[diabolical1]

well, thanks for your input. i really appreciate it. by the way, i didn't realize that it had to sit level, so i thank you for that tidbit. that, in itself, could be a part of my woes right now because i kind of have it sitting between the alternator and water pump - definitely not level. i was also picturing it mounted sideways off the shock tower in my latest vision of it, so now i need to revise that, too.

as for the the P/S and A/C, the car is not equipped with power streering and i've temporarily removed the air conditioning, so i'm all-a-go there. i'm going to see if i can get it done without relocating the battery.

also i'm not fazed by the hot air issue because none of this is permanent. my single focus is to get this thing running so i can take it home, at which point i will likely be partially disassembling the whole car to start building it right. for now i just need it to be "relaible enough" to make the journey.