'Refreshing' old braided hoses

[ddezso]

My car still has some of the original braided hoses left and they appear to be in decent condition inside but the outer braiding is dirty and dull looking.

I am assuming a little soap and water and gentle scrubbing should get them looking good. Have any of you successfully restored an 'experienced' braided hose back to beautiful condition? Is there anything you would spray on them to make them look 'shiny' and new?

New ones are hard to find and getting to be so bloody expensive...

[Arne]

My car still has all of its braided hoses on it. And yes, some of them do look a touch faded. But I'm planning to go the other way. Since I don't trust 35 year old hoses - no matter how good they look - I will replace them all with modern hoses. I'll keep the originals, but for daily driving I'll put on modern hoses.

[BRE-240Z]

I am doing the same thing with my car. The braided hoses are still intact, but I am in the process of replacing all of them.

NOS braided hoses still show up on eBay from time to time, but you'll pay for them.....I've chosen to go with new Nissan molded replacements instead.

[AZ-240z]

I was talking with one of the lesser know Z car parts suppliers not too long ago, I don't want to mention his name until I get more info from him. He mentioned that he was trying to acquire a machine which would braid new hoses to duplicate the original braided hoses many of us would like to find.

Paying big $$$$ for those NOS hoses my become a thing of the past if he is successful. I will certainly provide any updates when new info is forthcomming.

[Arne]

Please keep us posted on any updates on this. I'd happily stay with braided if the were fresh and not absurdly expensive.

[moonpup]

OPB: AZ-240z

Paying big $$$$ for those NOS hoses my become a thing of the past if he is successful.

While that may be true for those looking to just replicate the "look", the purist going for that Gold Medallion will still need the real thing and thus will probably have to fork out the necessary $$$'s for it.

Shaker hood scoops for the Cuda have been replicated and sell for around $1000-$2000, but I've seen the real mccoy snatch over $10,000! :eek:

[AZ-240z]

Moonpup,

I agree with you in theory. I believe that there has been an agreement as to the judging standards for hoses on our cars. There is to be no points deducted for rubber, not braided hoses, as I have been told. Although some braided hoses show up from time to time on ebay, I have never seen a NOS pair of master vac braided hoses for sale in the last five or six years. If anyone has a set of these, lets talk.

For my car, I would like to have a full compliment of braided hoses just for my own satisfaction so that it would appear as close to original as possible. Unless someone is fortunate enough to have an extremely nice, original survivor car, I know that there was at least one at the last national show, most restored cars will have some reproduction parts such as decals, seat covers, carpeting and jute, etc.

I will probably never stop looking for the real mccoy, but, for me, compromise will not deminish the enjoyment of returning my car to as close to original as possible.

I appreciate what you are saying, moonpup, I just think that there are too many parts that will never be available in NOS form, except reproductions.

Dan

[Victor Laury]

Ok! Ok! I'm Guilty! GUILTY I tell ya! I'll fess up to my Datsun Brothers, I love braided hoses and cheat any way I can to keep them up (as long as they are not brittle!)

Yes I wash them lovingly in the kitchen sink with warm water and soap. They get gray with age. I cure that with shoe dye (Note: not polish and not leather dye) Cloth shoe dye I buy at a shoe repair shop. It doesn't have the hydrocarbons the leather dye has and does not affect the rubber hose.

Yes I am guilty of being anal retentive auto restorer. There are other NEW braided hoses out there. they are not preformed and they are expensive. I stoped by Les's shop and he had a big reel of heater hose size braided line. I got excited. He buys it from Germany and pays a grip and a half for it.

[BRE-240Z]

Gray? Heck, mine turned white!

[hd240z]

Gee, I thought my 71 was the only one still running with all the original hoses. They must have used some good materials back then.

[DatsunZGuy]

I am still running the original braided hoses (and numbered spark plug wires) on my car as well. Some of my hoses were starting to turn gray and fray at the ends, so I decided to fix it. The best technique I have found so far to restore them is to do the following:

1. Wash with mild dishwashing liquid and hot water

2. Let dry for at least 24 hours

3. If the hose ends fabric is frayed, use clear Shoe Goo (this stuff is the bomb!) on the end to keep the fabric in place

4. Apply a couple coats of black Plasti Dip in the aerosol can to the hose and let dry

Here is the result:

Now the dilemma is my hoses now look restored, but can they be trusted on a long road trip? For peace of mind, I am considering switching to new hoses and covering them with Techflex braided sleeves.

https://www.wirecare.com/wirecarephp1/wc_product_list.php?prod=FGN&prodline=ES

That way, I have the reliability of new hoses and the braided look of the originals.

[ddezso]

That Insultherm techflex stuff looks awesome! I think I'll do that all around....