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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - 4' air hose

We have a problem with the 4" air hose that goes from just behind the grille to the heater.

The hose we have is the only one available from Moss, and is a corrugated hard plastic one. It appears to be too short, and whenever we get the two ends secured to their flanges, it's only a matter of time till it pops off at one end or the other, no matter how tight we make the clips.

We have tried stretching the one we have, but as it is very rigid, it just springs back to its original length.

I see AHSpares offers one that (from the drawing) looks like the paper and aluminium one used on the MGA, but would be grateful for feedback from anyone on who has good ones, or if anyone has a good used one to sell. I am guessing that the length is the same on all cars. How long should the hose be before it is mounted on the car?
dominic clancy

I think those corrugated plastic air ducts look wrong on an early car, but if stuck you could consider making a metal extension piece to go onto the open end of the blower (sucker) unit. It would be simple enough to make out of thin sheet steel, possibly with a flanged or overlapped edge secured with pop rivets or small nuts and bolts on the lower side, out of sight. Not original obviously, but painted black it could look OK.
Guy Weller

Home dryer vent hose works perfect also... get the aluminum one and it can be cut to size and sliced in with some Zip ties and matchjng paint

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Heres a link to what im referancing...granted its 20 ft but you can get the stuff in as little as a meter (3feet) to 100feet

http://m.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=29541286

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

The home dryer stuff looks like crap under the bonnet, and as the rest of the car looks great, I would like to find something more original
dominic clancy

It may look crap dominic but no more crap than the original, and there's a bonus. Bathroom vent or tumble drier hose is very cheap and lasts longer than the original.

Mine's been on there for at least 25 years.

It's also very light, and so saves on petrol. LOL.

Are you going to drive it, or spend most of the time looking under the bonnet at shows? ;).

Lawrence Slater

As this has pretty much been a no-expense spared restoration, it seems a bit pointless to spare €10 by not fitting the correct part. It's just as well the previous owner and project starter didn't try to recoup his investment of €16,000. With purchase price and additional parts the car stands the current owner around €12,500. The total investment from all invoices is close to €21,000. The only part of the restoration that was outsourced was painting, the gearbox rebuild and a Peter Burgess head conversion. So from my perspective the owner has really got a bargain.

Just for the sceptics, it is something that will be used a lot, not just garaged and polished. It looks just as good in every hidden corner as it does on top, and is effectively a brand new car with so far 200km on the clock. The central testing station for the county says it is years since they saw an amateur restoration of this quality.

So no dryer hose!
dominic clancy

Moss also do the original style of paper bonded to alloy used in the early Midget, AHH5430. It was used in both MGA and Austin Healey as well.
The plastic hose was fitted to later Midgets, change point in the '70's IIRC (Sorry, in France at present without access to my books)
Paul Walbran

Hi Paul

That is the part number for the MGA hose, which would be much too short, but as you say has the right construction. Moss only has one hose available, which is the rigid plastic one we already have.

So does anyone know perhaps where the MGA type hose is available by the meter?

Dominic
dominic clancy

I've used the A H Spares paper type. Fits fine and looks correct but it is about twice the price of the plastic ones. Doesn't shrink back of course - once you've pulled the concertina out - it stays out.
Fergus Pollock

Dominic,
as you never put up a vehicle profile and don't say here which year you're basically copying and I can't remember I'm not sure which heater you have and where the fresh-air valve is located but I wonder if it's just a case of the length of hose you have is just cut a bit short and if you swap it you might get one cut a bit longer

I don't think they sell the original type of plastic hose with straight sections any more do they(?)
Nigel Atkins

Dom
I understand you seek form as equal to function. Have been satisfied with these guys mostly repro not NOS
VictoriaBritish.com part# 2-4961 hose-main inlet 32"
page 55 of sm.77 catalog (800) 255-0088
Good luck
Bob
Bob Ketcham

Dominic
If the Moss type of tube is OK but you require a greater length then please e-mail me at alan dot anstead at btopenworld dot com as I may be able to direct you to a source.
Alan
www.masckent.org
Alan Anstead

Why not just buy more hose from moss and splice them togather. To make a longer hose

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Well I suppose for a purist then, drier hose is a crime. lol. On old cars, parts used were often used in non-automotive situations first, and adapted for use on a car. I don't know if this was, but it's just a bit of ducting. Nothing special about it. With a bit of imagination and effort, the heater hose/duct could be improved no end, and look way better than the original as a result.

