The first thing that I did was remove the engine driven fan and install the Flex-a-Lite 210 electric fans. This was a pretty straight forward process. It took about 2 hours total. At the same time, I also installed a 180 degree thermostat. It originally had a 195 degree thermostat. I ran all summer with the electric fans. I did not have any problems overheating with the 4.3. Hopefully they will work just as well with the 350. Here is a picture from the side.

Axle Set-Back Plates

The next thing that I decided to do was install the axle set back plates. Actually, I had pulled my car on the pit simply intending to do an oil change. When I looked at the rear leaf springs, I noticed that all but one of the passenger side springs had cracked in half. I found another set of springs at a local junk yard for $60. While I had the springs off I figured that it would be a good time to install the plates. The whole process only took a few hours.

Radiator Support Modifications

The most time consuming thing that I decided to do was to rebuild the radiator and condenser support to mount them in a more forward position. This ended up taking an entire weekend and a lot of cutting, welding, and grinding. If you look at the stock position of the condenser, there is actually 1.25 inches up top where it can be moved forward. The bottom however is tight. I decided to extend the bottom of the support out 1.75" and move the condenser out with it. This Allowed me to mount the radiator almost where the condenser was. If you plan on trying this, plan on a lot of cutting, grinding, welding, and custom design. After I was sure that everything fit, I cleaned, primed, and painted the support.

Steering Column Relocation

This was actually relatively easy to do. The JTR book mentioned that it may not be necessary on 88 1/2 and newer vehicles but unfortunately it was. I used a dremel tool to cut out the metal underneath the brake booster. There was no room to get in there with any other type of saw. I think that I actually moved it a little farther than recommended. I was able to see light through the right hand side so I used silicone to seal it up.

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The steering column is now very close to the shock mount. This should give me ample clearance between the steering column and the exhaust manifold.

AC Evaporator Housing Modification

I was hoping that I would not have to make this modification. After lowering the 350 in it became very obvious that this needed to be modified and that the wiring harness for the computer needed to be relocated.

Firewall Mods

The hole in the firewall where the computer cable comes through needs to be moved. Otherwise, the wires will melt from contact with the exhaust manifold. I used a 2" holesaw to drill a new hole. The original 4.3 wiring harness has a rubber grommet with a 90 degree bend in it. It is necessary to carefully cut away the 90 degree bend and pull several inches of the wires out into the engine compartment. In my case there was an extra 8" or so of wire under the dash. This extra wire allowed me to position the wires away from the exhaust manifold and up over the valve cover.

This is a picture from the inside of the truck. The computer wires were moved to the right of the antenna wire. I used a piece of sheet metal to cover the existing hole.

Tranny Cross-member Mods

In order to move the tranny back 1", it is necessary to extend and slot the holes on the cross-member.

Before:

After:

4X4 Shifter Mods

The hole that the 4x4 shifter comes through needs to be extended back 1" in order to move the tranny back.