Thermostat housing. After looking at the coolant flow layout, we’re pretty sure the heater line in/out (lower two holes) are not critical to coolant flow when thermostat is closed like on the BP motor. Used freeze plugs to seal those up, part number 555-007 (~0.47″) and 555-016 (~0.38″).
New thermostat (PN 73580) and gasket (PN 35781) installed as well.
New V8R pan is on the engine,
Picked a location for the SMI gauge’s oil temp sensor, just above the drain plug in the pan:
Excited for the progress! So far I’m about 65 hours in, 40 of which are must-do’s for the swap, the other 25 hours on “while I’m in there” stuff. First test-fit of the engine will be soon so I can start looking at logistics for cooling and exhaust as well as mock up the transmission which will allow me to do final placement of the frame rails and the differential pinion angle.