Coolant system redesign/OEM style overflow tank elimination

I'M POSTING MY QUESTION FIRST; EXPLANATION IS BELOW.

I'd like to install a 95 style radiator with fill port so I don't have a makeshift inline fill port, followed by an inline thermostat and then a cross over delete, seems too cobbled together (including the MMR w/ fill port). Has anyone installed a 95 radiator in their Terminator?

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Hey guys, I know I'm far from the first to tackle this, but I'm planning on re-doing my coolant system. I have to do a coolant cross over delete to smooth out my coolant lines to the supercharger so I'm looking to achieve a couple goals.

1. Smooth out the supercharger coolant lines from my J2 tank in the trunk
2. Remove the oil cooler
3. Move the thermostat before the radiator so the coolant isn't cooled before it hits the thermostat
4. Install a bypass for coolant coming from the rear drivers side head by cylinder 7/8.
5. More room for my MM catch can
6. Eliminate the factory style coolant over flow tank to open up the front of the engine for esthetics and better flow of air through the hood vents.

I'm planning on using an MMR cross over delete over the on 3 because I want the larger -12an hoses to handle the outflow fo the coolant. I'll run a simple inline thermostat housing. Cobra engineering oil cooler delete with a simple 1 3/4" hose to the lower radiator output.

My question here is I need to install a fill port near the top input of the radiator with an overflow tank output so I can eliminate the OEM style overflow tank and install a much smaller one in the passengers side fender. (I'll make it removable to burp and fill the system so I can raise it)

What I'd really like to do is install a 95 style radiator so I don't have a makeshift fill port, followed by an inline thermostat and then a cross over delete, seems to cobbled together. Has anyone installed a 95 radiator in their terminator?

Don't have the answer for you JD. Just wanted to say the SB bay looks good. Actually looking to pick up the same coil covers for the DSG.

My first couple of questions would be is the fill point on the 95 radiator in a useable spot? What about the coolant hose hook ups? It's been a long time since I've really looked at a push rod engine bay. Also, will the fill point on the radiator be the highest point once you're done routing everything? The overflow tank in the fender should be just that, for overflow. You shouldn't need to disconnect it to burp the system.

Sprchd83 said:

Don't have the answer for you JD. Just wanted to say the SB bay looks good. Actually looking to pick up the same coil covers for the DSG.

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Hey thanks! Hope you're loving the vert, it was a beautiful car and in amazing condition. How's that new garage coming?

01yellercobra said:

My first couple of questions would be is the fill point on the 95 radiator in a useable spot? What about the coolant hose hook ups? It's been a long time since I've really looked at a push rod engine bay. Also, will the fill point on the radiator be the highest point once you're done routing everything? The overflow tank in the fender should be just that, for overflow. You shouldn't need to disconnect it to burp the system.

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I am an open book for ideas here and I am very much a rookie with this type of stuff. I'm just trying to accomplish this in a nice clean way that will work. I think the fill port may be the highest point if I fill the system with the car jacked up or on ramps. An overflow can mounted in the passengers side fender will likely be below the fill port on the 95 radiator.

Maybe it would be easier to have a fill port welded onto a proper 2004 radiator wherever I want it. I could then have them add -20 or -16 bungs for hoses...

Here are a few photos I've collected where people have done similar(ish) things.

I think on this one the fill port is roughly where it would be in a 95 mustang, I think this is a On3 kit with the thermostat near the radiator.


This would be a more straight forward system to replicate, I don't like where the fill port is, but it's not bad. The overflow tank looks nice here, but I'd still like it in the fender.


I believe this is a 95 style radiator, at least the fill port is in the correct location, very clean set up using an On3 crossover.



Finally, this one kept the factory cross over, but made the inline fill port and thermostat housing not look too cobbled together.

Yeah my buddy had an sn95 radiator and I'm putting it in my Terminator to clean up the engine bay. Along with an On3 coolant crossover delete. Here's a photo of his setup, well old setup, he's going turbo now. He had a plastic bottle for coolant overflow where the battery was located (battery in trunk).

JCDriller said:

Hey thanks! Hope you're loving the vert, it was a beautiful car and in amazing condition. How's that new garage coming?

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Work in progress. Cement company was down due to the virus. Just starting back up this week. Should be digging and pouring in the next two weeks. Then again it was snowing here this morning!

Wings65288 said:

Yeah my buddy had an sn95 radiator and I'm putting it in my Terminator to clean up the engine bay. Along with an On3 coolant crossover delete. Here's a photo of his setup, well old setup, he's going turbo now. He had a plastic bottle for coolant overflow where the battery was located (battery in trunk).
View attachment 1639480

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wow, any more photos of the car? Does he have a build thread or Instagram? Looks like an amazing ride, thanks for sharing.

