Regarding heater hoses.
I need to replace essentially all (might as well do 'em all, most of them are missing or broken or misrouted) of the flexible hoses in the heater system, with the exception of the heater box-to-heater channel hoses.
I'm hoping to track down some generic/locally available tubing to replace the heating system hoses. Could the corrugated/ribbed cardboard-and-foil hoses be replaced with either ribbed plastic tubing or conventional (water-cooled) rubber hose? Or am I better off just piece-part purchasing original-style hoses from J-Bugs or CPI or some such?
I just finished removing the last remains of a heater from mine, so I may be a little uneducated on the subject. The only ones I would really be worried about are the lines coming off the exhaust boxes. Everything else, as long as it fits decently can proabably be whatever you dream up. Small diameter dryer vent, if they made such a thing would work fine.
I don't remember the cardboard and foil hoses being that expensive?
I would stay away from the plastic/pvc dryer vent stuff, you do not want anything that can melt where it either attaches to the heater box or rubs up against something else in the engine compartment
The fresh air hoses are only a couple of bucks.
Sounds like ordering hoses piece-by-piece is the way to go. Hard to argue with cheap original-style product. I had been toying with buying a lengths of appropriate sized hose from the hardware store and cutting to fit. My hang up on buying piece parts was related to my desire to get problems fixed in one session, coupled with my consistent inability to get all the parts I need when I need them. 
Thanks fellas, I think that gets me taken care of.
