All coolant hoses

[RyanTomorrow]

Whelp, just got back from my post-pre-purchase inspection, and aside from a leaky steering rack, the biggest pain is I need a new radiator and all new coolant hoses (they’re all original in the car). The radiator seems fairly straightforward-a Stinger or Mishimoto unit. But where in the world can I source all new hoses? And is there any risk to damaging my heater core?

[gbeaird]

There is a thread on this forum that has the hose info and part numbers, which gets you about 95% there. The one hose I had the most trouble with was the one that does the ~200-deg loop at the back of the engine to the heater core. It does not seem to be made anymore, in spite of the fact it is shown in many parts lookups for SVO cooling hoses. It has two different sizes at each end, which is not accounted for in the aftermarket hoses. I ended up piecing a hose together using a 180-deg hose, a reducer adapter and a short, I think straight, piece of hose. I was wanting to do it all in silicone hoses, but after expending a TON of money on different lengths and sizes, just opted for a regular shaped heater hose combination.

Some of my trials and tribulations are noted here:

http://www.svoca.com/forum/showthread.php?15519-About-to-start-body-restoration-on-86/page19

You may want to start a page, or two before, to cover the disassembly and reassembly. Be very careful with the cooling lines. They are NLA (no longer available), so clean and reuse as you can, or fab up something that'll work. There is a member here who has most of my old tubing who is, I think, going to try to get a new set bent, but I don't know if he's going to make extras available for others to purchase. The tubing goes together in a specific configuration, and getting them off makes reassembly much more difficult.

Yes, if you're not careful, you can damage the heater core, so go easy there. I ended up having to slice the hoses at the core so I could get them off. While that helped save the core, the one hose that gave me fits was one of those I sliced, so could no longer use. Save ANY hose coverings you remove. Some are necessary to prevent chaffing the hoses with other bits of engine compartment equipment. Heater cores are available, though, so that's a good thing. The dash has to come almost completely out to replace it, though. You'll also want to re-sweat the connection between the hose ends and the core itself on just about any unit you buy, as they're proven to be kind of weak.

Note also that the thermostat housing is unique to the SVO. Trying to search the aftermarket for one results in a 2.3L Ford unit that is NOT correct. No idea what it actually fits, and it's close enough that setting it side-by-side to a SVO t-stat housing they look the same, but the bolt holes are offset about 1/8"-1/4" to one side. There is not enough RTV that can make up the difference and have that t-stat housing work. Search the Evilbay for Motorcraft SVO t-stat housings. IIRC, there was a reseller that had them, for a while, at least, and he may be back in stock. IIRC the info for that site is either in my project build thread, or another thread discussing the thermostat housing on this forum.

The easiest part of the cooling system was the radiator install. I went with a Mishimoto radiator. It was a drop-in affair. You can see that install on my build project thread, page 12.

[CloudNine]

If the radiator and the hoses are bad, the heater core may be suspect too.

[RyanTomorrow]

Wow, ok, thanks for the info! The shop I took it to was surprised that the hoses were original but I’m not 100% sure they’re DOA (the radiator definitely is). Maybe I can replace the available ones and keep the original hard to find ones in place.

[RyanTomorrow]

Thanks Gene! I went through your thread but might have missed which Mishi radiator you went with.

[gbeaird]

Thanks Gene! I went through your thread but might have missed which Mishi radiator you went with.

whatever is factory for the SVO. I _think_ I got mine from SVPU. Call Paul and see. He’s a good guy and supports the SVO community, and knows what he’s talking about.