Thread: Project Special K

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Thanks Alan. I measured it up and this sucker is big. It should take up to a 19 inch pusher fan just not sure what type. I've heard great stuff about spal, summit makes them a lot cheaper but haven't heard anyone using their name brand setups!

Some shots with it temp in place. It's tall but should clear the hood.

Well I finally got an upper radiator hose from summit that looks nice and should custom bend to fit. It actually was pretty cheap for a braided line. The bottom hose came yesterday. It will involve major altercations to fit the short run from the water pump to the bottom of the radiator(it is 2" on one end and 1 3/4" on the other, with a built in 90 degree. It's just too long and not bent quite enough.
On the summer projects note, my wife's 40th Birthday bash was a tremendous hit, My first deer hunt was a success( I think the deer jumped up to make it easier for me) and with vacation just a week away, it's been imposible to get anything done on the truck, but order parts. Next I'm going to get the pusher fan. It has space for a 19" diameter fan, it seems what's availible varies quite a bit! I'm not sure about CFM's required for my mild build 460 with c-6. Any suggestions? I'd like to keep it under 200 bucks for the price, but will buy something that comes highly recommended, if it is more, vs. an unknown. Summit has a few for 70 bucks and temp controlled on off relays for 40-50 bucks. What do you think?

[QUOTE=Evolvo;360199]

Originally Posted by stovens

Some shots with it temp in place. It's tall but should clear the hood.
Steve, have you actually checked to see if it does clear? Before you go cutting and fitting rad hoses you better make sure. You don't want to be the only guy on the site thats had to redo something!!

Thanks Alan, I resemble that comment!!!!!!!

Who me?
Thanks, I was planning to just vice grip clamp it for start up, then mount it permanent later, but it would be nice to get the hood off the floor, since my garage space keeps shrinking as stuff like a new freezer move out there!

Well I was motivated by the losing interest thread and by the fact I want to get this new 460 started. So I cleared some space in the garage, and started playing with radiator hoses and after some mods, got both the upper and lower hoses on. The radiator wants to sit farther back than originaly where the 48 mounts are. So I figured I'd check the clearance and put the hood on there. While I was at it I fixed the hood latch handle that has baffled me for years!
So I carefully covered the radiator top and wrestled the hood opn(wife taking nap, no helpers) and bam it fits just fine foward. Which means no pusher fan, no electric fan, just a nice stock one! Solves several problems and saves me some cash! Yah hooo! Anyway I should have done this weeks ago, so thank you all who post your progress to get me motivated!
Now I just need to fabricate some radiator mounts unless anyone knows of some aftermarket ones. Also I recall reading here that I want to just mount the sides not the bottom so the is play and the radiator isn't torn apart, is that correct? Thanks here's a few photos.


note that the squeezed hose on the frame will actually be elevated to prevent this
And here is the new clearance I gained.

Should work just fine!! On street cars, I still prefer to use the stock mechanical fan whenever it's possible!!! With a good shroud, they'll cool just fine.

Originally Posted by dave severson

should work just fine!! On street cars, i still prefer to use the stock mechanical fan whenever it's possible!!! With a good shroud, they'll cool just fine.

bulletproof, bulletproof, bulletproof.

Got the new spacer and flex fan. Had a chance to eyeball everything and was able to use the original radiator mount with 3" bolts to bolt the new radiator in place. The clearance to the front of the fan from the radiator is about 1/2" right now, so tomorrow I'll get 4" inch bolts and that should give me a little more than an inch clearance. I also plan on cutting small pieces of pipe to use as spacers between the bolts and old radiator mount to keep the radiator from slipping into the fan, even the the tension from the hoses pretty much make that impossible right now. Here are a few shots as she sits now.

Looks great Steve. With all that core area you should have no overheating problems. Like Dave said, put a shroud for sure so it pulls from all over the core, not just in a circle the diameter of the fan.

Coming along great bud.

Don

Don - I will try and get someone to help build one. I wish I had your skills with metal and the tools to fabricate one myself! And thanks for the kind words! Not sure how to go about it, might have to mock something up in cardboard and then go to my local welder and have him do the metal work. He's a nice guy and is reasonable(make that dambed nice) for what he charges!

Been awhile since I've gotten out to workon the truck. Last week I reorders a new accelerator cable to fix my stuck to the floor gas pedal problem. It came in the mail today, so hopefully tomorrow or soon after, I'll be recovered enough to start wiring the engine, and ultimately getting it started, before it siezes from neglect! I have turned it over by hand a few times and primed the oil pump shaft using the primer Tech recogmended. Anyway, I'm getting excited to get back on this project. Thanks for following this thread. Steve.

Got out to garage and did a decent amount of finishing lose end stuff. I was able to finish installing the radiator(needed two spacers from hardware store). Next I connected the transmission coolant lines to the radiator, then fabricated some metal tubing into a vacuum line from the transmission modulator to another port in the intake manifold. Found my old stock exhaust manifolds and took the donut connectors off along with about 18 inches of old pipe, without striping any bolts. Cleaned off the manifolds washed down, and set out to dry(black widows had found a nice home in there!
One of the manifolds has a hairline crack in the middle of the front side, which I hope won't matter, since I just want to bolt these on for engine break in and initial start up. My Sanderson headers say not to install them until after breakin, as this could cause blemishing in the ceramic coatings. So I'm hoping the old manifolds will work for a few weeks! Another question that comes to mind is should I cut some short pieces of exhaust pipe to temperarily connect the old mufflers for the time being, or can I just run the straight stock manifolds?
Any help here would be appreciated as always. My goal is to get the wiring done next, and start and break in the engine before new year. I hope after that things will start coming together faster. All of my other distractions are over for winter and spring(deer season is over, and all the summer house projects are done). Anyways felt good to get back to work on the beast again. I guess I just needed a break to get remotivated. It also helps reading everyone elses threads!

[QUOTE=stovens;369279]Got out to garage and (snip)* nifolds and took the donut connectors off along with about 18 inches of old pipe, without striping any bolts. Cleaned off the manifolds washed down, and set out to dry(black widows had found a nice home in there! (snip)
Spiders --- UGH. That's why I tolerate the cold and the snow here in Maine.

Wow, you're gonna have yours going before I get mine going!
Perley

I'd say put piece of pipe in there temporarily, I like to run new engines with the exhaust and muffler in place to listen for any "strange" sounds...