Stovebolt.com Forums The Shop Area The Engine Shop new radiator for 216 engine; upper radiator hose

Hello everyone. Trying to get my 1952 Chevy deluxe styleline roadworthy while keeping the 216 engine intact. Needless to say I bought a new radiator that was v8 ready and didn't realize the radiator neck would be 1.5". So trying to save money by not having to buy a 235 engine thermostat housing.

My question is can you use a 1.5" radiator hose with the 216 thermostat housing? I know its 1 1/4" diameter just never tried a that big of a gap before. Worst case I could try and find a local with a 235 engine that I could buy the thermostat housing from. I'm from Towanda, KS.

You could get a rad hose that is 1 1/4 on one end and 1 1/2 on the other end if that is the size difference

We stretched mine over the difference!

Hiya Mulky,

welcome to Stovebolt.com

This site is for pre-1973 Chevy/GMC trucks.

As long as you keep your posts here about the mechanical bits of the drive train that interchange with the trucks, you are fine.

If you are looking for parts, you can check out The Swap Meet section of Stovebolt.com to look at Parts for Sale or place an ad in Truck Parts Wanted.

If you need more help with the car specific Chevrolet stuff, we recommend:

https://www.chevytalk.org

https://vccachat.org

http://www.aaca.org

https://inlinersinternational.org


Thanks!

-Woogeroo

You can get a 1.5" hose and use a reducer at the thermostat end. Gates 26390 goes from 1.5 to 1.25, it slips inside the 1.5" hose. I've used one in the past, it has a lip to keep it from going in too far.

Jim

Thank you for the quick response, I'll look for both the reducer and 1 1/2" curved 90 hose. Hope to have it running by tomorrow! Thanks again!