Don’t grind the intake if you are not going to grind the heads to match.  Ideally, the transition between the intake and the heads should be seamless.  If not, it is better to have the mismatch step down into a larger port in the head from a smaller port in the intake.  This also creates a little shearing affect that helps to re-atomize any fuel that has fallen out of suspension.

In my opinion, I think it is better to lay out the port locations rather than transfer the gasket pattern because you will find that the gaskets are often all over the place as well.

Since I have failed to communicate some of my posts clearly, I do not want any confusion.  Forgive me if I am talking below your level, I just don’t want a mistake and I feel this needs to be said.

In order to grind the ports in the heads, the heads need to be removed from the engine and fully disassembled.  Then, they need to be thoroughly cleaned before reassembly.  Any metal particles and/or grinding dust will destroy and an engine.

If your long block is already assembled, I would just put it together.  Realistically at your horsepower level, you will not notice any difference by just port matching.

Regards,

Joe

Is this like putting a rectangle port intake on oval port heads?

Dan'l