HIJACKED THREAD
I like the idea of increased plenum volume - i recall some mention of a "coffee can" some months ago mate. How thick is the alloy piping you are using there? Gobfulls of boost coupled with the pulsations of intake opening/closing can wreak havoc in a rather violent way - i hope the seam on the pipe was where you cut it out.
re. starlet. Short wheelbase/narrow track/bulk HP down the strip = FAIL (need ambulance/coffin icon) seen a few cars come a cropper at Meremere, IMO stick to a stripped out dunnydore FWIW.
Mandrel bent steampipe should hold up if you normalise it after heating it evenly with a gas torch.
No need to port 'all the way up' the runners on one of these manifolds due to the way they taper out from the head - that would kill too much airspeed even with a turbo, with these heads i'm doing i have kept in mind keeping it {barely depending on size/volume of nutsacks} streetable.