Update: Man, I hate roadblocks. I removed the outer fittings from the oil cooler with 15/16" and 20mm wrenches as described in detail in the article on GNTType.org (had to buy a 20mm wrench because none of the service techs where I work had one--and these guys have tens of thousands of dollars in their tool-chests)...link here:
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/airconditioning/fbodyrad.html
I bought the 2 pairs of Aeroquip fittings as per the article. One pair screwed into the B & M #70273 cooler perfectly. However, when I removed the aforementioned fittings from the cooler with the 20mm wrench, the pair of fittings I bought were nowhere even close to fitting the larger adapter; they were way too small. So either the place where I bought the fittings got something wrong, or my car is different.
Regarding the 2 lengths of 5/16" steel line attached to the stock rad with the couplers that mate to the tranny cooler lines, I was planning to remove those and use a pipe bender to re-bend them to be able to reach the existing tranny cooler lines. However, those fittings are some weird size. Both 1/2" and 13mm wrenches had a bit too much play, and a 12mm wrench wouldn't fit. So, I ended up rounding both trying to unscrew them at the 90-degree adapters.I ended up unscrewing the 90-degree adapters instead and cut off the weird-sized rounded fittings. I'll have to buy more, slide them on and flare the pipe ends.
Other than that, things are going well.
No offense intended at all here, I know I've done plenty of things the hard way before. How much time and money do you have into all this now with getting parts, back and forth, etc? At least you have the skills, tools, and time to do all of this work yourself.
Peter
