Crazy LT1 waterpump idea, Shoehorning an LT1 into a 914! Options

[bondo]

As some of you already know, I'm doing a V8 conversion in my 914 with an LT1 from a 1993 firebird. The cam driven waterpump sticks out the front and gets in the way in a big way. In order to avoid extreme firewall modifications, I came up with a crazy idea... I'll install an electric waterpump kit in the stock waterpump housing... and mount the sucker up by the radiator! It will require a couple of custom flanges, and a couple hose "Ys" but it should work.. with one possible exception. The thermostat is in the water pump, and it's a fancy bypass thermostat. instead of blocking the water until it warms up, it bypasses the radiator until it warms up, and once it warms up it closes the bypass and opens the radiator. I'm worried that the engine may overheat before the thermostat has a chance to open, because it's farther away and will react later than usual. Has anyone ever done anything even remotely like this? Am I nuts?

--Royce

[bondo]

I need a thermostat because of the unusual setup of the LT1 cooling system. They got away with 10.5:1 compression because they send the cold water directly to the heads. If I cycled the pump on and off, it would probably overheat shortly after the pump turned off, unless I mounted the pump control thermostat in the head somewhere. The stock waterpump setup cycles water through the engine when the thermostat is closed. The variable speed controller for the pump is a good idea, but it would be hard to calibrate, and probably expensive. Also, some electric motors will overheat if run on a lower voltage. I've pretty much decided on using the stock water pump body, but mounted in the front trunk. It should pump the recirculated water fast enough that the delay would only be a few seconds. I can even set up a relay on the fan thermostat to run the pump after shutdown to avoid afterboiling. I figure GM put a ton of engineering into this cooling system, and I don't want to mess with it any more than necessary.

--Royce