Where do I get some of the single wire (Corbin) style hose clamps for the radiator hoses on my Valiant? Many hardware stores have the smaller ones for heater hose size.

Better yet, where to I get some like are used on newer vehicles, like a 1998 Dodge Ram Pickup truck? They are a flat band of metal instead of a single wire like our old Mopars came with from the factory.

Some of you may not like them but I like them because they never leak even with seasonal temperature changes. Every fall/winter when it gets cold out those worm screw clamps always allow coolant to leak from everything.

The original 30 year old Corbin clamps on my Valiant are failing.

hi, yearone or laysons has them. single or in kits for your car. ron

I just found this place....
http://www.oldcarstuff.com/cgi-bin/chec ... :prod5354+

Though I would like to get closer to the actual source of these clamps.

I agree that screw/band clamps don't look right in old engine bays; I usually use them for practical and availability reasons. Corbin clamps are still used in general industry, though not as much as they used to be. I have some Ideal catalogues at the office; I'll take a look and see what they might still make. This guy describes some problems with the original-type Corbins.

This company makes a Corbin-like spring that looks as if it should avoid the problems caused by the original Corbins. This might be one of those "80% original appearance, 130% original reliability" deals.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I'm not so concerned about the appearance. I want them because they don't leak (until they break from age). They are "self tightening" and don't leak with thermal cycling as the worm screw clamps do.

I found a .pdf catalog at www.idealclamp.com last evening and they have the flat band spring clamps near the end of the catalog. This is the style clamp that most new cars come with from the factory. I will track down where I can get some of those to try out.

Hey, that Peterson Spring looks promising. I'll see if I can get some "samples" to try out. I still see those double wire clamps on washing machines and dishwashers.

Oh! Is that why you want them? Then the magic phrase is "constant tension hose clamps". As you mention, there are various different styles.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I usually end up retightening the hose clamps once or twice (after a couple of months) after replacing hoses. After that the hose size seems to stabilize and everything is fine..........

I did however reuse the best 2 clamps for the short heater bypass hose on the front of the engine because of the 'self-tightening' feature and the inaccessibility of tightening them up when everything is installed. Other than that location I generally don't like this type of hose clamp because they're such a pain to install (I don't have the special pliers)

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

That work because you are in California!!
Here in Minnesota we have something called WINTER and it gets cold then. Everything shrinks and contracts when it is cold and you are almost guaranteed a few leaks in the winter. Remember there is over a 200ºF temperature change everyday on these parts during winter. That makes for a lot of thermal cycling.

I've alwaysliked EFI style hose clamps. It has a solid band all the away around it, and it provides even pressure, including directly underneath the screw unlike worm clamps

Only downside is their cost... in radiator hose size they will proably be 2 or 3 dollars each, seeing as I get the 5/16" and 3/8" ones for 50 cents to 1 dollar depending where I go.

Those have a screw and nut on them, so if your worried about them loosening up you can put a drop of threadlocker on them.

You might want to try McMaster-Carr. They have everything from the spring style hose clamps (in both galvanized and stainless steel) to constant tension T-bolt clamps.

http://www.mcmaster.com

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair