Topic: Heater Hose Strap

[Twilight65]

I was trying to determine if my May 66 convertible with a 200 ci should have a heater hose strap on the passenger side shock tower brace? I was looking at the many photo's I took at the Indy show this year some do, some don't. If a car does have one, which hose goes through the strap? or do both?
Thanks.
Dave

[J_Speegle]

Unless there was a good unrestored car at the show I think I would not use restored cars for the sampling - but that is just me


Checked my pictures and found two examples built near your car.

#1- was a T code non- AC car and it had the rubber strap though its hard to see any details from the pictures I have

#2 - was the really nice T code with AC coupe Perkins had at one time. It has both the metal and rubber "brackets" in place but believe routing is very different in that application


Hopefully others will have observations but I believe that the strap was on all of these by the period your looking at

[Skyway65]

Did this question ever get answered?  Any original photos that anyone can share?

[NEFaurora]

Ok, Here is what I have found on these Heater hose straps. I would have to say that all '64.5 to '66 6cyl cars had at least one strap on the passenger side, and this strap held the upper heater hose. Even Bob Fria's #2 car has the strap. Now here's where it gets interesting.. If the 6cyl car had A/C, A 2nd strap was used on either side to hold one of the A/C Hoses.  Now, it actually goes 1 step further, I have seen some original 6cyl A/C cars that have 3 straps! Two would be used on the passenger side, and one on the Driver's side!  Here is an example below from a  '66 Metuchen car.  Note, The A/C compressor has been removed. Don't know what the rhyme or reason was to this use or whether plant specific..Could just be the guy on the assembly line...who knows.

1966 Metuchen car with A/C: (3 straps! ?!?!)




1966 San Jose with smog: (2 straps!)



1965 Dearborn 2350mile Original..(1 strap.) A little hard to see, but if you look, Its there.
 

[carlite65]

is not the 'ac strap' made from metal and not rubber as the two on the other side??

[Skyway65]

Thanks for those photos Tony; good stuff.   I was messing with my original strap today and the wear marks on the inside pretty much showed me how it goes.  It is confirmed by your photos that only the upper hose was held in place as it makes its way to the back of the carb and on to the water pump.

[NEFaurora]

Yep, You got it Gary.


"is not the 'ac strap' made from metal and not rubber as the two on the other side??"

They are all rubber with small hex bolt going through them.  Though have seen a few with phillips head screws threw them, but not common.

There was a metal strap for the heater hoses used infrequently, but it is not used in the same area or fashion as the rubber straps in question here.  It is the same identical metal strap that is used under the dash to hold the heater cables together.  I think that they even repro it now.. Have seen a few early cars use this strap to hold both of the heater hoses together along the passenger side fenderwell, but it is not seen to often, but was used...and it was also used in conjunction with the rubber strap in the areas mentioned above.

Tony K.

[NEFaurora]

There was a guy selling these original straps on Ebay awhile ago for $30 a piece.  Charles had mentioned a few years ago that the straps are pretty easy to fabricate, and that originals most likely were made from radiator hoses or tire sidewalls.. I can't remember which.  Once you have the original width and length, It's pretty easy to make your own.  I used to have the measurements, but lost them over the years.  I think that it's time that we post them again.  Anyone have an original handy that they can measure?? Or maybe we can measure a few and compare?  Should be easy, There will be a hole at each end for the screw to go through both ends.

Tony K.

[J_Speegle]

1966 San Jose with smog: (2 straps!)

I see two ends of the same strap on the passenger side but can't see the second strap

[NEFaurora]

Ahh, Yes, Jeff brings up a good point...and that is that sometimes a single strap is used, but is bolted to two separate areas, two separate bolt holes instead of one. Don't know if that is that case in the picture above...Hard to tell from the pic.  Usually, straps used only one hole, and the one bolt went through both strap holes, but sometimes a single strap will be bolted to two separate areas as have been found on some cars.  Good catch Jeff.  As you can see from the Metuchen w/AC car pic, That particular Metuchen car actually used 3 straps.  As I said earlier, It's very hard to tell the rhyme or reason of the strap use...It was probably up to the guy on the assembly line.  I don't think that it was Plant specific or at least, I haven't found any evidence to support that theory.

Tony K.