The only thing I can add is that your car probably had an aftermarket heater core to begin with and I assume you replaced it with one. From the few I have seen, aftermarkets are not exactly like the originals. I have 2 original a/c heater cores here and measured the bottom nipples from the tank to the end and came up with 2 and 3 quarters of an inch long. Also the bottom nipple has a bend that hooks up and to the left to help with the clearance issue your having. Here is the service manual for hose routing just scroll down to group 9.000 illustration 13. Good luck. http://www.teufert.net/partbook/67-76/9-i.pdf