Radiator Hoses

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I am in the process of replacing my radiator hoses and clamps on my 1931. I know that a lot of manufacturers used red rubber hoses and fan belts up to around this time.

Did Pierce use red rubber products (vs. black)? If so, does anybody know when the red rubber hoses went out of favor/use by auto manufacturers? I started thinking about this while looking at the Restoration Supply catalog.

I prefer the black hoses anyway, but I was curious what the experts had to say…

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Ask Restoration Supply Company(800-306-7008). The owners have a great

restoration shop and have a handle on authenticity. My bet is that red

rubber was done around 1914.

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I will respectfully disagree, red rubber was still around in the 1930’s.

I had a painfully original 1934 840 sedan, that I restored in the height of the restoration craze in the 1970’s.

It had not only red radiator hoses, but red fan belts, and they were all in excellent condition and appeared to have come from the factory that way. Car was very low mileage and had been in dry Oklahoma storage since it was new. When I restored it, I went ahead and used the old red parts, and they were still on it when I sold the car in the late 80’s. I don’t think I’ve seen another car with red fan belts, but there may be some out there.

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David,

I believe you are correct, I have bought two original late 20’s Oaklands with red hoses and belts (taken off the road in the mid to late 30’s). I would consider going the red hose path if red belts were still available.

I have a call into Alan at Restoration Supply and will post what he tells me when he is back in the office tomorrow.

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Just after I inserted my foot in my mouth, I spied a 1928 original

Packard on E bay sporting a dilapidated red radiator hose. Thanks for

not being disrespectful, David. My comment is only off a couple of

decades.

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I spoke with Allan at Restoration Supply Company yesterday. While he didn’t have a specific year in mind when all car makes stopped using red hoses, he believed that it was around 1934 or 1935. He mentioned that he has an original 1928 Pierce that has red hoses and belt.

Tony,

David is a respectfully guy, as we all should be since, this is a learning forum for all of us!

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