I did fix the coolant hose collapsing first and that stopped it from hitting 210 under accel. It was still creeping up steadily during highway driving. The internet was wrong (who knew) the stock hoses and trans line fittings worked.
with a fresh 160 thermostat and the new radiator it was running 170 all over town. Coolant temp drops 40 degrees across the front of the new radiator, the old one was only showing a 20 degree drop.
the water pump pulley is actually 20% over driven thanks to mismatch pulleys so if this doesn't fix it the problem may be water moving too fast. I'll do a highway tip tomorrow!
these pictures show how bad I need to clean the engine bay again. Flushing dirty coolant makes a huge mess.
The 5.0 was prolly fuel injected as well, where as Doorstep has a nice old fashioned carb/computer-less! P. o. might have put 165 in to fool the computer into a rich condition; it does work sometimes, but there are better ways. But yea, we're getting to the same stuff!
Oh and on the thermostat temp choice because I missed it the first time around. A fox body 302 ran a 192 degree factory. The 70 ford truck this came from had a 160 or 180. Both were options based on use. I've always preferred an operating temperature around 175-180 on motors over 9-1 compression. I find around 200 degree temps with the stock carburetor you start running into spark knock issues
according to that chart with the now 50/50 mix, 16psi cap I should be 260+ for boiling point. Not sure how happy the headgaskets would be lol
It's only 80 out today instead of 95 but the radiator and fresh thermostat seems to have cured it. Runs 170-180 cruising along. Have a large cruise in town tomorrow night, I missed the last one with the car torn apart so should be fun this time
Welll managed 225 miles out of the reman alternator that sounded crunchy when it went on. Started squeeling this morning and spitting out all kind of fine black powder.
warranty replacement is the bling version, it also sounds like it was rebuilt with a bad bearing so let's see how long it lasts!
In reply to dropstep :
What ever engineer signed off on the water traps in those things should be required to change them every day for all eternity.
In reply to TurnerX19 :
Yeah it's certainly not a good design at all. They have made me good money over the years so I guess I have to take the bad occasionally.
in car news it's getting its second oil change since the swap on Saturday. Just over 600 miles on the car fairly problem free!
In reply to dropstep :
That picture reminds me of replacing the shackles on my 93 ranger, I had to replace both sides. The salt was not kind to certain parts of the underside of that truck. I know it was a common issue on the rangers that the shackles would rust through and break.
Found a slight problem at the last oil change, engine settled on the mounts and pan vs swaybar started
spaced it down 1/4 inch. Going to double check it this weekend.
Then just a cool photo from last weekends cruise. Another fun night and I was waiting for my sons photos to be uploaded but my wife's stepdad hasn't gotten that far yet!
Not everyone's idea of fun but a friend invited me to an event called wren days. The official version was canceled but they got permission to use the burnout pad. This is wear the tire went that bounced off the backing boards. I didn't plan to do one this large or I would have brought spares.
https://youtu.be/Wv-fkIJMvDs
thats a video my wife shot.
After watching the video, I went back and looked at the pic you posted, and it makes more sense now. All those little black bits there 
In reply to dropstep :
That's an Aussie-quality smoke cloud, holy E36 M3balls! Did you have any tire left???
Enough tire left too get it home. That's about it.
Drove about 70 miles today then stopped in a town and when I restarted the car it was running on 7 cylinders. Turns out the number 6 wire fell over on the header. Had a friend bring me a few random wires and got one that was close enough and finished my weekend errands.
Had the car on a lift today because it killed another passenger side inner tie rod end, decided to get a better picture of my crazy tailpipes.
In reply to dropstep :
Brought spare tires, or spare brake pads or both? LOL
Crackers said:
In reply to dropstep :
Brought spare tires, or spare brake pads or both? LOL
Actually didn't take spare tires because I wasn't planning too do a large burnout. I did atleast have burnout tires on and not the rear 16s . I ended up with this photo from a friend who got it from a friend etc 
Not directly car related but if I would have stayed parked uptown at the cruise talking to friends for another 45minutes the car would have caught some tonnage of brick. Me and a friends g8 were parked in the 2 spots there
Ouch. I knew a bus driver in TX that was stopped when the fascia of a building collapsed. a small part of the bricks did hit the bus. Glad you had good timing.
Alright part of this winters plan is too hopefully finish the interior finally. Have to get the subframe connectors made but after the swap my wife's been complaining about how hot the floor pan gets. As a guy who's normal interior plan is gutted race car I hve no idea what a good budget interior heat shielding is.
so I'm seeking some advice to keep the wife happy. Preferably something fairly light and idiot proof too install!
Then random photo because a friend asked about one of the stickers and photos make everything better!
welcome too Ohio and one of the worst parts of ford truck ownership here. I've done several sets of these for money but of course my personal truck had to be the worst one I've ever done. Glad I took it too my former employers. Only needed a sawzall, grinder, torch, ball joint press and air hammer To change one shackle mount, shackle and leaf spring bushing. 
