat exchanger with antifreeze running through the intake port, you should be fine. If you are in fresh water, I think you should be fine too, but this is just my opinion and I'm speaking only for my own situation and not making a recommendation. Please understand, if I had done this myself on a 427 in fresh water and it performed well for a few years, I would not hesitate to offer a solid recommendation, but I'm reluctant to do so when I don't have a valid basis for making a recommendation. For myself, I would probably take the risk and watch things to see if all looked well. If it didn't work out I would be ready to live with the consequences.
Anyone out there done this on a 427, please speak out!
Thanks,
Paul
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