Cooling hoses

[bobtills]

On Sunday my Daimler V8-250 decide to blow the t-piece heater hose connector under the left carburettor - very spectacular but very inconvenient.

David Manners supplied a replacement which is now fitted and all is in order but I found another couple of hoses which are soft and think I will replace them all

I have great faith in David Manners but I wasn't impressed with the hose they supplied - it was the more expensive of the two I was offered and has reinforcing built in but felt very insubstantial.

It's probably me being old fashioned and expecting things to look and feel 'tough' but before I buy the rest of them I wonder if any of you have had experience with replacement hoses and have any advice you can offer.

[johnwager]

I changed all the cooling and heater hoses on my car with silicone ones back in 2012. Not cheap but well worth it, and 9 years later they are still as good as new, no deterioration at all.
I got mine from Classic Silicone Hoses Ltd who supply a kit with all the hoses needed for V8 saloon and SP250.
They are excellent quality and fit.

[classiclife]

Hello Bob,

I had a spare set of Kevlar hoses which I tried to fit a couple of years ago to my V8 saloon, absolute nightmare to get the top hose on because it is so inflexible. I ditched the Kevlar and went for the standard items supplied by DMG. I know what you mean about the material appearing slightly softer compared to hoses a few decades ago.

In fairness, I have have had seamless service from their hoses including the T pieces. The latter I will be replacing at some stage with the stainless steel T pieces I have. As such, I am sure you will be fine with that particular DMG product.

Silicone is a great substitute, the only grumble some classic owners have is that silicone is very shiny and some do not like that contrast under the bonnet. Horses for courses but as has been mentioned, a sound investment.

Regards.

Richard.

[RadfordJim]

I was given a tip when I bought my SP, to carry a length of 1/2" hose in the boot. Any failure in the heater circuit and I can disconnect it and connect the hose directly between the water pump and thermostat. A 5 minute job to get me home

[armstrong whitworth]

Another vote for Classic Silicone Hoses - I fitted a set in 2011. They offer 3 different finishes, such that you can avoid the ultra shiny boy racer look. I also found their customer service to be very good. PS - I'm not on their payroll! Just a satisfied customer.

[buckfield]

Yes. classic silicone hoses from these guys are really good, i had kevlar types but the silicone ones look better and been on more than ten years now and still look perfect.

[bobtills]

I'm in the process of getting the silicone hoses from Classic Silicone Hoses but there's some discussion about the size.

My car is a 1968 V8-250 and the illustration I have been sent shows the bottom end of the radiator hose to be wider than the top end, but mine is the same at both ends. The illustration for earlier models shows the hose to have the same diameter at both ends so does this mean that I have an early radiator, or is it a mistake in the illustration?

And does anyone know what the internal diameter of the hose should be?

[classiclife]

Hello Bob,

There were 2x different rads - manual and auto; the latter having the glands for the auto transmission cooling pipes.

The hose outlets (top and bottom) remained the same throughout production for both rads as did the ID dimensions of the hose. Therefore the illustration you have is incorrect.

There was only ever 1x reference number for the hoses which indicates that there was never any changes to the design:

Top - C27182
Bottom - C21389

Hope that assists ??

Regards.

Richard.

[wally999999]

I too have silicone hoses from Classic Silicone Hoses Ltd and would recommend them without reservation.

As for the infamous T hoses, I’ve changed mine for brass Ts, I played around with the set up quite a lot and have currently ended up with the arrangement shown here. Depends on how original you want to be I suppose; my approach certainly isn’t for everyone

[classiclife]

Bob,

I have checked the bottom rad outlet OD and the corresponding water pump outlet OD, these read between 41mm and 42mm; therefore the Imperial measurement would be 1-5/8" (41.275mm) which is the ID of your rad hose.

Hope that assists ??

Regards.

Richard.