Thread: '66 283 V8, upper radiator hose

Decided to have the radiator in my newly-purchased '66 Daytona V8 flushed and refilled, and had new S.I. upper and lower hoses put on. The shop asked me to turn the heat on inside the car and let them know when I felt heat. I pulled the lever down to heat, but never did feel heat inside the car. I told them, "the gauge is at the half-way mark" and they said OK (they were attempting to get any air bubbles out of the car). They noted that the upper hose was shorter than what came off the car, noting that what had been on the car had been cut to fit. They showed me that the new hose was only about 1/2 inch away from the fan belt, but they thought that'd be OK. Less than fifteen miles later, the upper hose was collapsed (opening the cap took care of that), and now there's a slice (although not through) in the bottom of the hose from the fan belt.

Looked to buy a new upper hose from Summit Racing tonight, and only cut-to-fit hoses are sold for this application. (A 283 Chevy? Come on!)

Anybody know where a perfect-fit hose for these cars can be bought, other than S.I.? I might add that the one from there looked and felt rather old to me (although not an expert).

Thanks.

Bill: where is the upper hose connection located on your radiator? Why I wonder is I'm dropping a SBC into my 1962 Lark and the upper one is on the passenger side. Also if you can find a 'popular' P/N for both of the rad hoses; me and my Lark will thank you immensely. I would prefer not have to run those universal spiral groove hoses.

Originally Posted by Bill Pressler

Decided to have the radiator in my newly-purchased '66 Daytona V8 flushed and refilled, and had new S.I. upper and lower hoses put on. The shop asked me to turn the heat on inside the car and let them know when I felt heat. I pulled the lever down to heat, but never did feel heat inside the car. I told them, "the gauge is at the half-way mark" and they said OK (they were attempting to get any air bubbles out of the car). They noted that the upper hose was shorter than what came off the car, noting that what had been on the car had been cut to fit. They showed me that the new hose was only about 1/2 inch away from the fan belt, but they thought that'd be OK. Less than fifteen miles later, the upper hose was collapsed (opening the cap took care of that), and now there's a slice (although not through) in the bottom of the hose from the fan belt.

Looked to buy a new upper hose from Summit Racing tonight, and only cut-to-fit hoses are sold for this application. (A 283 Chevy? Come on!)

Anybody know where a perfect-fit hose for these cars can be bought, other than S.I.? I might add that the one from there looked and felt rather old to me (although not an expert).

Thanks.

Bill

You probably already know this but my Flaps lets me walk around the back room where the hoses are. Just bend a heavy piece of mild steel wire (coat hanger) from the center of the radiator inlet to the center of the thermostat outlet routing it the way you want it to go. Match it up. If the hose ends are too big, Gates makes adapters that slide in and bond to the hose. Looks OEM.

In case all else fails, that's how I find my hoses if I need it to look OEM.

Good Luck, Bob

Rumor has it, there is no hose that fits like the original. A new hose has never been available and you may have a old NOS hose on there.

You can change the water outlet and find a hose that works for the upper, but one like the original will be a hard find.

The lower hose on 65's is notorious for rubbing the pulley. The fix is carefull twisting and aligning until it fits. Zip ties and an aluminum sheet ensure it will not rub.

I have an original hose I have been saving- I never have found a match for it and we have almost every hose for 1947-64 Studebakers in stock!

Good luck, and let us know if anyone finds something.

Originally Posted by 1962larksedan

Bill: where is the upper hose connection located on your radiator? Why I wonder is I'm dropping a SBC into my 1962 Lark and the upper one is on the passenger side. Also if you can find a 'popular' P/N for both of the rad hoses; me and my Lark will thank you immensely. I would prefer not have to run those universal spiral groove hoses.

On my '66, the upper hose connection on the radiator is on the driver's side of the car. I'll probably try calling NAPA today for a fit, but I'm guessing if Summit Racing wouldn't carry one, NAPA might not either. This is mind-blowing to me, for a 283 Chevy.

Bill: 'Sorry you are having trouble with this.

Bob Streu (sweetolbob up top) really has the answer to this, but it requires some personal digging and matching. If either Bob or I was at your place (or any other of several guys here on the forum, I'm confident), we'd just take the remains of your existing hose(s) and go see our personal contacts at FLAPS (Bob S.) or the Brownsburg IN NAPA (me) and they would let us behind the counter where we could match up something that would likely be dead-on perfect, from the racks of molded radiator hoses.

Some trimming might be required (probably would be, actually) from one end or the other, but we'd wind up with upper and lower hoses that looked like exactly what the car would have been equipped with "in the day."

