Anyone have any suggestions besides Year One for suppliers of repop under the dash defrost hoses? I tried Jim's auto parts but they seem to be out of business and everywhere else I could find did not have any available.

Maybe there is a cheaper or more readily accessible alternative that I have not heard of yet. The defrost hoses in question are for a 1968 Valiant w/o AC.

Thanks all,

CMS

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'68signet

"Living analog in the digital age."

this is a tough one. been looking for them for a while now for a 76 feather duster. year ones prices for most things are too high. problem is that universals from parts stores dont work because the ends of the tubes are different sizes around . been thinking about cleaning them off right down to the spring wires and putting a long sock over them with the end cut off. junk yard replacements are as likely to be shot from age . let me know if you find a source that doesnt cost a fortune. regards bob fisher

I have a 73 swinger with no defrost tubes and it is not cool to drive in the rain because I can't see out. I had an idea, but I didn't actually make it happen yet.

I can do some fabrication, but I definitely know the value of using manufactured or creatively sourced components to save time and energy.

My idea is to use corrugated tubing from a smaller shopvac or car vac. in combination with metal exhaust reducers to match the sizes. Rubber hoses or silicone hoses could be used to make the conections, or maybe the reducers could be siliconed directly to the factory plastic- shouldn't be too hard to get off later if you want?

I haven't had time to tackle this problem, and I am also going to watch this thread to see if anybody hopefully comes up with a better idea than me.

Kevin

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madam im adam

Check with Classic Auto Air out of Florida, They have lots of factory parts and are having more reproduced. A good company to work with. I needed a 3 speed fan switch for my A/C and they had one.

Any idea on pricing and materials used? I'd love to see a plastic set that'll last a good long time.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

The Valaint has a cool set of defrost tubes made from a collection of moulded (no,,,,not molded) rad hoses....prolly from imports cars. They slip over the vents and heater outlets ....where necessary I have cut / rotated and mixed and matched. When I had all the pieces assembled to my satisfaction I wrapped them with fibreglass mesh tape for strength and then wrapped the tube in black duct tape.
I left the rubber ends unwrapped where they fit over the vents or heater outlets so the y are nice and flexible and can get a good grip.

So....how long will that last in a Canadian winter climate?......8 years so far.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

While rewiring and wedging myself under the dash I noticed my hoses were hanging on for dear life and falling apart. So I just pulled them out. I thought about this but haven't really looked into it but couldn't you just go to Lowes/Home Depot and get small insulated duct tubing? They bend and whatnot. Would that work? -Dan

Anything will work.

Mandrel bent , thin walled plastic tube of the proper ID would be my fantasy....

There has to be 850 good ways to do this.
(Chrycos cheezy wire and paper OEM units were even good enough for 15+ years)

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

I used the heat stove tubing that goes from the heat stove to the air cleaner. This is available at every auto parts store. Stick the tubing inside the outlets instead of the outside as the oem.
Sam

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Lowes also sells ShopVac hoses...



http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=p ... lpage=none

http://www.nostalgicairparts.com/ac/duc ... nts-4.html


verry cool site they also have reducers and clamps and such

I was going to suggest Sam's idea of thermostatic air cleaner heat stove duct. They even make it with differently-sized ends.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I got some tubing (forget what size) from Napa. Basically it was a very very tight fit around the bottom inlet thats on the floor hump of the car. It didn't fit around the duct up in the dash where the air blows to the windshield. But it was large enough to where when stuffed inside the duct, the tube flexed outwards and is being held in by a retainer clip that is already sitting on the duct. It's hard to explain but it works just fine and barely resricts any airflow whatsoever.

Great! I think the thermostatic hosing will be try # 1 then the shop vac hosing. I had never thought of using radiator hoses but that would be ideal to out last the rest of the interior! I'm gonna get the stuff tommorrow and tackle it this weekend. I'll let you know how it turns out.

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'68signet

"Living analog in the digital age."

http://www.nostalgicairparts.com/ac/duc ... nts-4.html

However, these guys do have a bunch of good stuff available and for pretty reasonable prices. Great for the custom guys for sure!

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'68signet

"Living analog in the digital age."