What I offer here is for the guy doing an engine swap who gets to the point where he's scratching his head thinking...How do I find the right hoses.

This thread is not intended to show every possible hose for every possible engine swap but an easy way to figure out the hoses you need.

I don't say this is the best way and I welcome anyone with their own ideas or ways to do this to add to this thread.

I'll cover how I did the hose from the thermostat on my 3800 to the modified Fiero thermostat housing which will be the rear "fill point" on my project car.

The modified Fiero thermostat housing is not made to hold a thermostat, it's sole function is a rear fill point.

Here's a pic showing the modified Fiero housing and the outlet from the 3800.


First I cut a couple strips of cardboard, they are as wide as the ID of the housings and about 10" long.


I marked the ends of each of the two pieces so they have the length of the hose section that will be on the tubes of the housings.



Next I inserted the strips into the tubes.



I then used a hot glue gun to glue the pieces together where they crossed.


I trimmed off the excess and took the strips to the parts store and started to size up any hoses that were close, I came up with this one.


I trimmed the excess off the hose ends.


Then it was an easy install and tighten the clamps.


That's it.

This was pretty 2-dimensional with only one bend which made it easier.

I expect the longer distance between the bottom of the modified Fiero thermostat housing and the driver's side coolant tube with two angles will be tougher.

I'll go at that one with the two strips in the tubes and a longer strip between them.

I may cheat and use a "jumper" coolant tube between two bends if I can't get it done with one hose.

That's all I have for now, hope it helps.

Wrench on dudes.

Steve

------------------

Where will the road take you today?

Some helpful links I've done
How to remove inner door panels, with pics.
How to remove outer door panels, with pics.
How to make rear coil-overs using factory struts, with pics.
How to remove rear bearing hubs, with pics.
How to modify the stock Fiero radio for MP3 players, with pics.

sweet

Very good write up.

We did something similar on our various swaps to get the right hoses, but we stapled the cardboard parts together.

A + to you for a very good explaination of how to do it.

Archie

Yup, you're one smart fella. A plus for ya.

SO what is the part # to the hose you used, and how is the original fiero housing modified, great info otherwise, someone needs to do a build thread on just this aspect of the 3800sc swap for all the collant hoses and their part # etc...

Thank you Chicken, Archie and Brian.

multmigs, this particular hose is a Dayco brand and the part number is 70817.

Here are a couple pics of my modified thermostat housing.

I actually had to use two housings and the pieces and mounting bracket were brazed together.

[This message has been edited by fierohoho (edited 02-19-2007).]

That's a good idea. I like the thermostat housing, too....That's what I did..

Bob

I have also bent up a metal coat hanger in the shape & length of the hose I needed and taken it with me to my local NAPA dealer, along with the ID size required. They have always been able to come up with a pretty good match, without the need of a part number. The hard part, is finding an older style metal hanger!!

Great post, I'm shure many people will see this in the future, provided they know how to use the search function.
+ for Ya.

------------------
Ol' Paint, 88 Base coupe auto.
Turning white on top, like owner.
Leaks a little, like owner.
Doesn't smoke, unlike owner

Thanks again folks.

Steve

------------------

Where will the road take you today?

Some helpful links I've done
How to remove inner door panels, with pics.
How to remove outer door panels, with pics.
How to make rear coil-overs using factory struts, with pics.
How to remove rear bearing hubs, with pics.
How to modify the stock Fiero radio for MP3 players, with pics.
How to come up with the right coolant hoses for that engine swap...With Pics.

A + for you, very interesting.

quote Originally posted by fierohoho: --------------- Some helpful links I've done How to remove inner door panels, with pics. How to remove outer door panels, with pics. How to make rear coil-overs using factory struts, with pics. How to remove rear bearing hubs, with pics. --> How to modify the stock Fiero radio for MP3 players, with pics. How to come up with the right coolant hoses for that engine swap...With Pics.

Thanks Steve for the links. +1 for you.

They came in extremely helpful. Especially the one "How-to" modifying the radio for Mp3 players. I've been looking for a thread like this for a long time when I first found a reference on fierosails.com Theirs didn't have pictures though. Thanks for posting them.

-M

[This message has been edited by Austrian Import (edited 05-03-2007).]

Just a little update on my project car's coolant hoses.

I finally got around to replacing the coolant tubes and radiator so it was time to figure out the last two rear hoses.

I made my cardboard templates, here's the one for the left rear coolant tube to modified thermostat housing and the hose I found was close to what I needed.




The hose is a Dayco brand, part number 72135.



I trimmed it and installed it and it looks like it will work well with no clearance issues.

Top connection.



Bottom connection at the coolant tube.



I'm having trouble with the right rear hose from the coolant tube to the water pump, I've tried several hoses and had some input from forum members but no luck yet.

I've got two hoses on order and hopefully one of those will work, my trouble is the water pump inlet is larger than the coolant tube so finding a hose with the right bends and two different size ends is proving difficult.

I'll post my findings when I solve the problem.

Steve

well I finally figured out the last hose.

The 3800NA swap is a little closer to being done. LOL

From the water pump to the coolant tube on the passenger side it's Dayco brand, part number 71126.



I got this by going through the Dayco book at the parts store, it lists the ID of both ends of the hose and as the 3800 is bigger than the coolant tube that was step one.





The next step was to look at the length and shape which is also shown, trouble is it's 2-dimensional.

So a couple tries later I got the above hose. and it looked good.



I put the upper end on the water pump neck then trimmed the bottom end to length, good clearance between the hose and serpentine belt.





It was a little tight between the edge of the frame and coolant tube so I have to look at sliding the coolant tube to the rear a little.

Next step is new radiator and fill caps then coolant.

Steve