360, A/C, Weiand intake,Comp bolt hitting thermostat housing

I've got a '72 D100 360 with the factory AC. It was a 2bbl truck but someone added a quadrajet intake/carb with later small thermostat. I ended up putting a Weiand Action Plus intake which actually has the raised bosses for the 2 support brackets but there is a bolt that runs through the compressor & the nut on the backside is resting on the thermostat housing. Not sure if it will end up making the housing crack but it will make thermostat changes a little more labor intensive. By chance anyone ran into this?

Here are pics of the set-up.

Is the factory t stat housing thinner? That one looks thick. If is like the chrome ones I had in the past they all warped. A billet one may be thinner.

A twelve point bolt on the compressor might give you a little more room.

This.

The aftermarket housing you have is too thick. Go look at how OEM type looks it's about half as thick.

Ya, grind one flat of the nut at a 45 and call it a day.

This. And as a side note why are you using RTV sealer with a gasket? RTV is meant to be the gasket, adding it to a gasket just makes the whole thing sloppy. I never use any sealant on gaskets except in the corners of some applications.

Looks like the heater hose is gonna be tight as well, didnt they make the offset water intakes for ac cars/trucks?

I think the only aluminum intakes that are offset are the performer and torker 2..

In 79 when they started converting over to the C171 AC compressor the water outlet got moved. The performer has it's outlet in the later position. It will work with the RV2 compressor setup as well, but the early outlet position will not clear the C171 setup. there is no special "AC intake" for any year.

This is all good information. I assume grancuda would like to keep as many parts as possible that he already has.

The options I see are:
1. cut the nut a little like 4406bbl mentions.
2. replace the compressor bolt with an allen head (rounded/flat head) & run it the other direction through the compressor so the nut is on the other side. This may make some compressor seals leak?
3. find a thinner thermostat housing... I do think the stock ones (at least on big blocks) are "stepped" in that area. I like this idea best if it's possible.
4. Grind a little clearance off the thermostat housing.

For the heater hose outlet....can you find a 45-degree outlet & use a bunch of Teflon tape so that when it's tight, it points away from the compressor? You might have to try a few times to get the right amount of Teflon tape OR maybe use some "reactive Teflon paste" so it will still seal even if it isn't 100% tightened?

Replacing the t stat housing is the best choice IMO because odds are that one is going to warp anyways.