V8 radiator supports

The giant radiator I had for the V12 was so heavily modified that I decided to start fresh with a new, built for a 5.0, aluminum racing radiator. A mistake I made with the other one was that the uprights holding the rad also got in the way of shrouding the radiator. For this one I mounted it lower and farther back for improved weight distribution and I allowed lots of room for shrouding.

Here is the upper passenger side rad mount

Lower passenger side mount

And room behind the rad for dual shrouded fans.

More work on the floor and tranny mount

I put together the passenger side floor and finished up the rear of the drivers side floor. I am amazed how strong bent and riveted 1/8" aluminum is.

The floor is so strong that I am using it to support the transmission. Here you can see the steel mount I have bolted between the driver and passenger floor. To be safe, I am going to seem weld the entire floor and add some gussets.

I added a steel plate to add further strength and spread the load out a little bit. I will definitely have to keep an eye on the floor to make sure it's not buckling under the weight of the transmission.

The V8 is running

It has taken way too long to track down all the sensors, install and hook them up but I finally got it done. I also had to get oil lines made for the remote filter and weld oxygen sensor bungs into the exhaust. Here is the video of the first time I pushed the start button with the new engine. It runs a little rough because I didn't have the air charge temperature sensor plumbed into the intake system. After I took the video I just held the sensor in front of the MAF and it ran better. 
V8 first start up

New lowered drivers side floor

I started installing the new floor this week. It will be 4" lower, lighter and looks much better.

I ordered 1/8" aluminum sheet from a local supplier and had them bend the pieces for me.

And did a bunch of trimming and test fitting until the floor fit nicely. I used threaded rivets so I could bolt the floor to the frame and the transmission tunnel to the floor. At the back of the tunnel you can just see the modified driveshaft loop which now also serves as the rear mount for the tunnel.

I still have to add the vertical piece to fill in the rear of the floor, but you can see how I bolted it to the frame rail.

A test fit of the seat revealed that I will have to make an angled mount to attach the sliders, it shouldn't be that difficult.