Lower rad hose help for 71 Nova with Ls Swap and 4th gen fbody radiator

[rennat_2006]

71 nova with lq4 with ls1 f body water pump and ls1 f body radiator and efans. Been searching for over an hour and have found a ton of people using this combination but no mention of what lower hose they used. Ive got the top hose figured out but am having a hell of a time finding a suitable lower with the correct 90* ish bend off the t stat housing , slight drop to the radiator, and the step up in size on the hose to fit over the tstat housing which is bigger than the radiator hookup. Tried a stock ls1 f body lower and no go, so far closest thing that may work ive found is taking section out of a 2000-2006 5.3l truck hose.

Living out in the hills over an hour away from the closest city with more than just a single small auto parts store has limited me on picking through walls of radiator hoses for a match.

[srode]

If you find a hose that has the right ends and bends for the engine and radiator ends but are clocked wrong or are the wrong length you can cut and rotate / shorten and splice using a gates power grip and a union. I did that for my hoses using an internal connector from Pegasus Racing - but you can probably get similar anywhere. You can also use two hoses to make one if you can't find the right single hose to do the job. The power grip makes a nice looking finish and is just as strong as using them on the terminal ends.

[rennat_2006]

Didnt think about that. Anything special needed for those powergrip deals?

[srode]

Just get the right sized one for the hose you are dealing with they are spec'd with upper and lower limits. Don't remove it from the tube until you are ready to slide it on. Then heat it with a heat gun or blow dryer on hot setting. They work just like shrink wrap on wires but they are tighter tolerance to start with.

[rennat_2006]

Are they a good long term hold versus a regular hose clamp?

[srode]

They are supposed to be better than a regular hose clamp because they don't have excess localized force that can weaken the hose over time, like at the edge of the clamp. You just have to make sure the one you use has a size range that covers your hose - but that's easy to do looking at the specification, very straight forward. The spec is for the outside dimension of the hose on the fitting, not the inside dimension.

[Hotwire]

Try these, people are using them on their chevelles:

Gates radiator hose part # 22358 worked perfectly for my upper radiator hose (with trimming)
and
Gates radiator hose part# 22437 worked perfectly for my lower radiator hose (with trimming)

[rennat_2006]

Thanks, i will give it a try. Looks like my local store has it in stock even