Hello Again,
As I understood this system the Long Ram (which is the one that curves over the cylinder banks) was designed to give optimum performance at 2800 rpm. This worked out to the 60 80 mph range. If any of you are old enough to remember the pre-interstate days - you will remember that the average US road was a 2 lane. The optimum speed referred to corresponded to the average passing speeds. The Short Ram was designed for optimum performance in the 4000 to 5000 rpm range. This manifold was specially designed for the drag strip. Additionally, if I remember, the Short Ram had no water jackets. Their finest hour was on the Max Wedge.
Also - both the 361 and 383 were available with the previously mentioned Long Ram manifold. The "kicker" was the ad persons hype -- they referred to this application as The Sonoramic Commando!!!!!!!