350 w/ Trick Flow 23* alum heads and an Edelbrock Performer TBI manifold:


the holes that the manifold allow the bolts to go through are not big enough for me to get the correct angle with the 4 bolts that are around the center

It looks as though I'm going to have to drill out the center holes on the manifold some in order for me to get it on the heads.

Anybody else have this problem? Hopefully I explained it well enough.

 

Your heads and manifold are not matched! One is 87-up (new style 72deg center bolts) and one is 55-86 (old style all bolts at the same angle)bolt patern.

 

They're centerbolt valve covers and the TBI didn't even come out until 87.

 

c'mon guys. . . before I go drilling the holes in the manifold.

 

It's not an uncommon problem.
Usually guys will just elongate the 4 middle holes to the point where a bolt will fit through. But that will mean that the tension on the bolt will be way off center cause the bolt head will only be making contact with the surface of the intake on the edge of the bolt head.
A trick that I've used to help spread the load on the bolt head is to take a rocker pivot "ball" and use it as a spacer under the bolt with the rounded part of the ball facing downward. It helps to center the load on the bolt head that way.
It's not as good as having the intake machined for a perfect fit, but a lot of guys mod their intakes to fit the later bolt angle with no trouble.
A longer bolt will be needed, and I've found that about a 1 3/4" x 3/8" allen head bolt works well for that.

 

Maybe good old Edelbrock screwed up drilling the holes.Just elongate the holes like Streetiron85 said I did it to my Stealth Ram manifold and didnt have any problems.