[fxbill]

I finally got the new motor in and running... It was the dart iron eagle block 446 cu in that I recently purchased on eBay. What a job! I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, but had decided to change the tranny to a TKO600, the rear gears to 3.27 and then realized every step of the way that there was a hitch here and there. The Trick Flow "R" heads needed special header flanges. Don was nice enough to help me out with the headers. I had also decided to install power steering, tubular upper and lower A arms from Pole Position, electric water pump that came on the engine, electric fuel pump.... too many changes at once! Anyway... I let the power steering go for a bit and the A arms until everything else was done.
I got it running several days ago... What a difference! The last stroker was over 500 HP and ran great, but was tuned to more high RPM. This time I went with torque and higher gears. It's a neck snapper now.
It was running hot for the first time since I've owned it so I spent the day last weekend installing a bigger fan and shroud. It was working great and then I went to shut the hood to take it for a road test.......... mistake..., big mistake... I'd forgotten about the hood hinge closing so close to the radiator and pushed the fan right into the radiator.... So..... after repairing the hole in the radiator I looked inside the hose connectors to check it out.... almost half the capillary tubes were blocked with "stones". Rather than pay $90 to rod it out I went ahead and ordered an aluminum 19x26 and a set of dual Spal 11" fans. I expect them here this week.
I was measuring the opening for fitment and reading past posts about installation. I notice that you guys were cutting the bottom half of the support hoop off and fastening the supports directly to the frame. My supports are only 1/4" higher than the frame anyway. Does the 1/4" make that much of a difference when installing the radiator?
Anyway....we'll see how it goes this week....I'm going to go ahead and install the power steering rack while I'm waiting. It'll be one less thing to do to complete everything.
Cheers to you guys!
Bill