stevrolet46- I have the same setup you do. I had my radiator reworked(rodded out, pluged the overflow pipe & new fillerneck) and run a 7# cap. My radiator guy said that the seams of the orig. radiator won't take any more than that. So far works fine. As for the hose from the thermostat to the radiator I used a short piece of straight hose, I think 1 1/2".

Sounds like you have a good project going there.

George