I say this because there has been such a proliferation of molded radiator hoses in the last 25-30 years that the assortment of molded hoses today is literally infinitesimal, and something would surely fit well with a little trimming.

The only 1965-1966 Studebaker I ever owned was a 1966 Commander V8 4-door used as a beater maybe 30 years ago and long gone, so I cannot go out to my storage building and pull off a couple hoses from a 1965-1966 V8 car and go do the on-site research for you, or I'd be glad to do so.

So there's the answer, unless someone here will step up and give you a current NAPA (or other manufacturer) number for a specific molded hose and tell you how much (if anything) to trim off one end.

'Sorry. As you see, we have the answer, but it requires having the car (or equivalent) on site for research. BP

Originally Posted by Bill Pressler

Decided to have the radiator in my newly-purchased '66 Daytona V8 flushed and refilled, and had new S.I. upper and lower hoses put on. The shop asked me to turn the heat on inside the car and let them know when I felt heat. I pulled the lever down to heat, but never did feel heat inside the car. I told them, "the gauge is at the half-way mark" and they said OK (they were attempting to get any air bubbles out of the car). They noted that the upper hose was shorter than what came off the car, noting that what had been on the car had been cut to fit. They showed me that the new hose was only about 1/2 inch away from the fan belt, but they thought that'd be OK. Less than fifteen miles later, the upper hose was collapsed (opening the cap took care of that), and now there's a slice (although not through) in the bottom of the hose from the fan belt.

Looked to buy a new upper hose from Summit Racing tonight, and only cut-to-fit hoses are sold for this application. (A 283 Chevy? Come on!)

Anybody know where a perfect-fit hose for these cars can be bought, other than S.I.? I might add that the one from there looked and felt rather old to me (although not an expert).

Thanks.

From Bob Johnstone's tech site-
https://www.studebaker-info.org/radhos.html

Originally Posted by 53k

From Bob Johnstone's tech site-
https://www.studebaker-info.org/radhos.html

Thanks, a good site to have handy. No mention of Chevybaker upper hoses there, though.

NAPA says only flex hose per their online records; I also asked for a '66 Chevy II 283 and they had two--one for AC, one not. Hard to believe there'd be much difference between a Chevy II and a '66 Stude with the same engine, but who knows?

I'm getting ready to leave for work as I'm reading this post, but I have replaced both radiator hoses at least twice.IIRC I used Rock Auto for one set.For the other set I went to my FLAPS and told them I needed them for a '66 Nova SS with a 327.The counterman lit up like a Christmas tree and wanted to know more about my "Nova".Both hoses fit perfectly.I never experienced any clearance issues with the upper hose, but the fan belt gouged two of my lower hoses.Didn't leak, but I didn't like how it looked.I finally found a non-CASO solution for this.Went to Home Depot where the washer/dryer hoses were and found a 2"-1 1/2" coupler with a worm gear clamp molded on each side.Just slid it over the affected area, tightened down on the clamps, and presto! It cost me $7.49.Oh, for the hoses, you may want to try Advance Auto as well.

Originally Posted by rusty65

I never experienced any clearance issues with the upper hose, but the fan belt gouged two of my lower hoses.

I've had that same experience. As to your 'fix'- my car had something along those lines already under her hood when I got her 20 years ago- and she still does to this day- many many new hoses later...

I just can't see how the belt can be rubbing the upper hose!!!

Bill- I'm thinking that if your upper hose is indeed getting hit by the belt- you've got something really goofy going on under your hood. I'll get a picture of mine and post it here later today so you can see what she has looked like since she was built back in January 1965.

Originally Posted by StudeDave57

I've had that same experience. As to your 'fix'- my car had something along those lines already under her hood when I got her 20 years ago- and she still does to this day- many many new hoses later...

I just can't see how the belt can be rubbing the upper hose!!!

Bill- I'm thinking that if your upper hose is indeed getting hit by the belt- you've got something really goofy going on under your hood. I'll get a picture of mine and post it here later today so you can see what she has looked like since she was built back in January 1965.

Thanks guys. My car has A/C, for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by Bill Pressler

Thanks guys. My car has A/C, for what it's worth.

That piece of info is worth A TON~
mine does NOT have A/C...

Ya had me goin' for awhile there!!!



StudeDave '57

Perhaps this is why my 66 doesnt have belts for the a/c & power steering now!

This won't help Bill now that we know he's got A/C, but it might help Pierce out a bit~



Let me know if you need any others- I plan to be under her in the next day or two for some planned maintanance...


StudeDave '57

StudeDave: is that the original radiator in your 1963 Stude? Why I wonder I I'm planning to pick one up out of a 1963 V8/AT sedan for my 1962 Lark due to upper hose connection being on the 'correct' place and I need a tranny cooler.

