ok guys, i e-mailed the owner of champion radiator. he was willing to stand behind his product and either give me my money back or modify the radiator to what i needed.
i told him since im a welder/fabricator and have a tig unit here at the house, i would fix it my self. i wrote him a description of what i did, along with pics, for his tech department.
again, i only think this problem arose because of my long water pump, but im sure im not the only 55-59 owner running a SBC with a long water pump. others will have the same problem i had.
in the third pic on this other manufacturers website, you can see the extreme angle of the side mount brackets that keep the bottom more outward toward the front of the truck.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-55-56-57...sories&vxp=mtr
the side mounts on Champions radiator were basically straight up and down.
thanks for the help guys, and i hope to have it all back together by mid week.
leonard