I own a 1968 Triumph Spitfire that I have had since I was 14. (I am 40 now) It is a daily driver, and this morning on the way in to work I notice some steam or smoke coming from under the hood. A little smoke is normal just after I start my Spitfire, since it leaks oil a lot, and that gets on the exhaust and thus smokes for a little while after I start it. So, at first I didn’t think much of it until I realized it was steam, and it had been quite a while since I started it, so it wasn’t oil smoke. I looked at the temperature gauge, and indeed it was going into the hot zone! I pulled over just before I got on the freeway to have a look at it. It turns out that the heater hose that goes from the engine block to the heater valve had a hole in it and was now spraying coolant/steam!
As I waited for the engine to cool down a bit, I looked for my tools that I normally carry in the trunk (boot for you purists). It was gone! I had forgotten to put it back after taking the toolbox on my last four wheel drive adventure. Oops. Fortunately, I had pulled over across the street from a small used car lot that was open. I walked over there and was able to borrow a pliers and a phillips screwdriver. The hose clamps call for a standard screwdriver, so the phillips was no use, but I was able to use the pliers instead. I cut off the hose leading to the heater, and just doubled it back the return to the source so my heater was eliminated from the circuit. I had a water container in the trunk but this wasn’t enough, so I was able to get some more water from the used car lot. All in all, it was a pretty quick repair. When I got in to work I was only 20 minutes late!
I guess it is time for some new heater hoses!