in head thermostat conversion

[chrisfiat]

1976 124 with a stock engine, i bought an upper tstat housing , single outlet on ebay, and a hose kit and thermostat from auto ricambi, the upper hose fits fine but the lower is too short, emailed auto ricambi before i ordered and this is what they recommended, just called them and i suspect they may not have the hose i need , will have to call back tomorrow.
so i an interested if anyone out there knows a make, like napa, or autozone and part number for a lower hose from the water pump to the lower rad fitting i would appreciate it very much, i want to get this on the road for the weekend
thanks
chris

[spidernut]

I took one of my hoses into the local parts store and they let me find something that matched with a bit of trimming on my part.

[ClarkTheShark]

I took one of my hoses into the local parts store and they let me find something that matched with a bit of trimming on my part.

This is what I always do too. Sometimes if your lucky, youll find a hose that when you cut it in half, it works for two hoses!

[johndemar]

Try a Gates 21897. I believe that's the hose I used, but you do have to cut it to fit.

[chrisfiat]

Try a Gates 21897. I believe that's the hose I used, but you do have to cut it to fit.

ordered one up today and yes it fits when properly cut, just the info i was looking for ... thanks
but getting the top hose on the head fitting and installing the timing cover is a little bit of a trick, but all is good, clean install no leaks when the upper fitting is properly sealed, and 3 mile uphill run to test the system all is good again, tomorrow it is a cruse around lake Winnipesaukee.

[MrJD]

pics?

Why did you do this, is there a benefit?

[chrisfiat]

a much neater under hood look, but more importantly less complicated,less chance of leakage from 2 more hoses and 4 more clamps, and in my case the upper tee was corroded and needed replacement, and i found a single upper fitting for 15$ on ebay.
and all my hoses and water pump needed replacement anyway. Over all i look the cleaner look under the hood pics to follow

[chrisfiat]

[MrJD]

interesting... I'm getting read to do my whole underhood area... along with a new radiator... is why I am asking. might bug you more about this later.