Posted By |
Discussion Topic:
NOS Radiator Hoses
-- page:
1
2
|
|
john38coupe |
12-21-2012 @ 7:38 PM
|
|
|
New Member
Posts: 130
Joined: Jan 2011
|
I was recently given a NOS set of 1938 radiator hoses for a V-60 engine. They look great with original stenciled orange part numbers, but feel like they were cast out of portland cement. I plan on using them for a pattern, understanding no one manufactures them any longer, but was wondering if there are any proven methods to soften the rubber. They are probably a subject for discussion only and use value passed by long ago.
|
JM |
12-21-2012 @ 9:23 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 822
Joined: Oct 2009
|
You could try boiling them in water. We used that trick to add moisture to some types of thermoplastic parts that had become too brittle to use otherwise. JM
This message was edited by JM on 12-21-12 @ 9:27 PM
|
ford38v8 |
12-21-2012 @ 9:25 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 2758
Joined: Oct 2009
|
John, while nobody can say with absolute certainty whether there was or was not a part number stenciled on original hoses, logic suggests that what you have found is actually Service Replacement, not as originally installed at the assembly line. There would have been a need to identify the correct hose from a selection on a Dealer's parts shelf, but no such need on the assembly line. The value of your hoses are as patterns, to take to a NAPA dealer. It should be relatively easy to find a hose with a pattern in hand.
Alan
|
ford38v8 |
12-21-2012 @ 9:31 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 2758
Joined: Oct 2009
|
JM, with all due respect, once the resins or oils have outgassed, they cannot be replaced. Any softening by heat as you suggest is only temporary, and actually shortens the life of plastics or rubber even further.
Alan
|
john38coupe |
12-22-2012 @ 5:42 AM
|
|
|
New Member
Posts: 130
Joined: Jan 2011
|
Alan, yes, these are service replacement parts as they have correct part numbers but have a "dash and additional letter" following the number. These along with their associate V-60 rubber parts such as fan belts and floor mats are quite extinct now.
|
kubes40 |
12-22-2012 @ 6:08 AM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 3395
Joined: Oct 2009
|
During my research for the '40 book I did come upon documentation that clearly indicates there were no part numbers on factory installed hoes in '40. In fact, the first use of numbers was in February 1944.
|
woodiewagon46 |
12-22-2012 @ 9:27 AM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 698
Joined: Nov 2012
|
Im a little confused, why don't you get new hoses from Bob Drake or Dennis Carpenter.
|
supereal |
12-22-2012 @ 12:08 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 6819
Joined: Oct 2009
|
A serious problem with NOS and other old hoses is that there are microscopic voids in the rubber from aging and ozone, which allows coolant to penetrate to the exposed carbon. This hastens electrolysis of the metals in the system, due to conductivity. Put a voltmeter between the coolant in the radiator neck and ground, and it is likely you will be suprised at the reading. This is why newer vehicles require a specific formula due to the extensive use of dissimilar metals. It is a good practice on old cars to replace the hoses and coolant about every three or four years at the most. It is also one of the primary reasons old Ford aluminum heads deteriorate more quickly than iron.
|
Stroker |
12-22-2012 @ 12:35 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 1460
Joined: Oct 2009
|
Woodiewagon46: The reason he doesn't have that option is that no one lists reproduction hoses for a V8-60. There was a previous discussion: http://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm Forum=18&Topic=4907&keywords=V8%2060%20hoses So he's pretty much stuck with using his "petrified" NOS hoses as patterns, which others have done.
|
JM |
12-22-2012 @ 1:25 PM
|
|
|
Senior
Posts: 822
Joined: Oct 2009
|
John38coupe, a member of the EFV-8C, in our regional group RG36 recently finished restoring a '37 fordor sedan that has a 60 HP engine. He was having the same problem you are having with old nos/replacement hoses that he was trying to use. He must have found something that worked and possibly looked original since he received his Dearborn Award this year at the ENM in Georgia. You could get his name from the Sept./Oct. V8 Times and contact information from the club roster. I would give him a call and see if he can give you some guidance on what he wound up using.
JM
|