ditching the Cooling/exspantion tank system?

[turboxstang]

Has anyone removed the factory cooling/exsplantion tank system for an old style cooling inlet/outlet setup? Can you use an aluminum 2 row radiator with fill cap, run a overflow tank and upper/lower hoses with inline thermostat housing in either the upper or lower hose? I'm wanting a super clean setup in my 98 gt with my 4.6 DOHC swap

 

[Wild Horses]

Companies make nice bypass kits and inline thermostat housings as well as kits to delete the crossover tube. I hear a lot of cooling system horror stories with DOHC cars and it seems people can't burp the coolant correctly. I would look at updating to an 03-04 radiator and maybe a smaller purge tank (possibly from the 6 cyl?) along with what I mentioned above if you're looking for a cleaner setup. Personally I wouldn't try to run an old school type system especially in a 4V since they tend to be very temperamental. I'm sure its done all the time on strictly track cars though. External or electrical water pumps and so on... Lots of coolant system option on MMR I've seen.