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Last weekend I concentrated on getting the water lines routed before I finished off the bracing from the nerve bars to lower chassis frame rails.

The rear mounted radiator means I need two long runs to the back of the vehicle for coolant lines.  The first step was to modify the thermostat housing to get it pointed in the correct direction, the existing outlet tube points forward as shown above. 

I figured I'd run the line from the thermostat housing up the center of the chassis so a simple cut/turn/weld got the tubing pointed in the correct direction.

A 25" long Gates flexible hose serves coupling duty between the thermostat housing and center coolant line (Summit Racing #GTR-52425).

The center coolant line was fabricated from some 1.50 x .049 wall ERW tubing.  I chose this material over aluminum so I could weld it.  Corrosion was a concern until I cut the thermostat tubing apart and discovered very little corrosion after several years of usage. The second picture shows one of two mounting tabs which attach the coolant line to some of the removable floorboard studs.

I soon discovered the thin walled tubing kinked if I went above a 20 degree bend angle so to make the sharp 90 degree bend where the center coolant line works around the radiator I had to splice in a piece of 1.50 x .120 wall.  This particular bend came from my scrap pile. To ensure the rubber hoses have a good grip on the steel lines I actually fabricated a small hose retainer from some 1.75 x .120 wall tubing, beveled it and then welded it to the ends of the steel coolant lines.  For reference a 20" Gates flexible hose was used to couple the radiator to the center coolant line (Speedway #39525480).

The return coolant line was a challenge as it had to snake thru the chassis under the drivers seat avoiding the various braces, exhaust, a future muffler and the links in the back. I nearly had it done as a single piece but one bend that was a little too far back had me cutting and splicing pieces to get it perfect. Since there was no good spot for mounting tabs I created some nests for the coolant line to rest in the chassis (which also bought me some clearance under the drivers side foot well).

Another 20" Gates flexible hose connected the return line to the engine up front.

Out back I re-used some of the flexible stainless radiator hose I had left from the previous chassis.  This also took care of the tubing size difference (1.5" OD at the coolant line, 1.75 OD at the lower radiator). I will need to add a tab to secure the end of the return coolant line.

Update 6-15-10

My front upper link mount required the return coolant line to be moved either up or outboard of the mounts.  I chose up to keep it out of harms way. I have this section of line mounted via two tabs.

Looking back towards the seat you can see where the line jogs up in relation to the outside the chassis.  I like my previous routing better but due to the pedals, headers and links I just ran out of room below the interior floor.

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