Paul what would happen if I used round aluminum spheres like these
as knuckles to get my intake runners closer to the engine. My intake
manifold is the Racing Beat 6 port manifold it's a little on the high
side I think I may not have to much of a problem as I'm building a
Long Ez and I think I'll have room if i need to make the runners a
little higher.

Anytime you force the air to make a sharp right angle you loose
big time. Are you using the Weber carb it is designed for or
EFI? If EFI I would lenghten it and go stright up through the
cowl with a ram air scoop on top like most race cars use.
That manifold is designed for 9 or 10 thousand RPM.