The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop what Radiator hoses should I use for a sbc 350

Hello,

I am currently rebuilding a 1954 Chevy truck with a Small Block 350 engine swap, I am at the point were I need to purchase radiator hoses, but all the research that I have done has shown me that I will need to buy 200+ Dollar hoses. If any has any ideas or knows of any place I can buy them, I would love to hear from you.

Thank you in advance

Addison

That's ridiculous, and totally unnecessary. Flex hoses come in all sorts of diameters and lengths, and they work very well if you can't find a molded hose that approximates the shape you need. Another option would be to get a muffler shop to bend a piece of exhaust tubing to fit, and use short pieces of straight hose at both ends to couple up to the radiator and the engine. Paint or powder coat the outside, and the antifreeze you use will prevent rust on the inside.
Jerry

I used Cu plumbing pipe and elbows and straight hoses on my DD 4-53T

Ed

Summit has all kinds of hoses........and many with different sized ends to accommodate your needs. I put a 350 in my 41 and kept the original radiator and found hoses that fit, from Summit.

I have these numbers in my notes for an SBC to a stock 3100 radiator.
Gates 20416 upper
Gates 20584 lower

I put a SBC in a GMC and I used a flex hose for the upper, IIRC it's 18" long with one end being 1.5" and the other 1.75".
On the GMC radiator in my 49 the bottom connection made a 90 degree turn up so I had to find a hose that was close enough with the right sizes then cut it in half and splice in a 1.5" copper 90 elbow to get it to fit. The hose was spec'd for a 78 Jeep Chrokee w/a 4.7.

Addison,

I found that problem is easily solved by approximating the radiator hoses you need with anything flexible that will hold its shape, like a welding rod or straightened out coat hanger, and taking those samples to a big, friendly auto parts store. Counter men/women who know you will let you rummage through their radiator hoses until you find molded hoses that are a fit.

I wish I had the computer skills to post a photo of how that worked out in finding hoses for my sbc 350 powered '32 Ford street roadster. The hoses for some other vehicles are a perfect fit in that roadster.

Good luck. You can do it!

Aren't coat hangers and welding rod he same thing?

Ed

I could give you some specific part numbers, but need to know if you're using a long water pump or short. Makes a big difference.

I just used off-the-rack Gates hoses, around $15 each.

I use the carb preheat tube to get the proper shape for the hose I need and then go to the parts store and match them to a preform rubber hose. I also have bent exhaust tube to the proper shape and hose on the ends.

"Aren't coat hangers and welding rod he same thing?"

Ed, I always heard they are the same. I never did understand why city slickers use different welding rods for different applications. Some of these fancy pants even think different rods should be used for tig, stick and oxy-acetylene welding.

Some guys just like to make things more complicated than they really are.

Oh well, whatever blows their hair back.

Howdy all,

I just started taking a introductory class in welding.

Evidently, the filler material should match the material of the pieces to be joined to create structurally sound welds. Thus creating the need for different welding rods.

Just passing on what the teacher (30+ year welder) put on the board.

Cheers, Dean

Coat hangers even come with varnish "flux" coating to "enhance" the gas shielding.

Wow, did this one jump the tracks!

"Coat hangers even come with varnish "flux" coating to "enhance" the gas shielding."

Thanks for pointing that out Carl. With that new information I'll leave the argon cylinder off when I'm doing tig work and save on consumables. I've tried using coat hangers when welding aluminum, but for some reason I haven't quite perfected the technique yet even with the argon turned on. Do you have any idea what the problem might be?

Maybe Dean could ask his welding instructor. Dean?

I was truly interested in the OP's original question. I'm just about to that position on my '62 build. I was hoping not to have to go prowl through hundreds of hoses at my local FLAPS. But it seems y'all would rather talk welding. Oh well, back to the drawing board. Sorry 2xtreme.

Cu elbows still work well with straight, easily replaced straight hose sections. Sorry for the stray discussion.

Ed

The problem with using metal elbows is that you need 4 clamps instead of 2.

I always solder the Cu parts together whenever possible, makes for less Cu/rubber connections.

Ed

"I'm just about to that position on my '62 build. I was hoping not to have to go prowl through hundreds of hoses at my local FLAPS."

Martin,

It doesn't take as long as you might think. I only looked at ones that appeared to have potential and within about 15 minutes I'd found 2 molded hoses that had the right bends in them that they could be cut down for a perfect fit.

Thank you every one for the input, this really does help.

Well, I tried to give actual part numbers to save you tons of time, but nobody seemed interested in that :-(

This is exactly what I do at O'Reilly's when I have a hybrid engine/radiator situation. One other point is that you may find the shape within the shape of a hose. So get that one and cut it off.
I buy any and all that look close and take back the ones that don't work. I don't use the rubber corrugated flexible hoses. Those are for tractors and engine stands. Never had any trouble finding/modifying a nice Gates hose as Pieman says. There is nothing radical about what you are doing. It's just that every swap is a little different so there is no way of giving you a part number. You have to do some work. It's easy.
Obviously you need to know the ID's you need on each end.