Did they even come with a clutch fan back then? That would explain why it's all so tight. Is the radiator support one that has a "filler panel" for the /6 radiator? Maybe there is a fabrication solution there.
The trouble is the water pump. Years ago when the original 273 engine failed I went to rebuild it but at the time pistons were totally unavailable. So I built up a warmed over 360 because they were cheap and easy to source. The trouble is that in doing so a bunch of other stuff has to be modified for an early A - like the newer style water pump which is much longer than the original cast iron unit. If I was still running the 273, which I often wish I had in the bay instead, it wouldn't be a problem.
Side note: the 360 also necessitated getting the radiator inlet and outlet ports swapped to suit the new pump, and another core added to the mix. Both of those changes fill up the gap between the pump and radiator fins.
The problem is worse for a /6. It's a long engine with an even shorter gap between the fan and radiator fins. I want to say 2"?
So sure, I could cut and hack and weld a little to fabricate mounts and move the radiator forward but it's a lot of cutting that I'd rather not do to a nice car. The clutch fan is the more elegant solution.
