In other words, ..................... the WATER INLET is the small, angled pipe that mounts to the driver's side of the block, with the 2 & 1/2 inch bolts you have.
The WATER OUTLET (or as some of us refer to it, the "gooseneck") mounts to the top of the cylinder head at the front of the engine with the 6" studs you refer to.
Many folks assume the water flows from the top hose, through the "gooseneck", into the cylinder head and block, and exits the engine through the coupling on the driver's side of the block. In actuality, with the engine running, the water flows out the bottom radiator neck, up through the lower hoses and bypass pipe, INTO the side coupling (INLET), through the water chambers in the block and head, and is propelled (actually IM-PELLED) through the "gooseneck" (WATER OUTLET) up the top hose, into the top radiator neck, and, finally, deposited back into the radiator.
