heater vent hose for 330 gtc

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Steve Meltzer
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Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: with Barney the Beagle boy and Enzo 8995

heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by Steve Meltzer »

I think this is 4" stuff. Other than Re-orginals, what's the best source? Any reasonable substitute? thanx

s
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
Al Pezzella
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Joined: Sat May 16, 2009 5:31 pm

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by Al Pezzella »

Hey Steve,
I got my 4" vent hoses from Corvette Central, part #451205 for around $28 each.
Steve Meltzer
Posts: 982
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: with Barney the Beagle boy and Enzo 8995

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by Steve Meltzer »

I know them well, too well, but it would never have occurred to me. thanx s
('66 BB A/C coupe, '62 327/250, '67 327/350 convertible)
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
xs10shl
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Location: San Francisco, CA

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by xs10shl »

Let me guess - you're running correct-sized 205VR14 tires, and now you've got a 3" hole in your hose. Been there several times myself. Only the Italians would think to stuff an oversized papier mache' vent hose in a wheel well. Good thing there's an affordable option for replacements, or I would have gone broke years ago, paying "per foot" prices to ventilate my GTC.
Steve Meltzer
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Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: with Barney the Beagle boy and Enzo 8995

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by Steve Meltzer »

Yeah, you're right! The guy from whom I bought the car used some cheap plastic hose that looks like crappy drier vent stuff. I was blaming him, but I guess it's both! What kind of hose have you been using? thanx s
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
xs10shl
Posts: 209
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2003 6:27 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by xs10shl »

I switched to a heavy gauge rubberized hose, to no avail. No matter how carefully I mounted it, the wheel would rub a hole in it within a few hundred miles.

I thought of the options:
* Create some sort of moulded plastic or fiberglass air channel that can sit in the extreme upper cavity of the wheel well
* Tack on an aluminum panel below the hose which acts as a guard. Spray undercoating on it to mask the appearance.
* Switch to smaller diameter tires
* Live with it. Stock up on vent hose.

The aluminum guard panel is probably the easiest to implement, and can quickly be mounted and removed.
Steve Meltzer
Posts: 982
Joined: Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am
Location: with Barney the Beagle boy and Enzo 8995

Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by Steve Meltzer »

Since I never use the fresh air vents (it's either AC or windows up or down here in Houston) I'm gonna fix it this time only and then, if it wears through, the hell with it! Gonna use the Corvette vent hose ('56-'62). thanx s
steve meltzer,
"I've spent all of my money on wine, a beautiful woman, and stunning cars. Then, squandered the rest."
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330GT
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Re: heater vent hose for 330 gtc

Post by 330GT »

On a 330 GT (hopefully the same for a GTC), the outlet of the Smith blower is 3.5" in diameter. Ferrari put an adaptor to increase the hose size to 4". That matches the inlet size at the heater box. Probably gives some better air flow. It might make more sense to use 3.5" hose and put the adaptor at the heater box. That would add another half inch of tire clearance. Since the outlets from the heater box are 2.4" in diameter, but the air goes into either one (foot) or the other (defroster) or split between the two, a 3.5" supply should be quite adequate.

Another thing is to make sure the hose stays tucked tight up under the fender. On my car, the original welded in clamps were missing so the hose really sagged until I replaced them. I also added a couple of black wire ties to eliminate any sagging.

Of course, be sure to use copiglia clamps on all of these hoses :D
Regards, Kerry
http://www.330gt.com 330 GT Registry
http://www.parrotbyte.com/kbc/ferrari 250 PF Coupe 1643GT, 330 GT 2+2 8755GT, 308 GTS 23605
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