I have a strong running engine now, but it will not run for long. The thing gets extremely hot and just shoots coolant all over the place out of the little vent on the cap. I do have the temperature gauge working, but overlooked its placement. The sending unit works, but is mounted underneath the thermostat. I had found that the entire upper radiator hose is not even getting warm. It's ice cold when the engine is very hot. The temperature reading I am getting is that of the cylinder head, conducting directly to the thermostat housing. The reading on the gauge is extremely low compared to the block temperature. I can only hope I haven't destroyed this engine today after it overheated...

All day was spent installing electric fans and running wiring. I currently have 2 12 inch electric fans, with adjustable controllers. They are mounted directly to the radiator with no fan shroud, due to lack of clearance. This engine is so long that I have no other current options. I tried a universal fan shroud, but it was too deep and couldn't accommodate the giant fixed fan. I considered a smaller flex fan, but that would need a shroud, which was not happening. I settled on 2 electric fans as I could control them manually if needed, and they scare me less that a steel blade running from the crank shaft. That thing is a severed arm waiting to happen.

The 2 fans move a substantial amount of air, but the fan controllers never kicked them on. I didn't figure out why until after I had bypassed them with a power lead straight to the ignition switch on the fuse panel. Turns out I had put the probes next to the radiator hose that was not getting any warm coolant. They would have never turned on, and are doing no good at all, as the coolant is not flowing through the radiator.

I put some ThermoCure in the system and ran it a minute, letting it sit over night. I suspect a clogged radiator, among possible water pump failure. At this point, I am trying to flush the system, install a new water pump, and replace the head gasket, as I am pretty sure it is blown at this point.

More updates to follow shortly, as tomorrow is another Truck Day for me, I do have some pretty sweet new fuse holders for the start circuit, as well as some bright red convoluted tubing to run the entire wiring harness through. It is currently a mess of hideous wires.