I invited my trusted advisor, "Shaker", over on Sunday for a private consultation regarding my project. I held up the intercooler and radiator in front of the engine sitting between the framerails. After he stopped laughing, we came up with some realistic strategies...
1. Widen frame by 4". The factory 70 series axles are 56" WMS to WMS. The 14 bolt is 68. I have to do some drawings in Visio to confirm that the 41" tires on 4" BS wheels turning 45" won't tag the frame, but 4" is the goal to get that engine and all it's dangly bits to comfortably hang in the frame.
2. A small body lift may be in order. Since I've already cut off all but 2 of the body mounts, and may need to widen the frame anyway, I may just cut them all off and start over...
3. The fan/rad/intercooler is sized to tow a giganto trailer down the freeay. I don't need that much cooling. I will go with a air/water intercooler stacked on top of the exhaust manifold. I will loose the factory fan and put an electric on a custom right-sized rad. The Alternator makes 136 amps, and big upgrades are available if needed, so I have tons of power for an electric fan.
A legitimate question could be asked about now... "Why even bother with the 70 series frame anymore? Why not build something custom that does exactly what you need?"
That is a legitimate question. It has a valid Alberta registration with the matching serial number. I've already done all the hard work on the frame (chopping off the unnecessary bits and cleaning it) so I basically have virgin frame rails already. At this point, I am inclined to continue with the frame, unless someone can convince me otherwise...