Yeah he does everything himself. Painted his car Mystichrome but left out the purple, looks killer. His IG is d_ellsworth_jr if u msg him he can tell you more about his setup. I call and message him all the time lol, he's a good dude

Wings65288 said:

Yeah he does everything himself. Painted his car Mystichrome but left out the purple, looks killer. His IG is d_ellsworth_jr if u msg him he can tell you more about his setup. I call and message him all the time lol, he's a good dude

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Thanks man, I reached out to him, hopefully he'll give me some detail. That is a sweet looking setup.

Wings65288 said:

Yeah he does everything himself. Painted his car Mystichrome but left out the purple, looks killer. His IG is d_ellsworth_jr if u msg him he can tell you more about his setup. I call and message him all the time lol, he's a good dude

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Your buddy replied back and verified he was using a SN95 5.0L radiator. This is the exact set up I'm going to run.

thank you guys!

Beautiful there she is. This car is going to be a monster. He's got some very nice things on the horizon for her. That's the radiator he gave me and crossover delete when I bought that 3.4 Whipple off him. Just a very nice clean simple look with that radiator and crossover delete.

Wings65288 said:

Beautiful there she is. This car is going to be a monster. He's got some very nice things on the horizon for her. That's the radiator he gave me and crossover delete when I bought that 3.4 Whipple off him. Just a very nice clean simple look with that radiator and crossover delete.

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Did he give you the water bottle overflow tank to?

How did he or how are you handling the lower hose? Are you doing a oil cooler delete or just running a GT hose and leaving the oil cooler. I already have an oil filter relocation kit set up so I'm thinking I'll just delete the oil cooler, extend the oil lines. I'm also thinking about having -16an bung welded on the bottom of the radiator (w/ cobra engineering oil cooler delete) and having a thermostat housing with -12an bungs welded on the top. Shouldn't be that much work and would be the cleanest way to approach this.

Seems like you have your set up figured out but ill add incase.
I run the on3 crossover delete, inline stat housing in upper hose, head cooling port that flows to the on3 stat housing, factory radiator, factory oil cooler (for now), gt lower hose, small overflow/degas tank.
I fill from the tank and I can move to the highest point in the system so I don't get air trapped. Once system is full I bolt it down in the battery location.
So far this has worked well for me. I will eventually delete the oil cooler/heater and switch over the cobra engineering coolant crossover. His uses 12an lines and has a fill port built in.
Interested to see how yours turns out

Yeah that sounds very clean looking also but he just uses a GT hose on the bottom which is what I'll do.

94slowbra1 said:

Seems like you have your set up figured out but ill add incase.
I run the on3 crossover delete, inline stat housing in upper hose, head cooling port that flows to the on3 stat housing, factory radiator, factory oil cooler (for now), gt lower hose, small overflow/degas tank.
I fill from the tank and I can move to the highest point in the system so I don't get air trapped. Once system is full I bolt it down in the battery location.
So far this has worked well for me. I will eventually delete the oil cooler/heater and switch over the cobra engineering coolant crossover. His uses 12an lines and has a fill port built in.
Interested to see how yours turns out

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Yea, I'm over-engineering this for sure. I don't see a Cobra Engineering coolant crossover delete? are you talking about the rear cross over? he makes amazing products so if he has a cross over delete I'm not aware of that's how I'll go. Also, how your running your overflow tank is exactly how I first thought I'd do it.


EDIT:

Wow, CE's new cross-over delete is pretty cool! Here it is if you guys haven't seen it.

Glad you found the kit, ill be switching to his when I'm back working again.
So far I haven't had any cooling issues or air in my system.
He's a pic of my bay for reference. You can see the overflow in the bottom right corner where the battery was

94slowbra1 said:

Glad you found the kit, ill be switching to his when I'm back working again.
So far I haven't had any cooling issues or air in my system.
He's a pic of my bay for reference. You can see the overflow in the bottom right corner where the battery wasView attachment 1640294

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Man that looks nice!

Today I ordered my J2 intercooler and a Fluidyne 3 core SN95 radiator along with some mishimoto 5.0 radiator mounts.

That Cobra Engineering unit looks perfect. It's a thermostat housing like the On3 but uses -12an hoses like the MMR units. Timing couldn't be better! As soon as it's available I'll order it and the oil cooler delete from CE and be done. Now I have to figure out how I want to move the battery, I just dropped in a new Odyssey 1230 and replaced the terminals.

I got rid of all those tanks myself. Removed the coolant bypass hose that ran down the front of the engine and put the t-stat in the upper radiator hose. The round aluminum container on the right is the power steering reservoir and the rectangle one is my engine coolant expansion tank. Stock radiator with Mark VIII fan.

That looks killer man. Off topic but I'm about to make all these fuel lines up and I was wondering can I have straight AN fittings coming out of here? I see you you have a 45 on one. I was just going to have 2 lines coming off the rails from this spot into the regulator which will be placed in the passenger fenderwell. I just don't know if I need a 90 or 45 fitting here because of fitment or if a straight AN fitting will be fine. Was hoping to use just 2 straight AN fittings but am open to suggestions.