Hoping for some guidance with radiator hoses

[enroberts]

Hey there. Hoping for some guidance. I've got a 4.8 in my '64 junkyard build and I bought an eBay radiator for a '64 (another site recommended this rad for a cheap build). The 4.8 has the stock water pump on it (from a '99 Silverado). You can see from the pictures the inlet and outlet on the radiator are about 1 3/4" diameter. The water pump outlet is about 1.25" and the pump inlet is about 1.5". Does anyone have suggestions on which hoses I might be able to use? Thanks!

[enroberts]

..

[dec010974]

most of us LSx swappers use the factory 1999 - 2006 Chevy Tahoe upper hose. The same hose is on the Silverado, Suburban, Avalanche etc.

[homemade87]

Heres a picture of the silvedrado hose .

[mongocanfly]

On my 81 the stock upper hose for the 350 worked perfect..
On the bottom I had to use 2 pieces from 2 different hoses spliced together to hook it up

[scoot_mcgrute]

You can get radiator hose bushings to get the smaller fittings to match the larger fitting. I have a couple on my swap since my radiator was also 1.75" fittings.

[enroberts]

Thanks everyone. I think I'm in good shape now. I ordered an adapter from JTR and will also use the VW Jetta fitting for the steam vent (it fit right in the stock upper hose). For the lower, I found a Gates "flexi" hose with a spring inside. One end has a 90 elbow and the other is straight. I was able to loop it around without kinking and attach to the pump and radiator inlet. Thanks all! Now to figure out what to do about a throttle cable for my drive by cable throttle body!

[darrellyates]

Originally Posted by enroberts

Thanks everyone. I think I'm in good shape now. I ordered an adapter from JTR and will also use the VW Jetta fitting for the steam vent (it fit right in the stock upper hose). For the lower, I found a Gates "flexi" hose with a spring inside. One end has a 90 elbow and the other is straight. I was able to loop it around without kinking and attach to the pump and radiator inlet. Thanks all! Now to figure out what to do about a throttle cable for my drive by cable throttle body!

On my last LS swap, I used a Lokar floor mount cable pedal assembly. Fit and worked very well. I've seen stock cable floor mounts used from later models (3 mounting holes/ mid 90's I think) and they seem to work very well too. My brother sold one at the Petit Jean swap meet a couple of weeks ago for I think 10 bucks. They are out there. Either will work...

[PunishedC10]

Did you get your radiator hoses and throttle cable worked out?
On my '85 C10 I used a water pump and upper radiator hose from a 2010+ Camaro. It puts the top waterneck from the water pump on the driver side and has the same belt spacing as the truck accessories. For the throttle cable I used the Lokar 71-72 Billet pedal and 48" LS1 cable. But a 36" will probably work.

[indymachinist]

Ok first a warning. Going all out and doing this "right" takes work. It's mostly a time and effort thing.

Check out this catalog:
http://www.napabeltshose.com/~/media...e-final_lr.pdf

Starting in at page 46 you will see page after page after page.... of pictures of hoses. Each with a description. It includes part numbers, inside diameters, and length.

Figure out what hose ID you need on each end, get to that section of the catalog, and start checking out the pictures.

Even with this it still takes guess and check. I bought and returned probably 5 sets of hoses this way before I found some that worked PERFECT. Unfortunately that was for a different vehicle otherwise I would have been glad to share part numbers.

Once I get my engine in and pick a radiator I will be doing this.

Edit: I forgot to mention after you find one that you think will work you can use its part number to cross reference with other hose brands and figure out what vehicle the hose actually came from.

[PunishedC10]

Originally Posted by indymachinist

Ok first a warning. Going all out and doing this "right" takes work. It's mostly a time and effort thing.

Check out this catalog:
http://www.napabeltshose.com/~/media...e-final_lr.pdf

That's awesome information!! Thank you for sharing that