Of course for my '62 Cutlass the pre-formed heater hoses are no longer available and there are no reproductions. People adapt other hoses and it works, but it doesn't look right because they don't actually fit correctly even if they do work fine. I have found the correct factory GM NOS heater hose but it is expensive and mostly I have concerns about using a 50 year old hose even if it never has been used before.

Does anyone here have personal experience using decades old NOS heater hoses, or radiator hoses? Would you use a hose that old?

 

I would have custom hoses made. I would use a hose that old on a trailer queen concours show car.

 

I use NOS hoses. Keep in mind that just because it's an NOS part doesn't necessarily mean it was made 50+ years ago. For example, the upper rad hose for my W-31 was made well in to the 1990's. The original hoses are often better quality even compared to some of the reproduction hoses available from the vendors today.

 

Hi,

Years ago I purchased a 65 Buick Special, the person I got it from was a numbers matching guy with everything done to stock, factory correct, nos hoses, clamps, belts, etc..

I purchased it to drive while working down south, needless to say in the first 2 months I replaced all the nos parts because they all failed, granted I put 2500-4000 miles on it in a month, if it would have been just Sunday cruises and car shows it might have been fine.

I would suggest keeping modern spares and tools with you if you go on long distance trips as they may or may not last.

Regards,

 

True. I have no idea the actual age, or when GM discontinued this part. It's on eBay and of course, no returns and no warranties. So I have to kind of assume it's at the older end of the scale. The part number label sure looks old. If it were cheaper I'd take a chance, but they want $55 for it.

 

As a previous poster stated, it depends on your usage. For a concours / show car, I'd have zero problem running an NOS hose. For a driver, I may reconsider.

 

Good feedback. Good idea about the spares.