Hi Terry,
For the heater line, I made a tube to attach under the manifold, much like the
original. If you are using all soft line, note that the firewall connection
isnbt the same size as the water pump connection. Because of the angle that
it connects at the water pump, I think routing along the top side of the
manifold may be better, but I think either will work.
The other connection you are talking about is the coolant bypass. Despite
theft that some say it isnbt needed, I think it is a good idea. What happens
when you have it blocked off is that you get wild fluctuations in the coolant
temp. I think something like this happens: With little/no coolant flowing,
the coolant in the block/head gets quite hot, while the coolant around the
thermostat and sender remains cool. Eventually enough heat reaches the
thermostat, so it starts to open, and the very hot coolant in the engine moves
past it, so it opens up wide, the temp gauge climbs, and the coolant in the
engine is replaces by cool coolant from the radiator. Which then moves past
the thermostat, closing it down, slowing the coolant. So the coolant in the
engine starts to heat up again, the coolant in the radiator cools down, and
the cycle starts again. Eventually this starts to reach some equilibrium,
faster in warm weather. But I donbt think those swings are good for
anything.
The solution is to retain the bypass. Woody puts a plug in the bypass port on
the manifold, you can easily knock it out. Then you need a thermostat housing
with the bypass plumbed (Rover did it with a connection on the manifold,
rather than as Buick did it). There is supposedly a Buick housing that has
the right output angle, or there is the one from D&D. I went the D&D route:
http://aluminumv8.com/Home/NewStuff <http://aluminumv8.com/Home/NewStuff>
-Darrell
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