Please refrain from saying "Duh!" (LOL), but my 'new' upper hose from S.I. doesn't have a spring in it, like the old, generic-looking hose did. Think that's why my 'new' one collapsed?

Originally Posted by 1962larksedan

StudeDave: is that the original radiator in your 1963 Stude? Why I wonder I I'm planning to pick one up out of a 1963 V8/AT sedan for my 1962 Lark due to upper hose connection being on the 'correct' place and I need a tranny cooler.

Uhhhh- my car (or at least that one) is a '65 Cruiser. I posted that pic to give you an idea of what a 283 looked like as done by Studebaker. In any case- that is not her original radiator- but it's close. The orginal did have the lines on it, but they were capped off years ago by the PO. And years later I replaced it with another one from some un-known StudeDonor. The last time I had this radiator out it was recored, and now sports four sets of fins. This car has an external trans cooler mounted in front of the radiator. The prior owners installed it and a hitch way before I got the car. I think they planned to tow a house with this car- you oughtta see the 150+ lbs of steel under this thing!!!! It is one serious hitch.

Originally Posted by Bill Pressler

Please refrain from saying "Duh!" (LOL), but my 'new' upper hose from S.I. doesn't have a spring in it, like the old, generic-looking hose did. Think that's why my 'new' one collapsed?

How about 'ooooooops'?



StudeDave '57

Bill: An upper hose is under pressure and for that reason, usually does not have a spring in it. A lower hose, by contrast, is under suction, so will often have a spring in it to prevent collapsing.

That's not to say an upper hose cannot have a spring...but when an upper hose has a spring in it, it usually indicates that it also has an application as a lower hose on some other make or model. BP

I agree with Bob P. I have had 6,1966 Daytona 283s over the years.It is not difficult to go to NAPA and match up one,might need some minor trimming.but looks factory in the end

Both my 66's have a different thermostat housing from what Dave shows in the picture of his. Mine are heavy cast iron housings that exit behind the oil filler tube, pointed to the battery area. It looks on Dave's that his is either straight up or bending slightly towards the right side of the car & forward. Perhaps thats what came on 65's but changed for 1966? I really need to get a digital camera since my computer's floppy drive doesnt work anymore!!

Bill, Take a look @ a NAPA 7472 upper hose & a 7648 lower hose( will need to be cut) these are what I used on my 66. I did not use the stock radiator but the aluminum one had the same size inlet/outlet as stock, i believe the top hose should work without modification

In my notes I show Gates # 20370 for the upper hose. The application is late '60s-early'70s Mopars. Type "Gates hose 20370" into a search engine. You'll get several results. Open some of them and see a picture of the hose.

Originally Posted by BobPalma

Bill: An upper hose is under pressure and for that reason, usually does not have a spring in it. A lower hose, by contrast, is under suction, so will often have a spring in it to prevent collapsing.

That's not to say an upper hose cannot have a spring...but when an upper hose has a spring in it, it usually indicates that it also has an application as a lower hose on some other make or model. BP

Thanks, Bob. I'm back to assuming there's still air in the system for my upper hose to keep collapsing when the car is cold.

Thanks all, for the good tips!

Regarding the upper hose for '66 V-8 - I can't find the service bulletin I have, but I have a note saying that after C-532082, the upper hose is 1565790. '65 and prior '66 V-8 cars used 1563558. The difference is that the '65 and early '66 water outlet pointed straight forward and the upper hose was "S" shaped. The later water outlet angled toward the driver's side and only had a single bend. I have owned a few '66 V-8 cars and they all happened to be the later type.

[QUOTE=RadioRoy;586863]Also, on the subject of air bubbles... Some older thermostats have a tiny hole, around 3/32" or 1/8" in the body of the 'stat, adjacent to the movable center part. It essentially means that when the thermostat is closed completely, some coolant can leak past the closed thermostat through that hole. That allows for a slight coolant flow during warm up and should eliminate most air bubbles in time, except for those trapped in the heater core. The hole is probably there to keep the thermostat from becoming air locked.

You might drill a small hole in the body/ring part of yours and see how that works out.
........OR, get a" full-flow" thermostat.A few bucks more, but worth it.(Just my 2 cents.)They are readily available.

At some point yesterday I got to looking at Dad's "new" '66 Cruiser and realized that it has molded hoses top AND bottom!!! These numbers might help~ try 20416 for the upper, and 20687 for the lower. This car's t-stat is a tiny bit different than that which I pictured above on my '65, but not by much. I hope to post pictures of the '66 shortly...



StudeDave '57

Originally Posted by StudeDave57

I hope to post pictures of the '66 shortly...