1952-59 Ford Radiator hose

Hello
can anyone give me a little info on radiator hose for the 302 swap in a 55 ford sedan using stock radiator.

Thanks

Bobby

 

i had a 351w in my old 55. for the rad hose i just went to the autoparts store and bought whatever came close to the bends i needed. i had to cut some off for length.. but they will let you go behind the counter and go through all the hoses.. you could always buy a flexible hose..

 

Where are the top and bottom hose outlets located on your radiator? 6's and 8's are different.

 

Take the measurements for the bottom and water pump hose sizes and the same for the top hose . Then just take a measurement of the distance and shape you will need . Then go to a REAL PARTS store and have them find something that will work . I have used molded hoses and bendable hoses before . Sometime you will end up getting a longer hose and cutting it down to fit .
I used Gates hoses for the ones I have done before .
That's the fun of Hot Rodding !

Jim

 

and dont forget to make a little "owners manual" of the parts that you have found to work, what they came from originally and the part number of said part (like an upper or lower radiator hose) and keep that in the car. you never know when your memory might need a little help on a sat or sunday afternoon away from home.

 

I have used a repro ForMoCo hose, part number C50E-8260-C. I got the hose from C&G Early Ford. I think that it went to a 57 Ford but I'm not sure. My engine is a 351W so I have the same size outlet as the 302. As for the water pump inlet, I have a 2" hose that I did the matching game with and finally found one that would fit the 2" radiator outlet and the 2" inlet on the water pump at the perfect bend.

 

top hose is in the center and bottom is on the drivers side

 

The Autozone hose I used are Dayco E70729(lower) and C70443 (upper) these are pre-curved but they are made slightly longer so they can be trimmed if needed which is a good thing since not all swaps are dead on.

 

I bent some brazing rod to the shape needed and took them with me to my local NAPA store. With that and I.D. girl behind counter took off and in a couple minutes came back with 2 hoses that had the desired form in them. Trimmed for length worked great.

 

On my 54 with a 302 the center top hose outlet hit the fan. I had an old fashion radiated shop move the radiator top outlet to the far left. He said it was easy.

 

The 302/5.0 had an early (814831) and a later thermostat housing (814884) the early housing exits at an angle and the later is straight up,check the Autozone website for pictures.In some cases this may help as did the change between early and late SBC's did.

 

I used Napa 745 bottom hose and 8996 top hose from Napa hears a number for bottom hose that might work also 8411 these might work