All it does is flow air from the grill area to the blower. I've considered making a bit of duct to run under the wing(over the inner wing). That would keep it out of the way and look better. I'll add it to my list of "for the hell of it" improvements to be done. :).
Lawrence Slater

Snail heater, air valve behind grille.

The original is apparently one with a straight section, but that is NLA.

I don't know what the length should be, but as we have had no success stretching this one for any time, I figure the paper one is the way to go

Alan, you have mail
dominic clancy

I thought the early Frogeye ducts were in that fabric with a hounds-tooth pattern to it, a bit like the wiring loom fabric. - but I my have just invented that bit!

But if yours should be the corrugated type but with a central straight section (NLA) then why not make a straight middle section out of steel or aluminium sheet formed into a cylinder shape. Then cut the duct that you do have in half and attach to either end of the cylinder to produce the required overall length.
Guy Weller

Sadly after only 45 years the original plastic air duct in our 1969 Mk3 Oz build Midget has become brittle and separated into 3 sections.

I am going to replace it with a all corrugated one from Ashley Hinton - nothing lasts forever it seems.

Tony
The Classic Workshop
Black Mountain
Australia

A L SLATTERY

Dominic,
if Ashley Hinton does the air hose then give him a ring or email to check if he has the one you need
Nigel Atkins

Dominic
It might be my memory, but I'm fairly sure I have fitted that MGA one to Midgets in the past.
There are tow lenths of MGA hose, 18" and 31". The aprt no I gve was the longer of the two. They can be safely stretched a bit too.
Paul Walbran

One of these should work a treat!
http://www.autosiliconehoses.com/silicone-hose-shop/air-ductings/black-neoprene-air-ducting.html

(no personal interest)
Sam Raouf

The Ashley Hinton plastic duct supplied last month is 33" long.

When our Midget was new in 1969, it was fitted with a cold air box, not a heater, so had no snail blower fan. The original plastic duct was 36" long, including the smooth section in the middle.

We have fitted a heater & fan so the 33" should be fine.

I can't fault the service from AH either, it was here in Australia within a week - amazing !.

Tony
A L SLATTERY

Hi Dominic i supply 4inch alluminium covered in wax type paper i have long and short lenghts which i use with the restored heater systems i refurb.Rich
rj woolley

Thanks for all the help, particularly those who don't offer dryer hose as a solution.

Ashley Hinton has got back to me, but it looks as though his is the hose I already have, so too short.

I could stretch an MGA one, but I think 15% stretch is (cough) stretching it a bit too far.

I am waiting for a reply from Rich Wolley (why I didn't think of him is a mystery, his stuff is always top notch).

Otherwise I can just buy a section of 4" tube and use it to extend what I have, if I do it carefully it could look almost original.

Dominic
dominic clancy




Otherwise I can just buy a section of 4" tube and use it to extend what I have, if I do it carefully it could look almost original.


Like as in orginal dryer hose...

yeah, I think that would.work, I see 2 pieces of dryer hosed connected all the time with a 4 inch tube in peoples homes

Hahaha

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Dominic
What about approaching the problem from a different angle. I made the front panel, into which the flexible pipe fits, on my Sebring rep. What about making one slightly longer on the inside of the upright. Same at the snail end 1/2" here and maybe 1" there: would that solve the problem using the same hose. I was surprised that Ashley could not supply a longer tube.
Alan
www.masckent.org

Alan Anstead

The moss MGA one I fitted to an MGA today was more than long enough for a midget....
Be sure to get the heater hose and not the carb cold air one (a lot shorter)
Onno K

The original hose appears to have hard a straight tubular section moulded into the middle, so I am leaning towards this solution. I reckon I can make it pretty much to look like the original without resorting to the dryer hose....

A short section of 4" tubing is available on ebay for next to nothing, but will try the local metal supply first as it is also a standard size (102mm) here.
dominic clancy

This thread was discussed between 17/08/2014 and 21/08/2014

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