What water neck to use on a SBC with TPI engine in the Fiero? I am thinking a 45 degree flipped 180 degrees but cannot find any good pictures or threads on this. The current one is a stock F body neck and routes the coolant hose with a big U turn that will be in the way of air filter routing. I see many that are pointing towards the driver side but not sure which water neck orientation to get.
Several companies make one that can be clocked any direction you want. I bought one for my 400sbc. Edelbrock was the brand I used. I chose a 45 degree, and can swivel it 360° until I find where I want it, then finish tightening the two Allen bolts that secure it to the manifold. Very happy with it.
You might try a swivel type neck that can be pointed at any angle, like a Trans-dapt 6003 (there are others too). These do not have any provisions for sensors, so you might have to relocate anything that was in the stock water neck. I've never used one of these, and I've heard you need to be careful that they seal well, but it would get you any angle you might need.
The swivel version worked well on my sbc with a carb. You can run the coolant through the existing fender well opening on the passenger side, down behind the well liner then turn toward the driver side and use a metal tubing clamped to the cradle to get the water to the driver side tube running to the radiator. That keeps the coolant line from showing in the engine bay and allows for a high fill point in your cooling system. Pretty sure I got my method from Archie. He did that on some of his installs. Not the best pictures, mostly taken during assembly. Good luck on your project.
Thank you, I think a 45 deg with swivel will get me where I need to be. I mounted a remote water pump in the wheel well so routing here would be tight, I like the idea of routing this way to clean up the engine bay.
I would like to get one local so i can get this done this weekend. I was hoping a stock one flipped 180 on the mounting holes might work. Like this one: Water neck
The type water neck you pictured may work, but it points the hose upward making it more difficult to make it through the existing fender well hole. Like you said, it might be a tight fit if you already have the water pump in that area. It's worth the effort to get those lines out of view. Research some of Archie's builds, he may have had the answer. You can do it!
Another issue routing this way is the TPI throttle body is right there with a 90 degree air filter boot/filter in this area, this was the reason I moved the remote water pump into the wheel well. I will still look I over to see if this will work.
This one was an O-ring swivel version, but I did modify it to make it shorter so it would fit under the intake. I also prefer to route coolant return path down the front of the engine vs. under the cradle. I started with mounting the tube to the firewall, but eventually switched to monting it to the engine so it was more hidden.
Here is a 4.3 CPI version:
These water necks with the built in caps are a little more spendy, and they won't clear the TPI throttle body.
Here is another one with the HSR intake flipped (which was ALOT of work).
