Actually, GM specifically states that the MAF sensor should be placed in the MIDDLE of a minimum 6" length of straight pipe, in the instructions included with the connect and cruise package. I have 7" of straight pipe. I also have a flipped throttle body, that makes the lower edge of the butterfly open backward toward the engine. In theory, you should get a fairly smooth flow, along the largest radius of the intake tube and right into to the lower side of the butterfly. The setup got a 1200 mile test, two years ago and worked fine. Throttle response is great and I got 20 mpg, in city driving.
I first made an intake snorkel that went down and around to the driver's side, with a smaller air cleaner, completely ignoring the instructions. A wasted quite a few days and bucks on an intake that would not work at all, since there was no straight pipe, anywhere. The engine wouldn't idle and surged a lot.
Assembling the car twice and test driving it added a lot of hours to the project, but it revealed a lot of suspension problems that needed major work to solve. A lot of changes were made that would have been impossible, once the car was painted and assembled. What I found is the Oze cars are designed to be trailer queens. Not much has to work well or be serviceable - as long as can you get the car off the trailer and parked, you're golden, providing it doesn't rain. I did a lot of extra work to make the car serviceable and not leak water inside.